David Cameron under fire over his promise on EU budget

[Phoenix One]

DAVID CAMERON UNDER FIRE OVER HIS PROMISE ON EU BUDGET

 

Wednesday November 10,2010

By Alison Little, Deputy Political Editor

 

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(10)

 

DAVID Cameron was forced yesterday to fend off a claim of dishonesty over his pledge to hold down next year’s increase in the EU budget.

 

A key player in crunch talks starting tomorrow about the 2011 settlement claimed governments demanding a 2.9 per cent limit knew full well more cash would still have to be found.

 

The accusation came from MEP chief negotiator. Sidonia Jedrzejewska, of the Polish centre-Right.

 

She said member states *supporting a 2.9 per cent deal knew extra cash would have to be added during the year to meet existing *commitments, through “amended budgets” to pay for things such as *pensions for retired eurocrats.

 

“It is not an honest proposal. People who wrote the letter know it will be more in the end. They are just postponing payments,” she claimed.

 

She said “putting a stop” on the EU budget meant capping “ambition” too, adding: “You can’t have more for less.”

 

A British Government spokesman denied dishonesty, insisting: “The UK is determined to go no higher than 2.9 per cent.

 

“This is not about postponing payments and we are not privately planning to agree to further increases to the 2011 budget through amending budgets next year. That is wishful thinking on behalf of MEPs. Any future amending of budgets should be about re-prioritising expenditure within these limits, not increasing them.”

 

His denial came as a new poll underlined the depth of British taxpayers’ anger at the EU’s continuing cost.

 

And there was cast-iron proof over the poor state of EU finances as *auditors refused it a clean bill of health for the 16th year running.

 

The European Court of Auditors said key areas in the £88billion budget were still “materially affected by error”.

 

Nearly three quarters of people think the £48million a day that Britain sends to Brussels would be better spent here to ease the pain of the coalition’s *public spending cuts. Some 68 per cent of those polled by ComRes for the EU Referendum Campaign agreed Britain should demand an “immediate reduction in its £17billion a year *contribution to the EU budget.

 

This figure “does not take into account the UK rebate which other EU countries want to scrap”. Only 23 per cent thought Britain got good value for money from the EU.

 

The campaign’s James Pryor said: “This confirms the disconnect between the political elite and real people.”

 

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/210633/David-Cameron-under-fire-over-his-promise-on-EU-budget

 

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Note there is a backbench revolt against growing against Cameron, which also made headlines.

 

Further, note you can fllow the "EU economic policy debate" on http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_commons/newsid_9173000/9173317.stm

 

Quote:

 

Watch live coverage of the debate on EU economic policy coordination from about 7pm on 10 November 2010.

 

Peers will debate and vote on a motion to approve several European Documents relating to economic policy coordination.

 

EU finance ministers met in June to establish ways to tackle excessive government debt.

 

A rescue scheme for debt-ridden eurozone states was agreed and plans to allow greater scrutiny of national budgets, at a European level, were discussed.

 

The government has said British budgets will go before Parliament first.

 

The regulations due to be debated by MPs seek to enhance EU economic government, speed up the implementation of the EU's excessive deficits procedure, introduce budgetary frameworks for member states together with surveillance and co-ordination of economic policies, and prevent and correct macro-economic imbalances in the euro area.

 

Amendments

 

Three Tory MPs have tabled separate amendments to motion.

 

Bill Cash's amendment warns that the regulations "will clearly affect the UK" and calls on the government to veto, or hold a referendum on, future EU treaties which will affect the UK's parliamentary sovereignty.

 

Douglas Carswell's amendment has attracted similar support, mainly from Conservatives but there are a few Labour signatories and one Lib Dem.

 

It calls for the UK's Permanent Representative to the EU to appear at the Bar of the House to explain how the government's objective to ensure that the EU does not legislate to take a role in British budgets, will be achieved in EU negotiations.

 

And an amendment by Edward Leigh calls on the government to veto proposed economic governance arrangements "until powers over national economic policy are fully repatriated to the UK".

 

Unquote.

 

Note link includes video footage.

[mj.scuba]

I admire your persistance Pheonix One. Do you think we should exit the EU?

[Phoenix One]

I admire your persistance Pheonix One. Do you think we should exit the EU?

 

Yep!

[mj.scuba]

Yep!

 

And what say you to the doom mongers that would have us think trade with Europe will come to an immediate end if we exit the EU?

[Phoenix One]

And what say you to the doom mongers that would have us think trade with Europe will come to an immediate end if we exit the EU?

 

One word, RUBBISH!

[mj.scuba]

I think Cameron did alright on the EU budget a few weeks back. The bigger debate is about what our money gets squandered on, why there is any need for all the farming subsidies, and whether we should be paying anything at all and maybe we'd be better off keeping the £billions we give to the EU within our own borders.