Brussels, 07/07/2004 (Agence Europe) - On 14 July, the European Commission is to adopt a proposal by Michaele Schreyer modifying the 2000 decision on EU own resources (budget revenue plank). The objective is to set up a "generalised mechanism of adjustment in fiscal positions" for the next financial framework (2007-2013), to replace the rebate granted to the UK since 1984. According to the draft text, which the Commission could still change, the Member States will have no right to a rebate unless their net contribution to the budget is 0.35% of GDP. Over and above this, countries will be eligible for a two-thirds reduction of their contribution.
This mechanism will lead to net contributions which are more in line with the countries' wealth; the United Kingdom would become the largest net contributor (0.51% of GDP), followed by the Netherlands and Germany (0.48% apiece), Italy (0.35%) and France (0.33%). The total of these reductions would be limited to 7.5 billion EUR (the level the British rebate would reach by 2007 unless the rules are changed). If the British rebate is maintained over the period 2007-2013, the United Kingdom would spend just 0.25% of its GDP in the EU budget, compared to 0.56% for the Netherlands, 0.54% for Germany, 0.41% for Italy and 0.37% for France. Furthermore, the Commission will propose a debate on the creation of a new European tax, going into more detail than last February on the three known paths of reflection (tax on company profits, genuine VAT revenue, energy tax).