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For now,
the EU budget talks have collapsed.
One major problem is
cross agendas. All 27 nations have to agree to
budget changes, and disputes are many.
The BBC reports hours of hard bargaining
await.
Countries that rely
heavily on EU funding, including Poland and its ex-communist neighbours, want current spending levels maintained or raised.
The UK and some other net
contributors say cuts have to be made. At stake are 973bn euros
(£782.5bn; $1,245bn).
France objects to the proposed
cuts in agriculture, while
countries in Central and Eastern Europe oppose cuts to cohesion spending - that is, EU money that helps to improve infrastructure
in poorer regions.
They are the biggest
budget items. The Van Rompuy plan envisages 309.5bn
euros for cohesion (32% of total spending) and 364.5bn euros for agriculture (37.5%).
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
says another summit may be
necessary early next year if no deal can be reached
in Brussels now.
In a speech to the European Parliament
on Wednesday, the EU Commission President,
Jose Manuel Barroso, complained, "No one is discussing the quality of investments, it's all cut, cut, cut."
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that he
may use his veto if other EU countries call for any
rise in EU spending. The Netherlands and Sweden back his call for a freeze in spending, allowing for
inflation.
Any of the 27 countries can
veto a deal, and the European Parliament
will also have to vote on
the MFF even if a deal is
reached.
Failure to agree would mean rolling
over the 2013 budget into 2014 on a month-by-month basis, putting some long-term projects at risk.
If that were to happen it could
leave Mr Cameron in a worse
position, because the 2013 budget is bigger than
the preceding years of
the 2007-2013 MFF. So the UK government could end up with an EU budget higher than what
it will accept now.
"No One Is Discussing Quality"
Barroso complains "No One Is Discussing Quality".
I for one am happy to discuss
quality. There isn't any.
The agricultural subsidies are a joke, primarily aimed at propping up inefficient farms in France at the expense of higher costs for everyone. Those subsides should be cut to zero
immediately.
And precisely why should the UK or anyone else contribute to
infrastructure building in Poland? At what cost?
Who determines quality?
Questions abound.
Pray tell, what is the basis for Barroso's statement "it's all cut, cut, cut"?
Point blank, there isn't any. There has never been a cut in the EU's budget in history and
Barroso is actually bitching about a freeze at a time the Brussels' nannycrats
are imposing huge austerity programs on Greece,
Spain, Portugal, and Ireland.
Best Case Scenario
The best case scenario is the talks
collapse, the EU raises the budget, and in response the UK tells the EU to go to hell
and exits the EU.
We can hope.
Read more at http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/#pcm6U3GVTzczKxCf.99
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