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PM demands talks over EU budget PM demands talks over EU budget
(34 minutes later)
Prime Minister David Cameron has demanded EU finance ministers meet for emergency talks over EU budget after UK was told it must pay extra £1.7bn. Prime Minister David Cameron has demanded emergency talks with European finance ministers after the UK was told it must pay an extra £1.7bn.
Mr Cameron interrupted a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels to express dismay at the demand for the UK to pay extra into the EU's coffers on 1 December.Mr Cameron interrupted a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels to express dismay at the demand for the UK to pay extra into the EU's coffers on 1 December.
He told Commission boss Jose Manuel Barroso he had no idea of the impact of such things, Downing Street said. He told Commission boss Jose Manuel Barroso he had no idea of the impact it would have, Downing Street said.
And it was not just press or public opinion, it was about £2bn. The move will add about a fifth to the UK's net EU contribution of £8.6bn.
EU leaders discussed the issue for an hour in Brussels on Friday, with Mr Cameron due to give a press conference later.
There has been anger across the political spectrum in the UK at the EU's demand for extra money, which comes just weeks before the vital Rochester and Strood by-election, where UKIP is trying to take the seat from the Conservatives.
Mr Cameron told Mr Barroso, who steps down next month, that the issue was not just about press or public opinion but was about the amount of money being demanded.
The bill follows new calculations by the EU that determine how much each member state should contribute, based on its national income.
The surcharge reflects changes to the way sources of national income are calculated, including from illegal trade in the black economy.
Analysis by BBC Political Correspondent Ross Hawkins
The prime minister will do everything he can to show he's coming out fighting over the EU budget demand.
He has buttonholed Commission President Barroso. He has called for an emergency meeting.
EU leaders have pondered the problem for a full hour in their meeting.
The PM is proud of getting down the EU budget limit in 2013. He says it proves he can get his way in Brussels.
Handing over £1.7bn to the EU would sting at any time. Doing it a few days after a crunch by-election scrap with UKIP would be agony.
This could still go David Cameron's way. If he can persuade the EU to tear up the bill, he can come out smiling.
If he fails - it will hurt the Conservatives badly.
Several Conservative MPs have said the UK should refuse to pay the demand, describing it as "illegal" while Labour has said the "backdated bill" is unacceptable.
'Hopeless position'
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said it was wrong that an "unfair" bill had been "sprung upon" the UK but suggested that the Treasury should have acted sooner.
"The prime minister says he wants a meeting of finance ministers next month. He said have done this last week," Mr Balls told the BBC News Channel.
He added: "I want this bill to come down and a deal should be struck."
The UK Independence Party likened the EU to a "thirsty vampire" and said the demand strengthened its case for exiting the EU.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said the prime minister was in a "hopeless position" and the development undermined his argument that the UK could influence decisions in Brussels.
The additional payment was requested after the European Commission's statistics agency, Eurostat, reviewed the economic performances of member states since 1995, and readjusted the contributions made by each state over the past four years based on their pace of growth.
The UK has received rebates in the past as a result of this process.
Under the latest calculations, the UK and the Netherlands are both being asked to pay more on 1 December, while France and Germany are both set to receive rebates.