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EU seeks deal in UK budget row

November 7, 2014

EU finance ministers are preparing a compromise to settle a dispute with London over higher British payments to the EU budget. Prime Minister David Cameron refuses to pay the extra bill, calling it "unacceptable."

https://p.dw.com/p/1DipU
EU Gipfel Brüssel 16.7.2014 Cameron
Image: Reuters

Ahead of a meeting in Brussels on Friday, some EU finance ministers said they were convinced a compromise with London over 2.1 billion euros ($2.5 billion) in additional contributions to the EU budget could be reached.

Under new EU calculations released last month, Britain is asked to provide the additional funding to Brussels because of higher-than-expected growth this year. London was given until December 1 to foot the bill.

Facing pressure from Britain's euroskeptics ahead of a November 20 local election, Prime Minister David Cameron lambasted Brussels last week, saying he would not pay the top-up bill.

"If people think I am, they've got another think coming. It is not going to happen," he told a news conference.

The revised calculation was a routine statistical exercise, Brussels insisted, which followed a decision by EU governments and was based on their national data. Apart from Britain, Italy and even recession-plagued Greece have to make higher contributions, while France and Germany would get rebates.

Grace period

Following Cameron's stern rebuff, several finance ministers have stepped forward expressing their willingness to seek a compromise with London.

"I think we can find solutions that will allow everyone to pay what they have to pay, but under respectful conditions," French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said Thursday.

Even Germany's no-frills finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble# expects the situation to "calm down," even though he described Cameron's reaction as "fierce" and "politically driven."

One compromise being explored by diplomats is for London to pay the bill in installments.

Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan already said he had "no objection" to stretching the payment over 2015, while his Austrian counterpart Hans-Jörg Schelling finds all solutions that achieve a good outcome "imaginable."

A source within the Italian EU presidency told the German news agency dpa that there was "widespread willingness and determination" to find a compromise.

A potential sticking point, however, is the fact that granting Britain a grace period for the payment would require a legislative change to the EU's rules - a process which could take months to complete.

uhe/ng (dpa, Reuters, AP)