Britain rejected a new proposal by the European Union's presidency on Friday to cap its EU budget rebate, saying any change must be linked to reform of the bloc's farm subsidies, Reuters said. "It's clear that what the presidency is proposing doesn't clearly establish that link between any change to the rebate and reform of the budget, and the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) in particular," Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman said. Speaking after Blair had a private meeting with Luxembourg Prime Minister and EU president Jean-Claude Juncker, the spokesman said the plan also contained an unacceptable request for additional funds from Britain through a proposed change in the way the rebate is calculated from 2007. "The effect is we'd have to give more money than we'd have had to," the spokesman said, adding the proposal was no better than previous drafts, only "different". "It would mean agreeing to a change in the rebate now (from 2007) with an ambivalent commitment to reform," he said. "What we want is an express reference to the CAP." --More 2323 Local Time 2023 GMT
