EU Member States fume as eurocrats unveil £1.1TRILLION budget including a hike in foreign aid
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the 'unacceptable' proposals would leave his country forking out too high a share of the bill
BRUSSELS unveiled plans to hike foreign aid spending by a quarter yesterday as a huge row broke out between Member States over how to plug the bloc’s post-Brexit blackhole.
Eurocrats want to splurge £108 billion on overseas development as part of a seven year budget plan that would soar from £955 billion to a whopping £1.1 TRILLION.
They also tabled proposals for an eightfold spending on border force and coast guard by and pledged £616 million for free Interrail tickets for 18-year-olds.
The budget would be the first round AFTER Britain leaves the EU.
Eurocrats yesterday said remaining member states would see their contributions as a proportion of national income rocket by almost 10%.
Dutch PM Mark Rutte branded the proposals “unacceptable” and said they would leave his country “paying too high a share of the bill”.
He raged: “A smaller EU as a result of Brexit should also mean a smaller budget. That entails making clearer choices and spending less.”
Denmark’s leader Lars Rasmussen added: “The Commission presented an EU budget the size of 28 Member States, but we are only 27 to finance it. A smaller EU should mean a smaller budget.”
Budget commissioner Gunther Oettinger admitted the new plan could cost German taxpayers an extra £10.5 billion a year.
Meanwhile, eurocrats’ proposals to link future budget payments to Member States upholding basic European values caused uproar in the East.
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And France was left furious over proposed 5% cuts to farming. Agriculture minister Stephane Travert fumed: “Such a drastic, massive and blind cut is simply unthinkable.”
But Ireland’s commissioner Phil Hogan couldn’t resist a dig at Brexit, saying: “The UK farmers will look at this very jealously and see what they’re missing post-2020.”