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| David Cameron labels EU demand for extra £1.7bn from UK unacceptable | David Cameron labels EU demand for extra £1.7bn from UK unacceptable |
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| Europe’s finance ministers will convene an emergency meeting following the disclosure of a demand for some countries, including Britain, to contribute billions more to the EU budget, the prime minister’s spokesman said. | Europe’s finance ministers will convene an emergency meeting following the disclosure of a demand for some countries, including Britain, to contribute billions more to the EU budget, the prime minister’s spokesman said. |
| David Cameron believes the demand for £1.7bn from Britain is “unacceptable” and has secured a gathering of Treasury ministers to discuss the recalculation of contributions which have hit the UK, Italy, and the Netherlands with additional bills, while France and Germany are to receive a rebate. | David Cameron believes the demand for £1.7bn from Britain is “unacceptable” and has secured a gathering of Treasury ministers to discuss the recalculation of contributions which have hit the UK, Italy, and the Netherlands with additional bills, while France and Germany are to receive a rebate. |
| The meeting is a minor victory for No 10 following Thursday night’s disclosure that Britain has been ordered to pay the money because its economy is performing better than others in the EU. | The meeting is a minor victory for No 10 following Thursday night’s disclosure that Britain has been ordered to pay the money because its economy is performing better than others in the EU. |
| Cameron is under increasing pressure from his backbenchers and Ukip to face down the European demand as his party resists another major challenge from the anti-EU party at the Rochester byelection next month. | Cameron is under increasing pressure from his backbenchers and Ukip to face down the European demand as his party resists another major challenge from the anti-EU party at the Rochester byelection next month. |
| British and European commission officials confirmed that the Treasury had been told last week that budget contribution calculations based on gross national income (GNI) adjustments carried out by Eurostat, the EU statistics agency, had exposed a huge discrepancy between what Britain had been asked to contribute and what it should be paying, because of the UK’s recovery. | British and European commission officials confirmed that the Treasury had been told last week that budget contribution calculations based on gross national income (GNI) adjustments carried out by Eurostat, the EU statistics agency, had exposed a huge discrepancy between what Britain had been asked to contribute and what it should be paying, because of the UK’s recovery. |
| The PM’s spokesman said: “He [Cameron] is not the only head of government who has raised this issue. He spoke to the Dutch prime minister yesterday. | The PM’s spokesman said: “He [Cameron] is not the only head of government who has raised this issue. He spoke to the Dutch prime minister yesterday. |
| “We are rightly challenging this. What is needed is a detailed discussion by finance ministers, and that is what will now happen. I believe Eurostat is clear that this is a provisional estimate.” | “We are rightly challenging this. What is needed is a detailed discussion by finance ministers, and that is what will now happen. I believe Eurostat is clear that this is a provisional estimate.” |
| The meeting could also discuss why the recalcuation also includes estimates of the black economy in each country, including prostitution, drugs and tax evasion and whether this figure can be used to manipulate contribution figures. The prime minister’s spokesman would not answer repeated questions asking when the British government was first told of the demand, instead saying that the disclosure of the additional payment has only been released over the last few days. | The meeting could also discuss why the recalcuation also includes estimates of the black economy in each country, including prostitution, drugs and tax evasion and whether this figure can be used to manipulate contribution figures. The prime minister’s spokesman would not answer repeated questions asking when the British government was first told of the demand, instead saying that the disclosure of the additional payment has only been released over the last few days. |
| The commission told the various countries of the revamped figures on 17 October, EU officials said. They said the British had until 1 December to provide €2.1bn (£1.7bn), roughly a fifth of the UK’s annual net contribution to the EU. | |
| On an LBC radio phone-in on Friday morning, Nigel Farage said Cameron would have little option but to go along with the demand, which will have to be paid in December. “Of course he will pay up. These are the rules, the contributions to the European Union was a very complex formula and part of it is a measurement of your GDP against everybody else’s. There’s nothing he can do.” | On an LBC radio phone-in on Friday morning, Nigel Farage said Cameron would have little option but to go along with the demand, which will have to be paid in December. “Of course he will pay up. These are the rules, the contributions to the European Union was a very complex formula and part of it is a measurement of your GDP against everybody else’s. There’s nothing he can do.” |
| The bombshell, first reported by the Financial Times, was dropped into the middle of an EU summit in Brussels where Cameron and 27 other leaders were mired in tough negotiations over climate change policy and attempts to agree big reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The demand for the money is political dynamite for a prime minister wrestling with dilemmas over Britain’s future in Europe and broadly seen to be making increasingly Eurosceptic gestures to the restless backbenchers who want to deal with Nigel Farage’s Europe rejectionists. | The bombshell, first reported by the Financial Times, was dropped into the middle of an EU summit in Brussels where Cameron and 27 other leaders were mired in tough negotiations over climate change policy and attempts to agree big reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The demand for the money is political dynamite for a prime minister wrestling with dilemmas over Britain’s future in Europe and broadly seen to be making increasingly Eurosceptic gestures to the restless backbenchers who want to deal with Nigel Farage’s Europe rejectionists. |
