15 December 2005
Commenting on the EU Budget negotiations, as the crunch Council meeting gets underway, DUP MEP JIM ALLISTER said:-
"Tony Blair should neither be bullied or cajoled into a Budget deal which falls short of the UK's needs. Whereas the pressure from those countries who for years have lived off the UK's large net contribution is immense, Blair's prime national duty is to defend the British Rebate and withstand the irrational demands of countries like Spain, which has grown fat on EU subsidies and still clings to cohesion funding under the 2007-2013 perspective. If these countries require a deal then the answer lies in their own hands - let them break their mindset of all take and no give. Blair, especially after a poor Presidency, is keen for a deal, possibly too keen; the danger is that he therefore concludes a bad deal. As he seeks to put in place his legacy, I trust he will not be the PM to go down in history as squandering Thatcher's rebate legacy."
EU Parliament
