We won't give up EU budget rebate, Straw tells Chirac
From Anthony Browne and Rory Watson in Brussels
From The Times -
(Why does France, despite having only a slightly smaller population and economy than Britain, contribute so LITTLE to the EU budget, whereas the other two large economies are the two biggest contributors? France's contribution is even dwarfed by Holland's. If you want more money for the EU, pay more yourselves, rather than trying to steal our rebate!!)
BRITAIN must give up its EU budget rebate, which is worth about £4 billion a year but can no longer be justified in the expanded Union, President Chirac and other European leaders insisted yesterday.
Jack Straw was adamant that Britain would not give up the rebate and gave warning that it would use its national veto to protect its interests.
The respective battle lines in ongoing budget negotiations were drawn within hours of a late-night deal in which Tony Blair made concessions on economic reforms to help the French Government to avoid defeat in a referendum on the European constitution.
He agreed to French demands to water down proposals aimed at sweeping away legal obstacles to working across Europe at a Brussels “jobs and growth” summit that had been called to kick-start Europe’s stagnating economy.
The Services Directive, which was championed by Mr Blair, has caused outrage in France amid concern that it will lead to worse pay and conditions for French workers. The proposals have also fuelled Euroscepticism among the French public.
Mr Blair left the summit without speaking to journalists, in contrast to a bullish M Chirac who used a press conference to claim victory on the services directive and to insist that Britain give up its rebate.
Asked about the continuing budget negotiations, which cover the period from 2007 until 2013, M Chirac said: “One very quickly realises that we can only have a suitable balance if one calls into question the ‘chèque britannique’, which is no longer justified today, even if it might have had some justification in the past when Mrs Thatcher and M Mitterrand adopted it.”
Mrs Thatcher secured the rebate in 1984 — declaring: “I want my money back” — after other EU leaders agreed that Britain got a worse deal than other countries because it receives less in agricultural subsidies and development aid.
José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President, also insisted yesterday that Britain give up the rebate. “The situation is now different from 20 years ago,” he said. “We were then ten countries, and now we are twenty-five. The UK is now much more prosperous than it was before. Things have changed, and we can find a way through if we accept things have changed.”
However, the Foreign Secretary insisted that the rebate must stay. “The justice of the rebate is still there. We have one of the lowest net receipts of any EU country because of the relatively small size of our agriculture sector and its efficiency. That continues to be the case,” he told BBC radio.
Asked whether he would use the veto, Mr Straw said: “Yes.”
To bolster its cause, the Government issued figures showing that since Britain joined the EU, it would have contributed £239 billion without the rebate. After the rebate, Britain has contributed £181 billion. In return, it has received £105 billion worth of agricultural and development subsidies.
Treasury figures show that Britain is set to overtake Germany as the biggest financial contributor to the EU. Britain is committed to scrapping the Common Agricultural Policy, and has insisted that the rebate will be justified until that is done. EU leaders are hoping to reach a deal on the EU budget — worth €1 trillion over the next seven years — by June.
From Anthony Browne and Rory Watson in Brussels
From The Times -
(Why does France, despite having only a slightly smaller population and economy than Britain, contribute so LITTLE to the EU budget, whereas the other two large economies are the two biggest contributors? France's contribution is even dwarfed by Holland's. If you want more money for the EU, pay more yourselves, rather than trying to steal our rebate!!)
BRITAIN must give up its EU budget rebate, which is worth about £4 billion a year but can no longer be justified in the expanded Union, President Chirac and other European leaders insisted yesterday.
Jack Straw was adamant that Britain would not give up the rebate and gave warning that it would use its national veto to protect its interests.
The respective battle lines in ongoing budget negotiations were drawn within hours of a late-night deal in which Tony Blair made concessions on economic reforms to help the French Government to avoid defeat in a referendum on the European constitution.
He agreed to French demands to water down proposals aimed at sweeping away legal obstacles to working across Europe at a Brussels “jobs and growth” summit that had been called to kick-start Europe’s stagnating economy.
The Services Directive, which was championed by Mr Blair, has caused outrage in France amid concern that it will lead to worse pay and conditions for French workers. The proposals have also fuelled Euroscepticism among the French public.
Mr Blair left the summit without speaking to journalists, in contrast to a bullish M Chirac who used a press conference to claim victory on the services directive and to insist that Britain give up its rebate.
Asked about the continuing budget negotiations, which cover the period from 2007 until 2013, M Chirac said: “One very quickly realises that we can only have a suitable balance if one calls into question the ‘chèque britannique’, which is no longer justified today, even if it might have had some justification in the past when Mrs Thatcher and M Mitterrand adopted it.”
Mrs Thatcher secured the rebate in 1984 — declaring: “I want my money back” — after other EU leaders agreed that Britain got a worse deal than other countries because it receives less in agricultural subsidies and development aid.
José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President, also insisted yesterday that Britain give up the rebate. “The situation is now different from 20 years ago,” he said. “We were then ten countries, and now we are twenty-five. The UK is now much more prosperous than it was before. Things have changed, and we can find a way through if we accept things have changed.”
However, the Foreign Secretary insisted that the rebate must stay. “The justice of the rebate is still there. We have one of the lowest net receipts of any EU country because of the relatively small size of our agriculture sector and its efficiency. That continues to be the case,” he told BBC radio.
Asked whether he would use the veto, Mr Straw said: “Yes.”
To bolster its cause, the Government issued figures showing that since Britain joined the EU, it would have contributed £239 billion without the rebate. After the rebate, Britain has contributed £181 billion. In return, it has received £105 billion worth of agricultural and development subsidies.
Treasury figures show that Britain is set to overtake Germany as the biggest financial contributor to the EU. Britain is committed to scrapping the Common Agricultural Policy, and has insisted that the rebate will be justified until that is done. EU leaders are hoping to reach a deal on the EU budget — worth €1 trillion over the next seven years — by June.