Brussels, 31/08/2004 (Agence Europe) - In an article entitled "A really good investment", published by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung am Sonntag, European CDU member Elmar Brok urges the German government to play a constructive part in negotiations on the EU's financial perspectives for the period 2007-2013. Those who, in this debate, reason solely in terms of "net contributor" to the EU budget "are misleading the public, like a tradesman who makes a confusion between turnover and profit", warns the MEP. He goes on to recall that the heavy German contribution to European own resources under GDP fell between 1994 and 2002 from 33.3% to 22.6% of the total - to reach around EUR 22 billion - and that this will be accentuated after enlargement. Also, after calculating the Community financial aid enjoyed by Germany (structural funds, agricultural policy, research, etc), the German net contribution to the EU budget is only EUR 5.1 billion compared to 10.4 billion in 1996, Mr Brok notes. Also, calling on the German government to proceed to an overall calculation of the economic advantages entailed by EU membership, Mr Brok exclaimed that the German net contribution is only the equivalent of around one fifth of the German defence budget or around 2% of the federal budget. To sum up, he said, given the weakness of domestic demand in Germany, they should be delighted with their trade within the EU internal market and realise that the net German contribution of five billion euros is a "really good investment".