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 .
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 . Comment: