There is a piece of gossip floating around Brussels. The gist of it is this: the British want to reduce the European Union budget to 85 percent of what it is today. That is to say, that the contributions from national governments should not exceed 0.85 percent of their national GDP, compared to the current one percent.
This would effectively mean shutting down quite a few EU projects. But instead of engaging in the traditional Brussels discussion of what such a reduction would mean and what policies would have to be forgotten, let us ponder another thought.
If the British really want to shrink the EU budget to 85 percent of what it is today, they should do it themselves and do not force others to do so.
Sure, why not. After all, the UK is already only about 85 percent part of the EU anyways. With all its opt-outs in economic, monetary, justice, migration and home policies, it is not a full member of the Union any more. Step by step over the past 20 years it has separated itself from the project more and more. Hence it's fine, the British should not pay 100 percent of what the others pay, they should pay less.
Did I forget something? Oh, yes. The British already pay less. After all there is this costly elephant, this...what is it called? The British rebate. The smaller and poorer nations of the EU are paying for the British Queen’s agricultural subsidies and are sponsoring research at Europe’s best universities, which happen to be located mostly…in the UK.
So, the deal is obvious: let the rebate go, and the UK pays 85 percent of what other states pay. It would not be a new rebate, though – the UK benefits should be also reduced to 85 percent of others’ benefits.
So, MEPs elected from the UK as well as EU officials with British passports would earn 85 percent of what their colleagues make. The farm subsidies would be reduced accordingly, and the sums allocated to the British universities and research centers would shrink by 15 percent.
After all, if Britain wants to be at a partial remove, let it be so. But there's no reason for the rest of the EU to subsidize this special treatment.
