PARIS, June 13 (Xinhuanet) -- French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on Monday a compromise was needed to stop a European political "crisis" getting worse, urging Britain to yieldon its rebate from the European Union (EU) budget.

    "After the French 'no' and the 'no' in the Netherlands on the (EU) constitution, we are in crisis, there's no hiding it," he toldRTL radio

    "We mustn't add a financial crisis to the political, institutional crisis ...We therefore need a compromise and I've said so to my (British) counterpart Jack Straw with whom I've spoken ... we cannot not find a compromise," he said, adding that the European Union has to find "margins of maneuver" to fix the budget lines for 2007-2013.

    Douste-Blazy was named foreign minister to replace Michel Barnier in the major government reshuffle after the French rejection to the EU constitution.

    He also warned at the Monday edition of the French right-wing newspaper Le Figaro that "the worst danger today would be divisionin Europe."

    He also reaffirmed France "was not prepared" to make concessions on EU agricultural subsidies.

    British former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher won in 1984 a rebate allowing London to be reimbursed some five billion euros each year from the 900-billion-euro EU budget.

    British Prime Minister Tony Blair had rejected Paris' call to make compromise, and called instead for a "fundamental" reform of the budget which would revise the costly system of EU agriculture subsidies, from which France greatly benefits.

    Blair is expected in Paris on Tuesday to discuss with French President Jacques Chirac as the last leg of his European tour after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Gerard Schroeder and Prime Minister of Luxembourg Jean-Claude Juncker, whose country is ensuring the rotating presidency of the European Union. Enditem