Thorny EU budget debate gathering pace

Moves are gathering pace to reform the EU's budget which critics say is undermined by government bickering and a system that promotes 'pork barrel politics' - lobbying for local interests rather than the common good.

At the moment, negotiations on the bloc's budget – over €860 billion for 2007-2013 - take place under a siege mentality with governments coming to the table with an overwhelming sense of getting juste retour - as much EU money as possible spent on policies that benef...