Brussels, 05/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - On a proposal from Michaele Schreyer, the European Commission adopted a preliminary draft supplementary and amending budget (SAB) No.3/2002, on Wednesday, providing the latest estimates on the amount of the surplus in 2001, which amounts to 15 billion euro, against 10 billion euro in the previous SAB (which Parliament has just adopted). The Commission thus proposes that the contributions of Member states for the 2002 budget be reduced by the same amount, through to the inclusion of this surplus in the revenue of the current budget, which will especially benefit Germany (4.56 billion euro less in contributions to pay), the United Kingdom (3.19 billion euro), France (1.63 billion euro) and the Netherlands (1.38 billion euro).
"For the finance ministers of Member states, it's good news (…) Given the difficulty of the budgetary exercise 2001-2002 for certain Member states, this surplus will contribute to the stability policy", commented Schreyer, stipulating that this surplus could be explained, notably, by: - savings of 1.8 billion euro in the agricultural sector; - the payment, in revenue to the Community budget of 583 million euro from fines collected in the field of competition; - the 10 billion euro that was not spent by Member states under the Structural Funds. "Member states are again obviously waiting for the last possible moment, from a legal point of view, to implement their programmes (on the Structural Funds)", which, for budgetary planning, creates an unsatisfactory situation, says the Commissioner.
Ms. Schreyer stipulated that the Commission had also taken account, in the preliminary draft SAB No.3, of the new estimates relating to customs duties, VAT and levels of growth, as well as administrative changes linked to the expiry of the ECSC Treaty. The proposal has now to be submitted for approval by the budgetary authority (Parliament and Council).