EUROPE WANTS U.S. TO PAY UP

The biggest deadbeat in the U.N. heard plenty about it Monday as members of the European Union addressed delegates celebrating the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. Though they backed American calls for a more streamlined U.N., British Prime Minister John Major and French President Jacques Chirac sharply criticized the U.S. for being $1.3 billion behind in its dues. "It is not acceptable that many countries, including the foremost among them, should let their arrears pile up," Chirac told delegates. Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzelez even suggested at a news conference that countries that fail to pay their dues be stripped of their voting rights.