Stumping up more cash to fill the €15bn (£13bn)-a-year black hole left in the EU's budget by Brexit would be "unbearable" for Finland, its Europe minister has told the Telegraph, as deep divisions open up on the continent over how the bloc's spending should be reformed.

Sampo Terho said it was crucial that the EU cut its budget rather than rely on members to pay more, warning that Finland would use "whatever tools we can" to ensure costs did not rise.

“When the EU becomes smaller the budget should become smaller. That’s all there is to it. That’s the logic we abide by,” Mr Terho said in an interview with the Telegraph in Helsinki.

“Because your country was so big, and still is at the moment, that will leave a big hole. If that gap were to be filled with other countries’ payments, I see that as an unbearable solution. We must cut the budget.”

The position puts him on a collision course with the Brussels' budget commissioner and leading EU powers, like Emmanuel Macron's France, who have called for a deep expansion of the EU budget as part of a radical mission to reboot the bloc after Brexit.