ARGUMENTS about money are always tiresome, particularly when the sums are meagre. Take the European Union budget, a monstrous carbuncle apparently designed to sap the life force of anyone who comes near it. It accounts for just 2% of European public spending, but at least half the hot air that is blown during summits. So it proved recently, when a recalculation of national statistics led to unexpectedly large bills for Britain, the Netherlands and others, with a demand for payment by December 1st.Although some countries faced higher surcharges per person, Britain’s overall bill, at €2.1 billion ($ 2.6 billion), was the biggest—and the reaction of its prime minister, David Cameron, the stormiest. At a press conference in Brussels on October 24th he hammered the lectern and vowed not to pay on time. Lo and behold, last week the British chancellor, George Osborne, won agreement from fellow finance ministers to change the rules on late payments. Under the proposal, which must still work its way through the EU’s legislative machinery, Britain and others will not have to settle their bills until September 2015, with no interest due. A classic victory for hard-nosed…
