Brussels, 24/08/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European budget commissioner, Janusz Lewandowski, stated in an interview published on Monday 9 August that as part of the proposals anticipated for September (21 or 28) on the revision of the EU budget, he was planning to bring in a European tax, the revenue from which would be paid directly into the European coffers.
“I am hearing from several capitals, including large ones such as Berlin, that they would like to reduce their contributions” to the European budget, he told Financial Times Deutschland. “This opens a door to a reflection on own sources of revenue, which are not channelled by the finance ministers”, he added.
At the moment, the European Union does not directly tax the European citizens, but is funded essentially by the contributions of the member states (which currently represent three quarters of the annual Community budget). Lewandowski wants to make “ambitious but realistic” proposals. He spoke of four possible avenues of discussion for revenue: a direct tax on tax-payers, a tax on financial transactions (which Germany, in particular, is calling for), a tax on air transport and a tax on revenue generated by the sales of greenhouse gas emissions certificates, which is collected by the state at the moment (“CO2 emissions quota trading system”).
The idea of creating a tax of this kind to be paid by European taxpayers has had many different reactions, most of them negative. The German finance minister has rejected the idea. “Calls to introduce a European tax go against the position of the government”, a spokesperson to the German government announced.
The Belgian secretary of state for the budget, Melchior Wathelet, said on Tuesday 10 August that he was in favour of a European tax of the kind suggested by the European Commission. Wathelet explained that he had “always been a major proponent of the principle of own resources”. The way the European Union is currently funded, which is based on the contributions of the member states, “is unhealthy”, said the Belgian secretary of state, quoted by the agency Belga. “With a mechanism of own resources, it would be fairer”, he said. In an interview with the French daily newspaper Libération, the MEP Alain Lamassoure (EPP, France), who chairs the budgets committee of the European Parliament, welcomed the fact that the European Commission is doing something about a request the EP made three years ago. In March 2007, the EP called for the Commission to carry out a reflection on own resources, and launched several ideas for consideration (allocating a proportion of VAT to the European budget, or a corporate tax).
The French secretary of state for European affairs, Pierre Lellouche, described Commissioner Lewandowski's idea as “perfectly inappropriate”. “Any extra tax is unwelcome these days and what is more appropriate, for the member states and the European institutions alike, is making savings”, the French minister told AFP.
London also rejected Lewandowski's suggestion. The British government reaffirmed that taxation must be decided upon at national level.
The Commission's proposals refer of course to revenue and spending in accordance with the axiom “where can money be found and what can be done with it”. Everything will be discussed, particularly the weight of agriculture in the EU budget. (L.C./transl.fl)