European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned Britain today not to reverse the legend of Robin Hood by robbing poor new east European members to pay the rich in the European Union's budget.
Germany, by far the biggest net contributor to EU coffers, meanwhile said its national budget problems were so serious that it could not carry more of the European financial burden.
Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said Mr Barroso had had a long and "very frank" exchange of views with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is working on a proposal to try to clinch a deal on the long-term budget at a mid-December summit.
"You all know the old story of Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham. The president has made it very clear that he does not expect the British presidency to take the role of the Sheriff of Nottingham, taking from the poor to give to the rich," Mr Laitenberger told a news conference.
Diplomats have said that Britain plans to cut proposed aid to the 10 mainly former Communist new member states that joined the EU last year to ease the financial burden on rich net contributors, including itself.
They said London was considering a 10 per cent cut in so-called structural and cohesion funds in the 2007-2013 budget to reduce payments by Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden and salvage more of its own annual rebate from Brussels.
Mr Blair travels to Estonia and Hungary on Thursday and Friday for what are set to be tense meetings with the leaders of seven of the new member states - Britain's pro-American political allies - who have voiced alarm at London's intentions.