Brussels, 14/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - My first impression of the UK's new EU budget plan is that it 'is simply not enough' explained European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to reporters on Wednesday afternoon (see other article), warning that 'a deal is needed and possible' but must be 'ambitious and fair'. Asked about the British rebate, Barroso said that it was too early to realistically negotiate over links between the rebate and reform of the CAP, but what was possible and reasonable was to adjust the rebate to allow the enlarged EU to continue to function. Pointing out that he himself had suggested a budget review clause in June this year, Barroso said he thought the talks would be in two stages - firstly adjusting the British rebate, and then negotiating major changes to the budget. The UK's new budget plan is far from satisfactory, said Barroso, adding that he was disappointed and now concerned (more so than three or four days ago) but still determined to succeed. He said that failure to agree would send a very negative message about the EU being deadlocked and this would present genuine dangers for enlargement and trade. Asked whether Macedonia would be granted candidate country status if there was failure to agree on the Financial Perspectives, Barroso said he didn't like to speculate, but the EU would clearly not be credible about future enlargement or the Balkans if it couldn't agree on funding the EU25. Conceding that the new British deal included some very small changes, Barroso said it would certainly not be the last plan on the table and the real negotiation would start at the Summit. Asked if he feared being isolated if Member States reached agreement, Barroso said he was delighted to be able to defend the overall EU interest and wasn't there to make himself liked by heads of state. It is not a matter of giving Member States sweeteners, he said, but rather of not destroying European solidarity.
On the other subjects on the agenda for the European Council later this month, Barroso mentioned immigration, explaining that the European Commission was arguing in favour of a transversal approach based on prosperity, solidarity and security, and would be discussing a document on legal immigration next week. On counter-terrorism, he said the Commission backed the strategy it expected the Summit to endorse, hoping that the instruments recommended by the Commission would be approved and applied asap (information exchange, database interoperability, protection of critical infrastructure and the data retention directive: see other article).