Europe
        

Top News

France, Germany, UK, others urge EU budget freeze

Updated: 2010-12-18 20:32

(Agencies)

Twitter Facebook Myspace Yahoo! Linkedin Mixx

PARIS - Britain, France, Germany, Finland and the Netherlands called on Saturday for the EU budget to be frozen until at least 2020, in a joint letter to the European Commission.

Related readings:
France, Germany, UK, others urge EU budget freeze EU president sees no need to boost rescue fund
France, Germany, UK, others urge EU budget freeze The euro at mid-crisis
France, Germany, UK, others urge EU budget freeze EU agrees to back Russia's WTO entry
France, Germany, UK, others urge EU budget freeze EU to back Irish bailout, sketch long-term solution

The letter, addressed to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, said that the European Union's joint budget should not grow faster than the rate of inflation in the bloc's post-2013 long-term budget.

"European public spending can not be exempted from member states' considerable efforts to get their public spending under control," the letter, which was released by the French presidency, said.

The EU's 27 countries will start talks in mid-2011 on the long-term budget, which runs from 2014 until 2020 or longer.

Next year's budget is worth 126.5 billion euros, with more than 40 percent of it going on agriculture and a third on aid to poor regions.

The joint letter was signed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Finnish Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi.

Cameron used an EU summit in Brussels on Friday to drum up support for a leaner budget, telling reporters that the bloc "needed real budgetary restraint".

However, efforts to agree a tighter budget are likely to run up against stiff opposition from poorer eastern European countries that currently benefit most from EU largesse and Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his country would resist cuts.

E-paper

Ear We Go

China and the world set to embrace the merciful, peaceful year of rabbit

Preview of the coming issue
Carrefour finds the going tough in China
Maid to Order

European Edition

Specials

Mysteries written in blood

Historical records and Caucasian features of locals suggest link with Roman Empire.

Winning Charm

Coastal Yantai banks on little things that matter to grow

New rules to hit property market

The State Council launched a new round of measures to rein in property prices.

Top 10 of 2010
China Daily in Europe
The Confucius connection