EU Budget: Government's plan to cheat

As we know, Mr Cameron came home from Brussels the other week after his 'spectacular success' in holding down the 2011 EU budget to a 2.91% increase. This was against the concerted opposition of countries like Malta and institutions like the European Parliament.

Now, according to the EUObserver, the Polish MEP responsible for the Parliament's response this worsting has rather put a kibosh on Dave's celebration,

But Ms Jedrzejewska, who is responsible for drafting the Parliament's position on this matter, says that if the Parliament agreed to the 2.9 percent figure, more money would have to be added in "ammended budgets" throughout the course of next year.

"It's not an honest proposal and people who wrote the letter know it will be more in the end. They are just postponing payments," she said.

So that is somebody who knows what is actually going on, describing the British authored letter as 'not honest'.

Well who would have thunk it?
She goes on,

This tactic – already seen this year with no less than 10 amending budgets – increases the lack of transparency of EU accounts, which only leads to more lack of understanding from EU citizens, she argued.

"On one hand member states are asking us to cut payments for 2011, but on the other they are demanding supplements for 2010," Ms Jedrzejewska said.

Cameron is not taking this slur sitting down though,

"It is untrue to suggest we're acting dishonestly," a spokesperson for the UK government told this website.

"This is not about postponing payments and we're not privately planning to agree to further increases to the 2011 budget through amending budgets next year. That's wishful thinking on behalf of MEPs. Any future amending budgets should be about re-prioritising expenditure within these limits, not increasing them," he added.

Yeah right go and tell it to the ECJ