EU embarrassment: Moaning Merkel admits ‘tough and difficult’ times ahead after budget gap

The German chancellor cried of “very tough and difficult negotiations” on the new seven-year plan. She’s desperate that the EU needs a quick agreement to ensure that funding can start in 2021. But she worries if it’ll be easy. “I do not yet know whether this will be successful,” she said. “Because we feel that our concerns have not yet been sufficiently taken into account in many places.”

The European Council President Charles Michel, leading the talks, is proposing an overall budget of €1.09trn.

That figure is equal to 1.074 percent of the EU’s gross national income.

Germany, one of the highest contributors to the EU bloc, say however it’s too much for them to pay.

French President Emmanuel Macron has also moaned about EU state’s having to pay more: “It would be unacceptable to have a Europe that compensates for the departure of the British by reducing its own means.

“It will take the time needed to reach an ambitious agreement.

“This could take several hours, several nights, several days.”

Macron has loudly called for other member states to pour in cash, but has been quiet about how much France plans to contribute.

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The 27 EU leaders are squabbling about how to split the money.

The €1 trillion budget has seen a £62 billion shortfall since Britain left the EU, with the countries not knowing how to fill the pot.

Smaller countries like Hungary and Poland want larger countries to pay more, whereas Germany and France are calling for budget cuts.

Hungary and Poland may also fall foul of the “rule of law procedure,” which freezes funds for governments that breach the EU’s fundamental values like an independent judiciary.

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The complicated talks are set to continue on Friday, after a full day of disagreement and problems.

Macron earlier called for budget rebates to be scrapped after the UK’s departure.

The UK agreed to have rebates on their financial input under Margeret Thatcher, which has led some EU officials to say that the process is ‘archaic.’

Another EU official said: “Frugal countries obviously can’t have both 1 percent and rebates.”

The member states also discussed how best to barter with Britain to regain access to it’s oceans.

With the UK’s departure the EU is concerned over it’s own fishing industries losing work and needing support.

This also holds true with the UK’s financial management sector, based mainly in London.

Boris Johnson has been urged to not give any leverage in deates about these industries, which has EU trading officials in France and Germany worried.

French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian believes that the discussions over trade will be messy:

“I think that on trade issues and the mechanism for future relations, which we are going to start on, we are going to rip each other apart.

“But that is part of negotiations, everyone will defend their own interests.”

The EU hopes to have resolved it’s budget woes by next year.

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