The rhetoric Mr Cameron reacts with fury at the EU summit as he is presented with a demand to pay a €2.1bn budget surcharge to top up the EU’s budget by December 1. The prime minister describes himself as “downright angry” and characterises the presentation of the bill as an “appalling way to behave”. He insists the UK will not be paying it on December 1 The reality The Treasury was aware of a big upward revision to Britain’s national income by the Office for National Statistics. One Treasury minister was told about the changes on October 14, while the chancellor was told days ahead of the summit. While the bill looks large, it is a top-up to UK contributions covering 11 years and is in part a reflection of Britain’s strong economic performance. Officials are now querying the calculations but, in practice, the UK will settle some of this bill.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 07:08:22 +0000
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