(Image Source: EU ) BY JOHN O’CONNOR ANCHOR CANDICE AVILES   Tensions in Europe are high Thursday as all 27 members of the European Union meet in Brussels to draw out plans for a seven-year budget package. The BBC explains . “At stake is €976 billion. Countries that rely heavily on EU funding want those spending levels maintained or raised, but the U.K. and others say cuts have to be made.” Sky News reports the European Commission wants to increase the budget by more than 4.8 percent-- putting it at more than a trillion euros over the next seven years. But countries seeking austerity including France, Germany, and the U.K. say they won’t let that happen. “However, many central and eastern European countries such as Poland, Slovakia, and Romania are pushing for an increase as they are some of the biggest recipients of EU funding.”   European Council President Herman Van Rompuy suggested a compromise — cutting the budget by 60 billion euros to put it at 973 billion euros. But the Guardian reports U.K., Germany, and Cyprus still say that is too high. And British Prime Minister David Cameron has “sparked furious backlash” for threatening to use his veto if he doesn’t get his way, which would prevent any new budget deal from being passed until next year.  The Telegraph explains Cameron is under intense pressure from U.K. conservatives to get a good settlement after he promised to fight “incredibly hard” to protect the U.K.’s rebate worth €3 billion a year. Cameron told press before the conference: “These are very important negotiations. Clearly at a time when we are making difficult decisions at home over public spending it would be quite wrong - it is quite wrong - for there to be proposals for this increased extra spending in the EU.”