Thumping his fist in frustration, David Cameron said "people should be in no doubt: as an important contributor to this organisation, we are not suddenly going to get out our checkbook and write a check for 2 billion euros. It is not happening."
Mr Cameron said asking Britain for a top-up of some 20 percent in its contributions on short notice "is an appalling way to behave. We are not paying that bill on the first of December."
The Netherlands too has been asked for a big top-up, of 642 million euros, which Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem called "extremely surprising, unpleasantly surprising."
The EU executive Commission said the demand stemmed from the fact that the economies of some countries, like Britain, have grown more than expected at the start of the year. Contributions are made according to economic size.
"This should not have come as a surprise" to Britain and other nations, since it was based on national statistics, said EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. "We have been careful not to politicise the process we have been asked to administer" by the member states.
Mr Cameron and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte already discussed a common protest at the EU summit. The Netherlands too is facing an increasingly vocal anti-EU camp.
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A longtime reluctant member of the EU, Britain has seen a surge in the popularity of the UKIP party, which wants to get Britain out of the EU, claiming its bureaucracy is profligate.
"The EU is like a thirsty vampire feasting on UK taxpayers' blood. We need to protect the innocent victims, who are us," said UKIP leader Nigel Farage.
Mr Cameron realised the political headache the EU demand would create as he tries to manage the anti-EU sentiment: "Is that helpful for Britain's membership of the EU? No it's not."
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