| Britain stand firm on rebate -- EU budget |
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BRUSSELS: Britain's foreign secretary Jack Straw has said all the European Union countries must make concessions on EU's long term budget. He said Britain will try its best to evolve an agreement next month on the 2007-2013 budget, which it had blocked in June refusing any cut in its annual refund unless it had an assurance on future cuts in farm subsidies.
The controversial British rebate, negotiated in 1984 by the prime minister Margaret Thatcher, is worth around 3 billion pounds a year. Straw is demanding promises of action on the common agricultural policy, and its subsidies to countries such as France.
Straw, who is in Brussels to attend a foreign ministers' meeting, said Britain is committed to doing everything to get a deal on the budget during its presidency.
"But a negotiation is a negotiation which requires movement by all sides, not just by one party which in this case happens to be the UK presidency."
A summit to discuss the budget is due in about three weeks, but Britain has not made any proposals on a package. It had repeatedly said it will make the proposal on the eve of the ministerial meeting on 7 December, leaving the members 10 days for discussions.
The majority of EU member states want the rebate scrapped, which will double Britain's contributions to the EU budget and cost the treasury an extra 18 billion pounds between 2007 and 2013.
The rebate was originally allowed on the premise that Britain receives comparatively little by way of subsidies for its agricultural sector, making it overall the second highest net contributor to the EU budget. Almost half of the entire EU budget (estimated 800 billion euros over the seven years) goes on farm support and the terms will come in for renegotiation only in 2013.
Many foreign ministers at the meeting criticised Britain's go-slow tactics on the budget and said Britain must be prepared for a compromise based on the proposal made at Luxembourg in June.
Any solution will depend on prime minister Tony Blair agreeing to give up part of the rebate. There is not much support for him on this account. It has been largely perceived that the British parliament considers that the Luxembourg proposal is not acceptable.
France is not willing to accept any reform on farm payments, saying a 2002 agreement had fixed agricultural spending at current levels of about 40 per cent of the EU budget until 2013.
France's foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told the foreign ministers at Brussels that his country does not favour a deal that aims at taking money away from those countries that had accepted the Luxembourg package and giving it to those who had rejected it -- Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland and Spain.
Analysts feel the impasse may lead to a situation whereby the EU could go back to its pre-1992 system of having annual budgets -- a nightmare characterised by last minute negotiations. And in the absence of an agreement, the current budget will be rolled over, with adjustments for inflation. It will mean that the British will have their rebate and the French their farm subsidies.
The worst affected in this situation will be the 10 new east European entrants to the EU, who are waiting for investments in transportation and environmental projects. Any new spending will be the last priority.
Posted
on : Tue, 22 Nov 2005 06:45 GMT | Politics News
By : Pippa Fielding
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