« on: June 17, 2005, 12:37:19 PM »
France blinked first.
Mr Blair has said he will only budge on the £3b-a-year rebate if the EU agrees to reform its farm aid system, which hugely benefits France.
The French President told European leaders any attempts to cut French farm subsidies is "unacceptable" because a deal agreed in 2002 is binding until 2013.
"Each country must contribute to the European effort in proportion to their means," he said.
The UK is the EU's second biggest paymaster and, even with the rebate, pays two and a half times as much as France in EU running costs.
French President Jacques Chirac has agreed to accept a freeze on Britain's EU rebate as a compromise in the crisis.
Link: -
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13372096,00.html
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