Brussels, 02/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - After his meeting with the leaders of the Visegrad countries (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia) in Budapest on 2 December, Tony Blair repeated on the subject of the next financial perspectives that he was opposed to questioning the British cheque although he did say he was willing to finance a fair portion of enlargement costs. Blair also pointed out that the Council Presidency will, on 5 December, be presenting its compromise proposal for the financial framework 2007-2013, to be examined on 7 December by foreign ministers. Blair said at a press conference alongside his Hungarian counterpart Ferenc Gyurcsany that he was adamant about not giving up the rebate but also said that Britain must pay its fair quota of enlargement costs. In a letter to Tony Blair, the new EU Member States criticised the Presidency's intention to propose a 10% reduction in their structural funds (EUROPE 9077). The new countries cannot cover the cost of revising former compromises on their own, Mr Gyurcsany said on behalf of the Visegrad countries. When it comes to budget receipts, some rumours report that London agrees to deduct the share of structural actions reserved to the ten new Member States from the British cheque. France has already refused this idea which in no way settles the question of the British rebate. Also, the British press has criticised the concessions made in this respect by Blair.
On 1 December, Blair had met his counterparts from three Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in Tallinn. He said a better agreement would be that which gives a fundamental recasting of the European budget, so that, in future, money will be spent on things that make a difference to the dynamism, innovation and prosperity of our countries. Without fundamental reform in spending, including agricultural spending, he warned, the EU should be content with an overall smaller budget but it is important that there is the possibility of reviewing the European budget mid-term. Several Member States, however, with France and Germany in the lead, are opposed to questioning the 2002 agreement on fixing the amount of agriculture market spending for the period 2007-2013.