"EU Budget should be cut" - Sharon Bowles MEP

Euro MPs voted in Strasbourg on Wednesday on the EU budget for 2011, at the same time as the Coalition Government announced details of the Comprehensive Spending Review, set to reduce the UK budget by some 6% each year for four years.

South-East England Lib Dem MEP Sharon Bowles, named the most influential woman in European finance by the Financial News, said: "The EU budget, voted today, includes funding for the new EU financial supervisors, funding which I support."

"However, the basis on which this EU budget has been decided is flawed, as there has been no consensus to rein back spending, in line with the enormous cuts that are having to be made by EU Member States, including the UK."

"That said, Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament voted today for a standstill budget and for many other amendments to reduce individual budget lines. We also voted against the budget statement as a whole."