Divorce, British Style
BNP Paribas | Nov 25, 2012 04:23AM ET
At least not with the UK…
The European Summit in Brussels regarding the EU budget for 2014-2020 does not look very good: at a time when the divergent national interests hardly seem to be reconcilable.
Once again, the United Kingdom decided to go it alone. Threatening to veto, Mr. Cameron is demanding no cuts to the UK’s rebate check (estimated at €3.6bn in 2013) and a freeze on European spending. A few days before presenting the 2013 budget to the House of Commons on 5 December, the Prime Minister has taken the political gamble of trying to win over the europhobic wing of his own party by openly defending the country’s national interests.
Yet against its will, the UK could end up convincing the other member countries to reach an agreement and find a compromise acceptable to those demanding a realistic budget during a time of crisis and those seeking to maintain the necessary solidarity between countries (the Cohesion Fund accounts for a third of the EU budget).
The summit risks experiencing a few twists and turns before the end of the weekend, and a decision could even be put off until early next year. As Tony Blair put it, the Northern Ireland peace process is a piece of cake compared to making a decision in the EU.
By Caroline NEWHOUSE
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