EU budget to be €29 billion more than agreed at summit

THE European Union’s budget will be €29 billion bigger than everyone thought when it was agreed at a summit hosted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair last December, it was claimed yesterday.

EU budget Commissioner Dalia Grybauskaite used an interview with a Brussels magazine to insist that all the published figures so far have been inaccurate.

The news will not just be a surprise for Mr Blair, who gave up £7 billion (€10bn) from the British rebate in order to win a deal on euro spending for 2007-13.