PM says Britain wants to place unfair burden on newcomers

Following talks on the EU budget in Budapest, Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said Britain's proposal to slash spending should affect all member states equally, not just the newcomers. He said that Britain now expected the newcomers to bear the greater part of the burden, an estimated 73 percent of the proposed cuts would be made at their expense. The leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia indicated during Friday's talks that they would be prepared to accept a small cut in the aid they receive from EU coffers in return for easier access to funding. However, the concessions they are prepared to make fall short of the cuts proposed by Britain. Money for regional development is considered essential for the newcomers to catch up with the old EU members.