| “The timing is far from ideal,” said Patrizio Fiorilli, spokesman for the EU budget commissioner. “But there are rules we have to follow.” | “The timing is far from ideal,” said Patrizio Fiorilli, spokesman for the EU budget commissioner. “But there are rules we have to follow.” |
| The request for the money comes as Cameron and his party, under pressure from Ukip to bolster their anti-EU credentials, are embroiled in fights with Brussels and other EU capitals over freedom of movement and immigration within the EU, and over Cameron’s insistence on rewriting the terms of Britain’s EU membership before putting a new deal to an in-out referendum by 2017, if he wins a second term next year. Cameron has set great store on campaigning to reduce the overall EU budget, arguing that at a time of austerity and spending cuts all across Europe, the Brussels pot could not remain immune. | The request for the money comes as Cameron and his party, under pressure from Ukip to bolster their anti-EU credentials, are embroiled in fights with Brussels and other EU capitals over freedom of movement and immigration within the EU, and over Cameron’s insistence on rewriting the terms of Britain’s EU membership before putting a new deal to an in-out referendum by 2017, if he wins a second term next year. Cameron has set great store on campaigning to reduce the overall EU budget, arguing that at a time of austerity and spending cuts all across Europe, the Brussels pot could not remain immune. |
| Eurostat arrived at the €2.1bn figure on the basis of new methods of calculating member states’ GNI since 1995, taking account of previously unreported or under-reported black economy elements, such as drugs or the sex industry. Eurostat concluded that the UK economy has been doing much better than previously assumed since 1995, relative to other European countries, and that British contributions needed to be upped. | Eurostat arrived at the €2.1bn figure on the basis of new methods of calculating member states’ GNI since 1995, taking account of previously unreported or under-reported black economy elements, such as drugs or the sex industry. Eurostat concluded that the UK economy has been doing much better than previously assumed since 1995, relative to other European countries, and that British contributions needed to be upped. |
| “It changes the way contributions to the budget are calculated,” said Fiorilli. “Some member states have booming economies. Everyone can see the UK is growing much faster than others.” He also said that the commission and Eurostat use 1995 as the benchmark year for calculating the impact of GNI figures. “Member states including Britain insisted on this. It is their decision.” | “It changes the way contributions to the budget are calculated,” said Fiorilli. “Some member states have booming economies. Everyone can see the UK is growing much faster than others.” He also said that the commission and Eurostat use 1995 as the benchmark year for calculating the impact of GNI figures. “Member states including Britain insisted on this. It is their decision.” |
| The demand comes as part of what is known in Brussels as an amending budget proposal, a routine event that occurs regularly and is dependent on the ebb and flow of payments into the EU machine. There are a further six amending budgets on the table in Brussels, some of which may entail returning funds to Britain, meaning the overall bill could yet be cut. | The demand comes as part of what is known in Brussels as an amending budget proposal, a routine event that occurs regularly and is dependent on the ebb and flow of payments into the EU machine. There are a further six amending budgets on the table in Brussels, some of which may entail returning funds to Britain, meaning the overall bill could yet be cut. |
| While the €2.1bn bill is theoretically due by 1 December, the amending budget also has to be endorsed by the 28 governments of the EU and by the European parliament, meaning it could run into resistance if Britain is able to marshal enough allies and given that there are many European governments reluctant to hand an easy victory to those campaigning to take the UK out of the EU. | While the €2.1bn bill is theoretically due by 1 December, the amending budget also has to be endorsed by the 28 governments of the EU and by the European parliament, meaning it could run into resistance if Britain is able to marshal enough allies and given that there are many European governments reluctant to hand an easy victory to those campaigning to take the UK out of the EU. |
| But prominent Tory critics of Europe continued to demand that Cameron makes a stand. Conservative backbencher John Redwood said the surcharge “offended all our principles of natural justice and fair taxation”. | But prominent Tory critics of Europe continued to demand that Cameron makes a stand. Conservative backbencher John Redwood said the surcharge “offended all our principles of natural justice and fair taxation”. |
| “It is a very large increase in tax on the British people charged retrospectively without their agreement,” he told Radio 4’s Today programme. He suggested the UK should simply refuse to pay the extra amount and that parliament should be asked to pass a law declaring the payment illegal. | “It is a very large increase in tax on the British people charged retrospectively without their agreement,” he told Radio 4’s Today programme. He suggested the UK should simply refuse to pay the extra amount and that parliament should be asked to pass a law declaring the payment illegal. |
| “The British people will not want to send another £1.7bn to the European Union by a very big majority and so the British government just says it won’t pay,” he said. | “The British people will not want to send another £1.7bn to the European Union by a very big majority and so the British government just says it won’t pay,” he said. |