Nyborg, 10/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - According to European Commission estimates handed to EU ambassadors on Friday, the next ten new European Union Member States could receive a total of EUR 8.8 billion in payment appropriations between 2004 and 2006, the difference between money received from various EU policies (EUR 24.3 billion, EUR 6.141 billion of it in 2004, EUR 8.01 bn in 2005 and EUR 10.1 bn in 2006) and payments due under Own Resources (EUR 15.5 bn, EUR 5.052 bn of it in 2004, EUR 5.138 bn in 2005 and EUR 5.324 bn in 2006).
Community sources suggest that net payments to candidate countries may even be higher since the estimates take no account of any compensation that might be paid to candidate countries to ensure that the four richest (Cyprus, Malta, the Czech Republic and Slovenia) are not net contributors as soon as they join in 2004. The Commission figures estimate that these four countries would face a negative balance in 2004: the Czech Republic, EUR -185 billion; Slovenia, -129 million; Cyprus, - 67 million; and Malta, -25 million.
In is calculations, the Commission assumed that the candidate countries would accept the Commission's strategy for direct aid put forward at the end of January (25% in 2004, 30% in 2005 and 35% in 2006). The new Member States could receive EUR 1.227 bn in 2004 alone from the Common Agricultural Policy (market measures, direct aid and rural development measures) since the direct aid pledged for 2004 would not actually be paid out until 2005 (Poland would receive EUR 635 million, Hungary 155 million, the Czech Republic 143 million and Lithuania 107 million). They could receive EUR 3.049 bn in 2005 and then up to EUR 3.796 bn in 2006 from the CAP.
On the fringes of the Agriculture Council in Nyborg, which the candidate countries were invited to, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic told reporters that they couldn't accept a transition phase that lasted as long as the Commission was suggesting (moving from 25% of direct aid in 2004 to 100% in 2013) and demanded to be able to get 100% direct aid at the end of the current Financial Perspectives period (2006) to avoid remaining in an unfavourable situation regarding competition with current Member States for too long. The Hungarian and Czech ministers commented that they were still challenging the reference period selected for calculating milk quotas, since it is a period of low production (the 1990s). Poland said that the quota issues was even more important than direct aid.