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Britain rallies allies for cut to EU budget
Britain has rallied Germany, France and five other countries behind calls for a "substantial" cut to a Brussels budget demand for an increase of 11 per cent to EU spending. David Cameron, the Prime Minister, signed up the French, Germans, Finns and the Dutch in December over six months before the European Commission published its plans for financing between 2014 and 2020 in June. Yesterday his four allies renewed their support as Austria, Italy and Sweden also joined the battle to bring Brussels budgets into line with national spending cuts and austerity. The statement agreed by the eight countries insisted that "European public spending cannot be exempt" from "considerable national efforts" to reduce budgets, austerity measures that often demanded by the EU itself to counter Europe's debt crisis. The Treasury has estimated that the EU budget demand would cost the British taxpayer an extra £1.4 billion a year, totalling £9.8 billion or £626 for every British family over the MFF's seven year period. But the statement to reduce the commission's demand for an increase falls short of British demands for a freeze, meaning real term cuts, to future EU spending. "There are different countries represented around the table. Our position on a real terms freeze hasn't altered," admitted Mr Lidington. Janusz Lewandowski, the EU budget commissioner, noted that the call from eight-nation cuts coalition "was without figures". "Our proposal is a real contribution to jobs and growth," he said.
Posted by: lotp 2011-09-13 |
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