EU leaders were facing budget chaos today at a bruising first summit since Brexit as four wealthy nations refused to fill the gap left by Britain's departure.
The 27 leaders reached a stalemate after arguing into the early hours in Brussels, with talks on the trillion-euro budget resuming for a second day today and this afternoon there was still deadlock.
The UK's departure has left the bloc with a €75billion (£63billion) hole in its finances over seven years and the budget battle has exposed bitter divisions between EU members.
Germany wants to spend more on climate change while France is seeking more money for a joint defence, with poorer nations determined to keep their generous EU payouts.
But the so-called 'frugal four' of Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden are unwilling to pay more to plug the gap.
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, who came prepared for a long-haul summit by carrying a biography of Frederic Chopin, said he did 'not plan to put my signature' to the latest compromise proposal.
EU figures are seeking a figure of 1.08 per cent of the bloc's combined GDP to cover the six years from 2021 to 2027, but the frugal nations are unwilling to go above the current 1 per cent.
Meanwhile nations that receive 'cohesion funds' want more still, with authoritarian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban telling reporters today they want 'at least 1.3 per cent or close to that.'
The UK's departure last month meant it was not dragged into the row over money that would have been sure to spark fury among eurosceptics.
The 27-member bloc's unity during Brexit negotiations has given way to fractious talks on its future after Britain finally left on January 31.
A frustrated Czech prime minister Andrej Babis said there was 'no point continuing the summit' if the 'Frugal Four' refused to increase their contributions.
'If the group of four rich countries Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria insist, we can go straight home,' Babis said today.
The Frugal Four are unwilling to pay more to fill the Brexit gap, while Germany is also wary of a spiralling budget.
'The bilaterals took forever. But it seems things have not moved, the frugals keep on insisting on their position,' one diplomat said on Friday morning.
However, the poorer southern and eastern European nations want to keep generous EU funds coming regardless of Brexit.
French leader Emmanuel Macron has backed calls to resist spending cuts, saying it would be 'unacceptable' to 'compensate the departure of the British by reducing spending'.
European Council chief Charles Michel has tabled a draft budget of €1.09trillion, which represents 1.074 per cent of gross national income of EU27 countries.
The current long-term budget for 2014-2020 is €1.08trillion, which represents 1.02 per cent of gross national income for the EU28, before Britain's departure.
More at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...get-talks.html
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