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BRUSSELS (AP) -- European Union finance ministers are to meet in in Brussels Tuesday to hammer out an agreement over how high banks should build their defenses against future financial shocks, with the U.K. running the risk of being isolated over who should set the height.

The EU's 27 members agree on the need to increase capital reserves of banks, following an international agreement called Basel III, which was negotiated by the world's largest economies to avoid another financial meltdown such as the one brought on by the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008.

But the U.K. wants national regulators to be able to set requirements significantly higher than those of the EU — a position opposed by almost all other EU members, who fear investors might then prefer UK banks and flee from those in other countries.

On his way into the meeting Tuesday morning, George Osborne, the British chancellor of the exchequer, was non-committal about the possibility of reaching an agreement.

"This is a time of considerable uncertainty in the eurozone economies," he said, referring to the 17 countries — the U.K. not among them — that use the euro currency. "And that uncertainty is undermining the entire European recovery. And I think we're reaching a point where we've got to make a decision to see the eurozone stand behind their currency. A very important part of that, of course, is strengthening the entire European banking system. And that is what we intend to do today."

Once enacted, Basel III would require lenders to increase their highest-quality capital — such as equity and cash reserves — gradually from 2 percent of the risky assets they hold to 7 percent by 2019. An additional 2.5 percent would have to be built up during good times. All members of the G-20 have agreed to implement Basel III; if the European Union succeeds, it would become the first entity to institute the new requirements.

The U.K. is arguing that, because national taxpayers have to bail out banks when they fail, national authorities should be able to set more stringent requirements to guard against such failures. A compromise proposal offered by the Danes, who hold the rotating presidency of the European Union, would allow national authorities some leeway to increase requirements beyond those called for in the Basel III agreement. That proposal has broad support — except, so far, from the U.K.

The finance ministers can approve the compromise proposal without British support, through what is known as qualified majority voting, in which member countries have different numbers of votes according to their populations. However, there is a tradition in the EU that changes that would affect an industry in a particular country — such as the banking sector in the U.K. — are not forced into effect over the objections of that country, and consensus is sought.

"I think there should be a unanimous decision on such an important issue," Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said on his way into the meeting.

MADISON, Alabama - The Madison City Finance Committee met Wednesday night to review the city's proposed semi-annual amended budget, but left with more questions than answers.

They hope to get some answers at a second budget review meeting scheduled next Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Madison Municipal Complex, 100 Hughes Road.

Finance Director Lillie Causey said the amended budget increase goes from $30.2 million to $31.9 million, which concerns the members of the finance committee - Larry Vannoy, chair, Tim Cowles and Jerry Jennings.

Several large-ticket items, including four new police cruisers at a cost of $39,000 each, and radios costing $$489,000 for the police department plus a request of an additional $37,000 for overtime pay for the fire department compared to last year left the finance members scratching their heads. Also, capital outlay requests from Public Works went from $336,717, to $1,495,275 this year.

"Midyear is the time to fix things, not go out and buy things," said Vannoy. "We've got to think hard about expenses and see if we can delay some of these things. We've got to come up with money to pay for the I-565 interchange. This is just a little out of the normal."

Vannoy asked Causey to check into the matter and invite the department heads to attend next week's meeting to explain their budget increases.

Causey reminded the members that Fire Chief Ralph Cobb did manage to secure a grant to pay for the department's radios, saving the city $140,000, not to mention another $1.2 million grant that covered nearly half of the cost of the new fire station. Also, she said Public Works sold a number of units of surplus equipment, which brought in nearly $468,000 in revenues compared to $117,000 this time last year.

The city clerk's office also asked for an additional $35,000 for new fireproof shelves to store official documents.

"We are out of space," said City Clerk Melanie Williard. "Every department has boxes stacked up and there are no more room for shelves. The proposed shelves will give us twice as much room. We have no more room for permanent files, which have to be in a fireproof box."

Although the committee members are keeping a close watch on the city's finances, Vannoy said the picture is looking brighter with an uptick in sales tax revenue and he is glad they are finally "over the hump."

A Greensboro, N.C., jury has acquitted former presidential candidate John Edwards on one count of taking illegal campaign funds, but the judge declared a mistrial after the jury became deadlocked on five other counts.

