text: Britain's aid budget may have to soar by hundreds of millions of pounds a year because of new EU rules, it has emerged. Despite the fact that the UK has now met the controversial target to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on overseas aid, changes to Brussels accounting rules could bump up the bill even more. Official figures released this week reveal that Britain met the target last year, spending £11.7billion on foreign aid projects. The UK is now the second largest aid donor in the world. Spending on foreign aid is set to increase by an extra £1billion over the next two years because of new EU rules . But new EU accounting rules – to which Britain has signed up – are being brought in which change the way national income is measured. The new total includes estimates of parts of the black economy such as prostitution and drug running. It means that Gross National Income will rise – pushing up the amount that will need to be spent on aid to meet the 0.7 per cent target. One aid expert said it could mean an increase of £500million in the aid budget in 2016 and 2017. The news that Britain’s overseas contributions will swell even further was unpopular with Tory backbenchers, many of whom believe it was wrong to spend so much when the defence budget faces cuts. Sir Gerald Howarth, a former Tory defence minister, said: ‘What is the point of this arbitrary figure of spending 0.7 per cent of GDP? ‘The idea that if we spend this amount all the world’s problems will end is absurd, or that by providing that magic figure we suddenly become paragons of virtue. ‘If a change in the formula means the British taxpayer has to contribute yet more in overseas aid ... a lot of people will start questioning the largesse of this country. There are many military figures who just don’t see the logic of putting money into aid instead of defence.’ The new accounting rules are being phased in and the Department for International Development said they would only apply from 2016. Britain met the 0.7 per cent aid target thanks to a frantic effort that meant increasing the budget by 30 per cent in one year. A highly critical Commons report found that ministers had splurged large amounts in the final months – with few checks – just so they could say they had met the target. And last November an independent report slammed DfID for a failure to tackle corruption in developing countries. Late last year, the change to EU accountancy rules landed Britain with a huge £1.7billion increase in contributions to Brussels. Nigel Farage (left) has called for the foreign aid budget to be cut by up to £10billion . Millions of pounds of British aid money could be sent to war-torn Eritrea – despite warnings it will be misused by the brutal regime. Diplomatic sources say the European Commission is drawing up plans for a potential £240million aid package to help stem the tide of asylum seekers heading for the EU. The move would mean a six-fold increase in the level of EU aid to the African state, with Britain’s share amounting to around £31million. Campaigners say Eritrea has one of the worst human rights records in the world, with thousands of political activists locked up and tortured and citizens forced to do military service into their seventies. The move will also raise concerns about the lack of accountability attached to the £1.1billion Britain hands to the EU to disperse each year. More than 20 campaign groups and academics have signed an open letter calling for a halt to the aid package until Eritrea agrees to comply with a UN inquiry. They say the EU may be acting illegally by handing money to the country, which has been ruled by dictator Isaias Afewerki since 1993.
target: UK spent £11.7billion on overseas aid last year but that is set to increase .
  New accounting rules could see budget increase by £1bn over two years .
  Changes will bring Britain in line with other EU nations who donate less .
  Ukip leader Nigel Farage last night called for a £10billion cut in foreign aid .