The European Commission proposed a bigger new multi-year budget on Wednesday that will trigger battles among member states over how to fill the funding gap left by Britain’s exit next year.
The Dutch led the charge for rich northern states unwilling to step into the Brexit breach: “A smaller EU … should have a smaller budget,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.
Against that, France’s agriculture minister called it “simply unthinkable” to shave 5 percent off Brussels’ hefty spending on farm subsidies.