“While I don’t believe I did anything illegal…I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong and there is no one else responsible for my sins,” said Edwards speaking after the trial and taking no questions from reporters. “If I want to find to find the person who should be held accountable for my sins, honestly I don’t have to go any farther than the mirror. It’s me. It is me and me alone.”

Edwards, 58, was charged with taking illegal campaign funds in a political tempest that embroiled him in a scandal that included his aides, campaign contributors and his mistress — now the mother of the couple’s four-year-old daughter. But the jury was not convinced that taking the money amounted to a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

Jurors told judge Catherine Eagles that they had reached a a decision on each of the six counts, which she mistakenly took to mean that they had reached a verdict. It turned out that they had not come to a final decision on all the counts. She sent the jury back to its chamber to deliver a final decision and the result was an acquittal on the charge of taking money from a wealthy donor. With no verdict on the other counts, Eagles declared a mistrial.

The jury deliberated for nine days in the trial, which was at times emotional and at other times bizarre, with testimony from staffers in his 2008 presidential campaign including aide Andrew Young and his wife Cheri. The couple, having been granted immunity from prosecution, said they worked to conceal the fact that  money coming from wealthy contributors intended for the campaign was actually being used to take care of Edwards’ then-pregnant mistress Rielle Hunter.

(MORE: Wife of Edwards Ex-Aide: ‘I Agreed to Go Along With the Lie’)

That money — $1 million in donations — was given by Edwards supporters Rachel “Bunny” Mellon and Texas lawyer Fred Baron. Cheri Young testified that she was assured depositing the money in an account the two shared was legal. She said that in a conversation that she listened to between her husband and Edwards, that the candidate said his campaign finance advisers told him there was nothing illegal about what he was doing.

Prosecutors said that Edwards deliberately accepted the money and intended to use it to conceal Hunter and her pregnancy and that he “knowingly” violated campaign finance laws to do so.  The money, they said, was used to pay for Hunter’s medical and living expenses. Edwards was married to wife Elizabeth Edwards at the time. She died of cancer in 2010.

(MORE: Did the Obama Campaign Know about John Edwards’ Affair?)

But his defense said Edwards did no such thing and was not trying to use the funds for Hunter. They countered that the Youngs kept the money and used it for their own gain, accusing them of attempting to cash in again by releasing a book about their experience with Edwards. Neither Edwards nor Hunter testified in the trial.

In addition to his child with Hunter, Edwards is now raising two children, aged 13 and 11, and has a 30-year-old daughter, Cate. He admitted fathering Hunter’s child after newspapers publicized the affair between them and agreed to pay child support. The child now lives with her mother in Charlotte, N.C.

Edwards was also accused of falsifying documents and of conspiracy to receive the funds and conceal them. He was facing a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine.

(MORE: John Edwards Trial: Tawdry Testimony, But Was There a Crime?)

NORTH ANDOVER — The battle of the boards over energy saving continues.

While the Finance Committee did not take a formal vote on the issue Tuesday night, the advisory board is moving toward recommending that contracts of more than three years be approved by Town Meeting. The committee is particularly concerned about a proposed $4.3 million contract with Ameresco, a Framingham energy services firm,

Ameresco has said it will reduce the town's energy consumption and costs by making a host of improvements to buildings, including boiler replacements and more efficient lighting. The town would pay back the $4.3 million over 15 years and that bothers Finance Committee members.

The selectmen and School Committee, as well as Town Manager Andrew Maylor and Assistant Town Manager Raymond Santilli, support a pact with Ameresco.

Article 3 on the warrant for the June 12 Town Meeting authorizes the town manager and superintendent of schools to award contracts for more than three years if four selectmen or four School Committee members approve.

Finance Committee member Peter Besen proposed amending the article to require that such contracts be approved by Town Meeting.

"We don't want it to happen administratively," his colleague, Benjamin Osgood, said about the possibility of a contract with Ameresco being approved without voters' approval.

Thomas Dugan, presiding in the absence of Chairman Alan LeBovidge, said board members need to agree on the language of an amendment before moving forward with it.

"We don't have to make a decision tonight," Dugan said. The board invited Ameresco to send a representative to its meeting last night, but the company declined to do so, according to Dugan.

Dugan, Osgood, Matthew Remis and other Finance Committee members have said the board has not been given sufficient information about Ameresco to make an informed decision.