British Prime Minister Tony Blair today made clear his determination to resist calls from France for Britain to give up all or part of its £3 billion a year European Union rebate.
Mr Blair brushed off calls from French President Jacques Chirac for the UK to make a "gesture of European solidarity" by accepting a compromise in the row over the cash payback, first secured by Margaret Thatcher 21 years ago.
Mr Blair pointed out that, without its rebate, Britain would be paying 15 times as much as France into the EU's budget.
Speaking at 10 Downing Street following talks with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Mr Blair said: "Britain has been making a gesture, because over the past 10 years, even with the British rebate, we have been making a contribution into Europe two and half times that of France.
"Without the rebate, it would have been 15 times as much as France. That is our gesture.
"The reason why the rebate exists is because otherwise there would be this quite unfair proportion of British contribution. The reason for the unfairness is because the spending of Europe is so geared to the Common Agricultural Policy.
"My view is that if we want a debate on future financing, one part of that has got to be what Europe needs to spend its money on to prepare Europe for the 21st Century, which is not the same as Europe 30 or 40 years ago."