EU hits back at Cameron after UK rejects payment demand
UK to fight EU demand 'in every way'
(about 3 hours later)
David Cameron will "open up a Pandora's box" if he refuses to pay an extra £1.7bn (2.1bn euros) demanded from the UK by the European Union, the EU budgets commissioner has warned.
David Cameron has told MPs the UK will not pay the extra £1.7bn demanded by the European Union, promising to challenge it "in every way possible".
Jacek Dominik said UK representatives had "never raised this issue with me".
The amount is based on a calculation of how well the economies of member states have fared since 1995.
The amount is based on a calculation of how well the economies of member states have fared since 1995.
Mr Cameron, who has said the sum is "totally unacceptable", promised to "fight" for the UK's interests.
But Mr Cameron said the amount set down and the 1 December payment deadline set by Brussels were "unacceptable".
He has insisted the extra money will not be paid by the 1 December deadline set by the EU.
Earlier, a top EU official said it would open a "Pandora's box" if the UK refused to pay.
Mr Cameron will face questions from MPs after he gives a House of Commons statement at 15:30 GMT on last week's meeting of EU leaders.
Labour leader Ed Miliband said the EU's handling of the matter had been "cack-handed", but asked whether the government had exercised "due diligence".
The top-up payment would add about a fifth to the UK's net EU contribution of £8.6bn for this year.
At a news conference in Brussels, Mr Dominik said Mr Cameron's reaction had "surprised", because "up to this moment there was no single signal from the UK administration that they had a problem with this figure".
He added that there had been "two formal possibilities to react" and that "at none of those meetings" did the UK "express any concern".
Mr Dominik said: "We all agree on the methodology and the elements that are included in the contributions and we simply apply them. Never in the past was there a situation that such a decision was changed and implementation regulations have been changed because one of the member states has contested and… it would be extremely difficult to do it."
He added that "if you open this act for future negotiations you open up a Pandora's box".
Late fines
Mr Dominik also said: "So I think that would be extremely difficult to explain to member states, why on Monday you like this data and on Tuesday you don't like it."
He warned that, if the money was not paid by 1 December, the European Commission would send the UK government a letter asking for reasons for the delay. There would "be a moment (if no response is delivered) that the Commission will start imposing late… fines".
Speaking during a visit to Leeds, Mr Cameron said: "We face tough battles in Europe because that's the nature of what you have to do."
He added: "I think Britain is best off in a reformed European Union - but you have to fight for those reforms. That means a fair deal over funding, a fair deal over migration, [it] means access to European markets, but these things aren't achieved without a fight."
