European Union governments' decision to limit the bloc's budget to a 2.8-per-cent increase next year will hamper economic recovery, Jose Manuel Barroso said Wednesday - ramping up a showdown over the issue, according to AP. "Just three weeks ago, we agreed at (a summit) that we will continue to do everything necessary to put Europe back on the path of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth," Barroso, the president of the European Commission, wrote in a letter to EU leaders. "Cutting the payment levels by more than 5 billion euros (6 billion dollars) in 2013 ... would be a false economy," he added. "It would have serious consequences for economic recovery as these cuts would affect regions, researchers or small and medium enterprises." The commission drafted a 2013 budget with payments amounting to 137.9 billion euros - a 6.8-per-cent increase over the previous year. It insists that the money is needed to fund projects approved by EU governments in the past.
