The UK’s £1.7 billion EU bill puts the country one step closer to a ‘Brexit’

In October 2014 the United Kingdom was asked to pay an extra £1.7bn to the EU budget by 1 December 2014 following a reassessment of the size of the British economy. Iain Begg writes that while the issue has generated an extremely hostile reaction from David Cameron, the data correction process used to arrive at the figure is well-known to the UK authorities and the recalculation should not have come as a surprise. He argues that Cameron’s approach to the EU is likely to provoke further disagreements, increasing the prospects of a Brexit.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: EU budget: UK ordered to pay extra €2.1bn by December http://www.europeansources.info/record/eu-budget-uk-ordered-to-pay-extra-e2-1bn-by-december/

Blog: OpenEurope, 28.10.14: Britain's £1.7bn budget bill: Who is to blame and what happens next? http://openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/britains-17bn-budget-bill-who-is-to.html

The Conversation, 30.10.14: How a £1.7 billion bill turned into a gift for David Cameron http://theconversation.com/how-a-1-7-billion-bill-turned-into-a-gift-for-david-cameron-33610

Blog: Open Europe, 31.10.14: When it comes to the EU budget, the bad news just keeps on coming http://openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/on-eu-budget-bad-news-just-keeps-on.html

FactCheckEU, 03.11.14: Nigel Farage Claims Britain's EU back-payment increased because of the black economy https://factcheckeu.org/factchecks/show/582/nigel-farage

The Conversation, 04.11.14: It is inconceivable that Cameron did not foresee EU budget changes – here’s why https://theconversation.com/it-is-inconceivable-that-cameron-did-not-foresee-eu-budget-changes-heres-why-33799

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