CHIRAC ATTACKS EC COMMISSION BUDGET PROPOSALS
Prime Minister Jacques Chirac has attacked
budget proposals made by the European Community's executive
Commission, saying they ignore efforts to cut spending, and
added that divisions over the issue would be hard to resolve at
this week's EC summit.
    The Commission has proposed radical changes in the way the
member countries contribute to the budget, suggesting payments
should be linked to economic output instead of tax revenue.
    But the richer northern nations such as Britain, West
Germany and France are insisting on stricter spending controls
before agreeing to any reform.
    "The proposals of the Commission, at the level they are
being made, are not compatible with the efforts which each of
our nations is making to reduce spending ... Therefore there is
a big problem," Chirac said in a radio interview.
    EC leaders would also try to resolve a dispute on reforms
of agricultural spending, largely to blame for an expected 5.7
billion dlr shortfall in the EC budget this year.
    Chirac said that West Germany, under pressure from its
powerful farm lobby, was alone in opposing reforms to the
common agricultural policy, while France shared a common
position on the issue with the 10 other EC states.
 Reuter
