News Digest

UK claims ‘victory’ after getting $2.6bn EU bill reduced by half

Britain will pay the European Union just $1.3bn of the $2.6bn surcharge it had demanded, Chancellor George Osborne revealed on Friday. Speaking after meeting European finance ministers in Brussels, he added that the deal was “far beyond what anyone expected us to achieve”. The payment will now be split into two payments. On Twitter, Mr Osborne said: “As PM said EU bill unacceptable. Now we’ve halved the bill, delayed the bill & pay no interest on the bill. Result for Britain.”

EU rules will be changed forever so this never happens again.

UK Chancellor George Osborne

British Prime Minister David Cameron had earlier warned there would be a “major problem” if Brussels insists on Britain paying the $2.6bn bill in full. The PM went on the offensive after a meeting with other European leaders in Finland, saying Britain would not pay “anything like” the full amount ahead of a looming 1 December deadline. Mr Cameron said: “The two elements that I said were absolutely clear were that we wouldn’t pay two billion euros on December 1 and we didn’t believe in paying anything like that amount.”