This was Tony Blairs view, that ‘very difficult negotiations lie ahead’ on the EU budget. You bet they do. Just look at the list of proposals:
- a cut in the seven-year EU budget to roughly €850bn, or 1.03 per cent of the union’s GDP;
- Britain would give up part of its rebate: €6bn-€9bn is the working figure used by officials;
- cuts of “no more than 10 per cent” to the €160bn of EU aid earmarked for new members in eastern Europe;
- cuts of about €5bn to rural development aid;
- a review of all EU spending in 2009, including farm support.
Feed: A Fistful of Euros