Why the emphasis on “like-sized” countries?
Possibly because the countries that make the largest net contribution, as a proportion of their GNI, are not the UK’s size. They are the Netherlands and Sweden, which are much smaller, and Germany, which is significantly larger. Why is the UK suggesting reducing the overall level of spending? The main net contributor countries, including the UK, have long been keen on controlling EU spending. WHERE THE MONEY GOES How the EU budget is spent Mr Blair has said he would have preferred a “large deal”, which would brought fundamental changes to the budget. Since that does not appear to be possible, he is seeking a “small deal”, reducing its size. The UK’s proposal sets the EU budget at 1.03% of EU gross national income, or 849bn euros. The Luxembourg proposal would have set it at 1.06%, or 871 billion euros. The European Commission originally proposed a one-trillion-euro budget. Why is the UK proposing a cut in development aid to new member states? The UK would have preferred to cut agricult
