British taxpayers face an extra European Union bill of £384 million (€519m) next year after MEPs moved against national governments today to reverse cuts to Brussels budgets by increasing spending.
National budget ministers agreed an EU budget for 2016 of €142.1 billion in July, cutting the European Commission’s original proposal by €1.4 billion.
In a move that heralds a fierce fight for David Cameron, the European parliament’s budget committee has reversed the cuts and increased spending by an additional €3 billion, a demand that will be rubber-stamped by MEPs next month.
The increase, to €146.5 billion, would take Britain’s EU contributions for next year to over £12.5 billion (€17 billion) at a time when the prime minister is trying to hold down Brussels spending ahead