Britain Claims Victory in EU Budget Payment Battle

BRUSSELS (AP) — Britain has claimed victory in its standoff with the European Union over a 2.1 billion euro ($2.7 billion) budget contribution, saying it was able to reduce and delay the bill.

British Treasury chief George Osborne said after a meeting of EU finance ministers that the British “have halved the bill, we have delayed the bill, we will pay no interest on the bill.”

He said payments would be due in the second half of next year, well after general elections on May 7.