UK rejects 'appalling' EU demand for money
British Prime Minister David Cameron insists he will not pay an additional contribution to the European Union of 2.1 billion euros ($A3.15 billion) at a time of increasing pressure at home for the UK to leave the bloc.
Thumping his fist in frustration, Cameron said on Friday that "people should be in no doubt, as an important contributor to this organisation, we are not suddenly going to get out our cheque book and write a cheque for 2 billion euros. It is not happening."
Cameron said asking Britain for a top-up of some 20 per cent in its contributions on short notice "is an appalling way to behave. We are not paying that bill on the first of December."
The Netherlands too has been asked for a big top-up, of 642 million euros, which Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem called "extremely surprising, unpleasantly surprising."
The EU executive Commission said the demand stemmed from the fact that the economies of some countries, like Britain, have grown more than expected at the start of the year.
Cameron and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte already discussed a common protest at the EU summit, which ends on Friday. The Netherlands too is facing an increasingly vocal anti-EU camp.
Cameron said EU finance ministers would discuss the issue at an emergency meeting he had called for.
The EU's executive Commission said the calculations were an exercise, "a method approved by the member states," said spokesman Patrizio Fiorilli.
He said the gross domestic product of Britain and the Netherlands were "a lot higher than they thought themselves at the beginning of the year, so their contributions were revised upward."
Britain has seen a surge in the popularity of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which wants to get Britain out of the EU, claiming its bureaucracy is profligate.
"The EU is like a thirsty vampire feasting on UK taxpayers' blood. We need to protect the innocent victims, who are us," said UKIP leader Nigel Farage.
Cameron realised the political headache the EU demand would create as he tries to manage the anti-EU sentiment. "Is that helpful for Britain's membership of the EU? No it's not."
