Keep customs revenues yourself
The Netherlands also wants to keep the customs revenues itself that end up in the treasury via the port of Rotterdam. The European Union wants a part to flow to the treasury in Brussels.
According to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, time is running out. “If we don’t have an agreement before the end of the year, we can’t spend money.”
Michel is also optimistic after the failure of the discussions. “I think it is possible, because everyone wants to get out and everyone wants modernization.”
Irritation
Today, efforts were made throughout the day to find a solution. Prime Minister Rutte was involved in many of those attempts because he is the leader of what they call the frugal countries in Brussels. The attitude of these countries is said to be irritating, especially among net recipients, who receive more money from the EU than they spend on Europe.
Around 7 p.m. Michel put a compromise on the table, of which it soon became clear that the opinions differed too much. “The differences were just too big,” Prime Minister Rutte analyzed afterwards. “It is not a disaster. When the previous budget was drawn up in 2012, the first talks also failed and a few months later we agreed.”
Rutte is optimistic. “It’s soluble. We can get out, but I have no guarantees.”
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