Jack Straw, foreign secretary, on Thursday outlined the UK's plans for its six month presidency of the European Union, which begins in July.

Mr Straw told the House of Commons that Britain would “work hard to reach an agreement on future financing by the end of the year“ but he warned that any deal on the EU budget would have to point to a “more rational“ financial plan. His comments came just weeks after the failure of the Luxembourg summit to reach agreement on the EU budget.