“We are missing the UK as a big player and a close partner in those talks,” admitted Hans Dahlgren, Sweden’s Europe minister. Ever since Margaret Thatcher demanded her money back at the 1984 Fontainebleau summit, Britain could be relied on to lead the charge for a tight EU budget — even if its hefty rebates increasingly left other countries picking up the tab. Now Sweden, Britain’s closest partner along with Denmark, is having to fight for itself over its own budget rebate.