This is classic, a corrupt to the fucking core organisation like the EU that has not had its accounts signed off for years, thinks that our waste of space PM, the dour old queen Gordon "cyclops" Brown is rather shit at running the UK:
The EU has just publicly ticked him off for bad financial management.
The UK government is heading for a fierce clash with the EU over its spending and borrowing plans, with Brussels rapping it over the knuckles for running an excessive budget deficit this year and next.
Joaquín Almunia, EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner, said today he would propose to start disciplinary measures against the UK on June 11 for breaching the 3% limit on deficits. The commission forecasts that Britain's deficit will be 3.3% in both 2008 and 2009.
The threat from Brussels to recommend measures to cut the deficit is an embarrassment for ministers used to trumpeting Britain as the EU's model economy. But the EU cannot impose financial sanctions as Britain remains outside the eurozone.
Britain, however, joins a blacklist containing just Hungary and Romania among the EU-27 though France remains perilously close to joining it with a forecast 3% deficit in 2009. The French finance ministry rebuts this, sticking to its own forecast of 2.5% this year and 2% in 2009. Italy, cast as the sick man of Europe, escapes censure.
The commission's spring economic forecast, which puts UK growth at 1.7% this year and 1.6% next, argues that Britain will be hit by a marked slowdown in consumer spending exacerbated by tighter credit conditions, falls in the housing market, a squeeze on incomes and zero employment growth. But the fall in the pound will boost exports.
The Treasury, the forecast says, will be hit by lower revenue growth because of weaker earnings, reduced corporate profits and lower housing market activity impacting stamp duties. Indirect tax revenues will grow more slowly as consumers spend more on food which carries lower rates of VAT.
Government debt, Brussels adds, is likely to swell from 42.5% of GDP a year ago to 47.5% by 2009-10, partly as loans to Northern Rock will come onto the Treasury's books next year.
Overall, Almunia forecasts that growth in the EU-27 will slow to 2% this year and 1.8% next and in the 15-strong eurozone to 1.7% and 1.5% because of the US recession, financial market turmoil and the euro's strength. Inflation in the EU is expected to rise to 3.6% this year and in the eurozone to 3.2% due to surging energy and food prices.
But Almunia, who has shaved 0.5% off his growth forecasts since the autumn, insisted that the EU's slowdown would be slighter than in other industrialised countries such as the US and Japan. Even so, the commission admitted that the financial turmoil had proved to be "deeper, wider and longer-lasting" than expected while the US downturn was set to be more pronounced and protracted.
Almunia admitted for the first time that the euro, which hit a record $1.60 briefly last week, is over-valued.
Methinks that the old queen in No.10 must be really pissed, he will be sulking and threatening to scratch the eyes out of Joaquín Almunia
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