The news that the European Union has decreed that its Budget be increased by 4.9 percent in 2012 ties a knot in
the stomach, as I ponder an Easter weekend spent in Margate rather than Majorca due to austerity.
As Tim Montgomerie notes, the government is taking this opportunity to assert its euroscepticism. Stern communiqués are being worded; stark warnings are being issued. Behind the scenes, the government has joined with the Dutch, its closest ally on the Continent, to confront the avaricious Commission. Patrick Wintour reports that the French will also oppose the proposed Budget, and the Austrians, Danes, Swedes, Finns and Belgians are expected to lend their weight to the cause. The 2012 Budget will be a test of this frugal alliance, which hopes to restrict the EU’s 2013-2020 Budget round. (If they fail, then it’s likely that the government will have take firmer steps to quell dissent on the Tory backbenches.)
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