France should seek rebate on EU contribution, says presidential candidate Retailleau

PARIS — Conservative presidential candidate Bruno Retailleau said France should seek a rebate on its contribution to the EU budget ahead of a key European summit in Brussels this week. France pays more in to the EU budget than it gets out, but it is struggling to reduce a severe budget deficit. “It’s crazy,” Retailleau, the leader of the conservative party Les Républicains, said at POLITICO’s Competitiveness Summit in Paris. “Why should we contribute more when we know how dire our public finances are?” European leaders are meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to discuss the bloc’s long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework, which is pitting the so-called frugal countries against those who want a bigger EU budget.