Truth Uncovered On EU Budgets. Professor Congdon.

In February 2013 even The Daily Express was conned into believing that supposedly ‘tough-talking’ Cameron had, for the first time, secured a meaningful reduction in the five-year EU Budget.[i] The truth dawned a few weeks later when it turned out that EU finance ministers had agreed a £6.2 billion rise in spending, above previously agree plans, in one year! That decision, which the UK did not have enough votes to stop, implied an extra £770 million on its 2013 payments to the EU.[ii] In December 2013 the five-year Budget was changed again, adding an extra £10 billion to the UK’s commitment until 2018.[iii] Still worse was to follow. In March 2014 EU Budget commissioner, Janusz Lewandowski, said that EU institutions had overspent their budget allocations by £20 billion in 2013![iv]

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[i] Macer Hall ‘Tough-talking David Cameron forces through first ever EU budget cut’, Daily Express, 9^th February 2013. To quote from the story, ‘David  Cameron was celebrating a spectacular and historic diplomatic triumph last night after forcing the European Union’s first ever budget cut.’

[ii] Matt Chorley ‘Britain loses EU budget battle’, Daily Mail, 15^th May 2013.

[iii] Matthew Holehouse ‘Britain’s EU contribution to jump by £10bn as taxpayers carry burden of ailing eurozone’, The Daily Telegraph, 5^th December 2013.

[iv] Matt Chorley ‘Anger as Europe demands an extra £2.5 billion from Britain to plug another blackhole in the EU's budget’, Daily Mail, 4^th March 2014.