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		Now is not the time for six billion euro increase to EU’s budget Thursday, 22nd October 2009 East Midlands’ Conservative MEP Roger Helmer is angered that in the midst of a recession the European Parliament was today voting on putting extra billions onto the EU’s budget lines. The Budget Committee had proposed increasing the budget for 2010 by six billion Euros. Mr Helmer said, "Deficit levels in some Member States are at an historic high. In some countries the debate is not about where the money is going to be contributed but about the levels of cuts which will be needed to bring the expenditure back into line. "It is not the time for the European Parliament to be seen to be voting through billions of Euros extra into the budget line for 2010. "Conservatives will be looking closely at where monies can be reasonably executed in a way that is not excessive given the current economic climate. We will support increases in a number of areas that are compatible with our manifesto commitments, such as investing in new technologies, but we will be looking at other areas where expenditure savings can and should be made."