Brussels, 24/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - Member states are doubtful of European Commission plans to introduce new own resources to finance the EU budget. On Wednesday 23 November, COREPER, the committee of member states' permanent representatives to the EU, held an initial discussion of the Commission proposals, basing their debate on a questionnaire drafted by the Polish Presidency of the EU Council.
Practically all the delegations agreed on the need for reform so that a fairer, simpler and more transparent own resources system can be put in place. Only a few delegations, including that of the United Kingdom, felt that this was not a priority. Several, including Germany and Sweden, expressed doubts over the need to bring in new own resources. France and Austria backed the idea of a financial transaction tax as a way of reducing member states' contributions to the EU budget, but found little clear support from the other countries. A number of member states, including the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, rejected the idea, while some delegations called for an international agreement on this tax before it is introduced in the EU. Member states were also divided over plans to introduce a new, modernised VAT as an own resource.
A few delegations (some of the newer member states) argued that the current system should be replaced with a mechanism where national contributions are based on gross national income (GNI) (perhaps together with traditional own resources). The Commission's proposals would reduce the percentage of income from national contributions form around 70% to 40%. There would seem to be widespread agreement on ending the current VAT-based own resources.
Many delegations felt that corrections are no longer justified and advocated settling issues of excessive budgetary burdens solely on the expenditure side. A large number of countries acknowledged that the Commission proposals were on the right track. Very few countries, the United Kingdom was one, defended the current corrections system (which includes the UK rebate) and rejected the Commission proposals.
The Polish Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the EU will bring forward a report at the General Affairs Council on 5 December taking stock of progress on the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020. (LC/transl.rt)