GERMAN MINISTERS OPEN EU SUMMIT IN BERLIN, 1999-03-24 (photo)

EUROPE SUMMIT GERMANY:BERLIN,24MAR99-German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, (C) flanked by Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer (R) and Economics Minister Werner Mueller (L), starts a first meeting of European leaders at the European Union summit in Berlin March 24. The prospect of war over Kosovo overshadowed the summit of European leaders on Wednesday called to resolve a crisis about finances and the future of the executive European Commission. Leaders of the 15-nation bloc originally planned the two-day summit to seek a package deal on EU spending for the next seven years, including cuts in farm subsidies and aid to poorer regions. But the likelihood of NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia over the province of Kosovo dominated an already heavy agenda. MUR/FMS