By Darren McCaffrey, Sky News Politics Reporter
The scale and timetable of Britain's proposed £1.7bn extra contribution to the European Union is unacceptable, both David Cameron and George Osborne will tell EU leaders today.
The Chancellor, who is attending a meeting of Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) ministers in Brussels, will start negotiations with the intention of delaying and reducing what the UK should pay.
Speaking before the meeting, Mr Osborne said the demand is "unacceptable", and pledged to "get a better deal for Britain".
Meanwhile, Mr Cameron, at a meeting of northern European leaders in Helsinki, is trying to gain support for Britain's position with the message that it is the UK this time - but could be another country next.
The meeting is part of a two-day summit of Scandinavian and Baltic state leaders called the Northern Future Forum.
The primary aim is to promote growth and economic reform throughout Europe, but Downing Street is clear the Prime Minister will be raising other issues such as budget control and migration.
Mr Cameron's hopes of winning allies in his attempt to curb internal migration within the EU have been met with strong resistance from other European leaders, including hosts Finland.
Finnish leader Alexander Stubb told the Financial Times: "We need to understand what the UK wants, and the UK needs to learn where are the limits of other member states.
"Whether some kind of arrangement can be found, I don't know.
"But to start putting restrictions on free movement in one way or another I would find quite difficult."
Sweden and Germany's opposition to migration reform have made the Prime Minister's task very difficult.
But Mr Osborne may have more success with the surcharge.
There are suggestions Brussels may be willing to allow interest-free instalments rather than the UK having to pay the full amount on 1 December.
Former cabinet minister Ken Clarke said a lot of the anger over the bill is "synthetic", and pointed out that the UK had accepted rebates in previous years when the calculations worked out in its favour.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it is "quite reasonable" for the PM to say he would not pay the full amount, but warned the Government should not default on its debts.
The Labour Party has piled on the pressure, with Ed Balls and Douglas Alexander saying "the Government must have all eyes on the detail of the deal being discussed, not looking back over their shoulders at the Eurosceptic backbenchers who still seem to be pulling the strings".
A programme of instalments will not go far enough for the UK, but could be the start of a process allowing for an acceptable agreement that Mr Cameron can sell to his party and the country.
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