Perhaps European Union leaders were afraid of what superpowers UK Prime Minister David Cameron had developed as a result of all the horse meat he’d accidently been ingesting, or maybe they actually agreed with him. Either way, the leaders of the 27 nation bloc responded to his urging for thrift by pledging to make the budget cuts he asked for.
Although Cameron’s demands for reduced spending were opposed by EU members like Italy and France, an all night discussion between the leaders brought them close to agreeing a spending ceiling of 960 billion Euros for the period 2014-2020. This is 34 billion less Euros than spent in the present budget cycle and considerably less than the 1.047 trillion Euros originally proposed. Britain also asked for a seven-year agreement on actual spending. This is usually agreed year by year.
When speaking to reporters prior to the summit Cameron asserted: ‘The numbers that were put forward were much too high. They need to come down, and if they don’t come down there won’t be a deal.’
Germany, the Netherlands and Nordic nations were in support of the UK’s desire for spending cuts.
It was the first time Cameron had been united with his fellow EU leaders since he promised UK voters a referendum on EU membership if he is re-elected. Although the PM has expressed his belief that the UK is better off within the EU he has acknowledged that some serious changes need to be made to the terms of membership.
Once agreements have been firmly reached the proposals will be handed over to the EU Parliament, but as the body has already stressed that it will veto any package it perceives to be too mean Cameron’s victory may come to little in the end.
Euro Exchange Rates
As of 12:22 pm
The Euro to Pound Sterling exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 0.8509
The Euro to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 1.3412
The Euro to Australian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 1.2976
The Euro to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 1.5993
The Euro to Canadian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 1.3376
The Euro to Emirati Dirham exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 4.9254
The Euro to Swiss Franc is currently trading in the region of 1.2295
The Euro to Japanese Yen exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 124.0250