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British PM Must Not Kick EU Budget into the Long Grass
Friday August 5 2005
PM must show leadership and tackle difficult issues, not avoid them
The British Prime Minister must not shirk his responsibility to get a budget deal for the EU during his Presidency of the Council of Ministers, according to Timothy Kirkhope MEP, Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament.
Mr Kirkhope's comments came after reports circulated on German news agencies suggesting the PM could be planning to cancel the traditional Autumn EU summit in favour of an informal debate on the future of the European social model.
The Council was set to agree a new budget in June but the summit broke up without reaching agreement.
Mr Kirkhope said:
"If these reports are true, the British Prime Minister would be surrendering a golden opportunity to implement tangible reform of the EU by not even trying to get a budget deal during the UK Presidency.
"The Prime Minister cannot adopt a hole-in-the-wall approach to the issues that should be confronted. There does need to be a debate on the future of the social model in the EU, which has clearly failed. However, any such discussion should be complimentary to the vital debate on the budget and the constitution, rather than instead of them.
"The Prime Minister is only a few weeks into his Presidency and already he seems to be kicking important issues like the budget and the constitution into the long grass. If the Prime Minister does not even attempt to tackle these tough topics whilst he holds the Presidency in Europe, then he will have demonstrated a notable failure of leadership and we will have lost a golden opportunity to reform the EU."
ENDS
