Brussels, 09/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - “People are working to reach an agreement, but there will be extremely tough negotiations and very limited room for manoeuvre, for us as well", said British Prime Minister Tony Blair, speaking in London on 9 December, having met 11 of his EU counterparts in 24 hours, to try to reach a solution to the dossier of the forthcoming financial perspectives. Mr Blair said that he could not accept any agreement on the financial perspectives without the prospect that the whole of the budget, including agricultural expenditure, be re-examined mid-term. "At the very least, we must ensure that the EU is in a position to tell us how the money is to be spent and to leave the possibility open for change during the second half" of the period 2007-2013, Mr Blair added. The UK Presidency will unveil its second proposed compromise on Tuesday evening or Wednesday, which will then be discussed by the European Council on 15 and 16 December in Brussels. Mr Blair stressed that if the European Council fails to reach an agreement at the end of the year, a solution on this dossier will be even harder to find over the next two years.
On 9 December, Mr Blair held telephone conversations with his Belgian, Luxembourg and Austrian opposite numbers, and held meetings in London with the Irish, Greek and Spanish Prime Ministers, and with the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso. The day before, Mr Blair received his counterparts from Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia and the Netherlands. After his meeting with Tony Blair, the Swedish Prime Minister, Göran Persson, said that he was very optimistic, stating: "there are good chances of reaching an agreement on the budget".
The first compromise of the Presidency provided for a reduction of 13 billion EUR in the structural funds in favour of the new Member States, which was felt to be unacceptable by the countries affected, particularly Poland.
But it is most of all the EU's ability to agree on a formula to reduce the British rebate which will allow the European Council to conclude an agreement on the whole of the dossier. With the exception of the United Kingdom and the four countries which have, since the European Council of Berlin in 1999, enjoyed reduced contributions to the funding of the reddish rebate (Germany, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands), the (10) other countries of the EU of 15, particularly France, Italy and Spain, feel that the original offer for the reduction of the British rebate by 8 billion EUR is way too low. These 10 countries are calling for changes to the decision on own resources, in order to put an end to the increase of the rebate granted to the United Kingdom. Germany, whose contribution to the British rebate still covers 7% of it, has shown solidarity with these 10 Member States.
The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, speaking in London on 9 December, said that an agreement on the dossier of the European Council was possible, "if everybody makes an effort". "It is possible, if there is a real effort (...), that we will reach an agreement which is good for Europe (...) and which will avoid paralysis", said Mr Barroso after his meeting with Tony Blair. "It will be very difficult, but it is possible, and I hope we will have the result next week", he added. Mr Barroso gave the impression that he was more optimistic, "because I know that there will be further proposals". The previous ones "were not acceptable, I hope that the next proposals will go in the right direction", he said, calling upon "everybody to make concessions". He added that "the UK Presidency has a particular responsibility", and observed that "it is very much in the interests of the United Kingdom to have this success during their Presidency, to support their vision of an enlarged Europe, which is open and turned towards reform". Having met the French President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin in Paris on 8 December, he stressed that he hoped that "France and Germany would be able to support an agreement".
The new German Chancellor, Angela Merkel and Jacques Chirac took pains, in Berlin on 8 December, to bring their positions into line. Mr Chirac reiterated that the current proposal is "unsatisfactory" for France. He felt that it was "of vital importance for each of the Member States to take a fair share of the costs of the enlargement" of the EU, which, he feels, presupposes "changes to the mechanism of the British rebate", which is "outdated". Ms Merkel also felt that the initial compromise on the British rebate was unsatisfactory, but warned against making "overly restrictive" proposals. Germany, which had supported the compromise put forward by the Luxembourg Presidency in June, cannot but be interested in a proposal which allows its contribution to the budget of the EU to be reduced still further, by dint of a more reduced volume of expenditure. The Chancellor noted that "it is sometimes better not to isolate a particular parameter (...) when in the preparatory phases of negotiations". She showed determination to reach an agreement, whilst admitting that there is "still a lot of work to be done". In Ms Merkel's view, "one good thing is the fact that the UK Presidency's proposal includes elements relating to the British rebate". On Wednesday 7 December, the German Minister for foreign affairs, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, described the proposal as a "working basis, which we can discuss in order to reach an agreement". Paris is calling for the reduction in the British rebate to be increased to 14 billion EUR, instead of the 8 billion proposed, and stresses that this reduction must also apply post- 2013.