THE TELEGRAPH: David Cameron is facing a fight with European leaders at his first summit next week over demands for Britain to have its budget vetted by the EU before it is presented to parliament.
He will refuse to sign up to plans, supported by all Europe's finance ministers except Britain's, in which officials would assess the "main assumptions" of a budget before it was seen by MPs and the public.
The "budgetary surveillance" demand will overshadow the prime minister's first EU meeting next Thursday and will put him at odds with Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor and Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President.
Herman Van Rompuy, the EU President, and the European Commission have proposed that all treasuries must discuss their budget plans with other European finance ministers and officials before they are presented to national parliaments.
Mr Van Rompuy said: "The main assumptions underlying the budgetary plans, like the levels of growth or inflation, would be examined. So would the main aggregates, like total revenues, total spending and deficit targets.
"A government presenting a budgetary plan with a high deficit will have to justify itself in front of its peers. There would still be time to adjust the plans before the final budget is presented."
Mr Van Rompuy has defended the plan saying it will help national parliaments to better judge complicated budgets. "A national parliament would be able to judge its governments' budget plans knowing fully their credibility," he said.
The measure is intended to prevent a repeat of the Greek debt crisis and to help the EU police rules, applying to all 27 member states, limiting public spending in order to safeguard the euro. >>> Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Tuesday, June 08, 2010
