Britain faces tax increases or spending cuts of £3bn as Francois Hollande, France's new Socialist president, prepares to ditch the EU budget ceiling freeze. Francois Hollande, the Socialist French president, is preparing to a ditch a deal over the next European Union budget in a move which would force the British government to raise taxes or cut spending by £3bn. In December last year Nicolas Sarzoky, Mr Hollande’s predecessor, signed a letter agreeing to freeze the EU’s spending from 2013 to 2020. However, senior officials in Brussels have told The Sunday Telegraph that Mr Hollande is poised to withdraw from the ... (full story)