Brown rejects EU criticism (From Thisisdorset)

Brown rejects EU criticism

7:06pm Tuesday 16th March 2010 in

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Gordon Brown has rejected criticism from the EU Commission that the UK is not doing enough to tackle its spiralling deficit.

The Prime Minister insisted the Government had "the most ambitious plan of any advanced country" to halve the debt in four years.

The comments came after a leaked version of a report due to be published by the Commission on Wednesday warned Britain was not on track to reduce its deficit in line with EU rules by 2015.

The document also questions Treasury forecasts for economic growth over the coming years, saying they could be optimistic if the global economy fails to perform as strongly as expected.

The concerns were seized on by the Tories, who claimed they dealt Mr Brown's credibility a "heavy blow".

"The Conservatives have been arguing that we need to reduce our record budget deficit more quickly in order to support the recovery," shadow chancellor George Osborne said.

"Our argument is backed by credit rating agencies, business leaders, international investors and now the European Commission. That is why we need a change of Government to restore confidence in our economy at home and abroad."

But speaking at a press conference in Downing Street, Gordon Brown insisted: "We have the most ambitious plan of any of the advanced countries for reducing our deficit. We are going to cut our deficit by half over the next four years. We are setting out, as we have done in the Pre Budget Report and again in the Budget, how we will do that to the best effect.

"But what we will not do is put the recovery at risk. The EU Commission has made clear that we should not have the fiscal stimulus removed until the recovery is assured. We will therefore make the best decisions for Britain, for British growth and for British jobs."

Chancellor Alistair Darling, in Brussels for talks with other European finance ministers, said the Commission was wrong in its assessment of Government tactics. "The European Union must concentrate on getting deficits down - and make sure we can achieve sustainable recovery," he said.