Blair's Parting Gift
UK payments to EU 'will double' | Economics | Business | Money | Telegraph
Britain's net payments to Brussels will double to £6.4bn within four years, according to fresh figures from the Treasury, reflecting the country's rising affluence and the cost of subsidies to Eastern Europe.
The chief underlying cause is a summit deal struck by Tony Blair in December 2005 to slash the UK's rebate by exempting the new member states, in perpetuity.
The data, uncovered by the think-tank Global Vision, shows that Britain's average net payments will rise sharply from £3.27bn a year over the last decade to around £6.4bn during the period from 2011 to 2014.
And that is just the direct cost to us.....
