Englands var næststørste nettobidragyder til EU-budgettet, og det gør ikke de igangværende budgetforhandlinger nemme. Nettomodtagerne kræver uændret støtte, hvad kræver et endnu større bidrag fra de øvrige lande, herunder Danmark. Danmark står samlet med Sverige Holland og Østrig, og hvad vælger man så at kalde de fire lande der er imod et højere bidrag.

Ritzau oversætter ‘The Frugal Four’ (de fire sparsommelige) til ‘Sparebanden’ og bruger et udtryk som ‘budgetbisserne’. Førstnævnte etiket anvendte TV2 News og Lykke Friis torsdag, men selvom det kan virke som en ligegyldig detalje, så vælger man med ordvalget indirekte side.

Fra Mail Online – EU gripped by budget chaos after Brexit: Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden REFUSE to pay for one trillion euro plan to help poor regions, fight climate change and plug budget black hole left by Britain’s departure.

“EU leaders were facing budget chaos today at a bruising first summit since Brexit as four wealthy nations refused to fill the gap left by Britain’s departure.

The 27 leaders reached a stalemate after arguing into the early hours in Brussels, with talks on the trillion-euro budget resuming for a second day today and this afternoon there was still deadlock.

The UK’s departure has left the bloc with a €75billion (£63billion) hole in its finances over seven years and the budget battle has exposed bitter divisions between EU members.

Germany wants to spend more on climate change while France is seeking more money for a joint defence, with poorer nations determined to keep their generous EU payouts.

But the so-called ‘frugal four’ of Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden are unwilling to pay more to plug the gap.

… The 27-member bloc’s unity during Brexit negotiations has given way to fractious talks on its future after Britain finally left on January 31.

A frustrated Czech prime minister Andrej Babis said there was ‘no point continuing the summit’ if the ‘Frugal Four’ refused to increase their contributions. “

“Briterne var nettobetalere til budgettet, og det medfører, at alle – selv med sparelandenes position – kommer til at betale mere til EU i fremtiden.” (JP.dk, 22. februar 2020)