Denmark to veto EU budget unless it gets rebate: PM

(COPENHAGEN) - Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt warned Thursday that she would veto the EU's 2014-2020 budget proposal if Denmark does not receive a one billion kroner (134 million euros, 174 million dollar) rebate.

"Our key message to the other countries and what we are fighting for, is that we have to have a discount, and that we do not wish to pay other rich countries' rebates," she told the Danish parliamentary committee on European affairs.

Denmark currently has no rebate or discount on its contribution to the European Union's budget.

Thorning-Schmidt, a social democrat, made her announcement after British Prime Minister David Cameron last week threatened to use his veto if Brussels increased spending at a time when EU member states are adopting tough austerity measures at the national level.

The 27 EU leaders will hold an extraordinary summit on November 22 and 23 for what are expected to be very tough talks on the budget. European Union President Herman Van Rompuy has called for member states to show willingness to compromise on the budget.

In 2011, Denmark was still pushing for all budget contribution rebates to be abolished, and primarily Britain's, which is the largest and dates back to 1984.

But shortly thereafter, in the spring of 2011, Denmark's centre-right government then headed by Lars Loekke Rasmussen reversed its opinion after concluding that the rebate system was to be a lasting feature.

"The Danish government changed its opinion, saying in effect: 'We are still against rebates, but as long as there are rebates in the EU system, we think it is reasonable that we get rebates because we resemble other countries in the EU receiving rebates'," a political science professor at the University of Copenhagen, Peter Nedergaard, told AFP.

"If (Denmark is) not receiving rebates, but should have received them, and other countries that resemble Denmark are receiving them, then Denmark ends up paying for other countries' rebates," he concluded.

Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria have all negotiated rebates because they felt they were contributing too much to the budget compared with other countries.