1 Future European Union
finances
| (a)
(25847)
11607/04
COM(04) 487
(b)
(25868)
11741/1/04
COM(04) 501
(c)
(25869)
11745/04
COM(04) 498
(d)
(25874)
11752/04
COM(04) 505
|
Commission Communication: Financial Perspectives 2007-2013
Draft Decision on the system of the European Communities' own resources
Draft Regulation on the implementing measures for the correction of imbalances in accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of the Decision of (…) on the system of the European Communities' own resources
Proposal for renewal of the Inter-Institutional Agreement on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure
Commission Report: Financing the European Union — operation of the own resources system
|
| Legal base | (a), (c) and (d) —
(b) Draft Decision: Article 269 EC and Article 173 Euratom; consultation; unanimity; Draft Regulation: Article 279(2) EC and Article 183 Euratom; consultation; unanimity
|
| Department | HM Treasury |
| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 22 February 2005
|
| Previous Committee Report | HC 38-vii (2004-05), para 1 (2 February 2005)
|
| To be discussed in Council | Continuing discussion: next meeting not known
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | For debate on the Floor of the House (decision reported on 2 February 2005)
|
Background
1.1 The Inter-Institutional Agreement (IIA) of 6 May 1999, between
the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament, is a
politically and legally binding agreement which clarifies the
Community's budgetary procedure. It was designed to reinforce
budgetary discipline and improve the budgetary procedure. The
first part of the IIA establishes a Financial Perspective (FP)
— that is, annual budgetary ceilings — and implementing
provisions for the period 2000-2006.[1]
The second part of the IIA relates to improvement of inter-institutional
collaboration during the budgetary procedure. The IIA requires,
during consideration of FP ceilings, adherence to the ceilings
in the Own Resources Decision (ORD). In accordance with Article
269 EC, the ORD sets out sources of revenue for the Community
(known as own resources) and includes provisions on the UK budgetary
rebate.
1.2 In February 2004 the Commission published its
Communication, "Building our common future: Policy challenges
and budgetary means of the enlarged Union 2007-2013", which
discussed the Commission's ideas about policies for the period
2007-2013, together with its ideas on related issues concerning
sources of revenue (including the UK rebate), expenditure frameworks
and budgetary instruments. The document was intended to start
a debate on these issues with a view to having agreements and
legal instruments in place in plenty of time for preparation of
the first annual budget for the period 2007-2013. In March 2004
we recommended the document for debate on the Floor of the House,[2]
and that debate took place on 15 June 2004.[3]
1.3 Document (c) is a Commission proposal for renewal,
with amendments, of the IIA. The draft contains FP numbers for
the period 2007-2013, which derive from the Commission Communication
of February 2004. Document (a) is a Commission Communication arguing
again for those numbers and making proposals for the period 2007-2013.
Document (d) is a Commission Communication on the operation of
the current ORD, developing arguments which are used in support
of the draft legislation in document (b) on own resources and
on a substitute for the UK rebate.
1.4 Earlier this month we recommended these documents
for debate on the Floor of the House. We asked that we should
have, in time for the debate, a tabulation of the latest agreed
elements of the "building blocks" the Dutch Presidency
had been working on, as compared with the Commission's original
financial framework proposals, and an assessment of the emerging
effect on the overall numbers for the future Financial Perspective.[4]
The Minister's letter
1.5 The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Stephen
Timms) writes now with the tabulation we asked for, which we annex
below (annex 1.1). He also encloses extracts, footnoted where
appropriate, from the Dutch Presidency's December 2004 report
to the Council, which summarise the collective views of Member
States for each building block and the range of possible expenditure
for each.
1.6 Of progress in the negotiations since December
2004 the Minister says that so far this year work has focussed
on clarifying outstanding technical issues raised by the Commission's
proposals. Thus no further discussion of overall numbers has yet
taken place.
Conclusion
1.7 We are grateful to the Minister for this information.
The table we reproduce and the additional material in the Minister's
letter will be helpful to Members participating in the forthcoming
debate.
Annex 1.1
SUMMARY OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSALS AND
THE
BUILDING BLOCKS FROM THE PROGRESS REPORT
OF THE
DUTCH PRESIDENCY (14 December 2004)
HEADLINE BUDGETARY RANGES
The following table shows, for each heading of the
next Financial Perspective, the budgetary ranges (expressed in
billions of Euros, 2004 prices) agreed in the building blocks
proposed by the Dutch Presidency in December 2004. This provides
the minimum and maximum budgetary value as well as the budget
size proposed by the Commission in its latest communication.
| Heading (all prices in € bn for 2007-13)
| Minimum Budget from the Building Blocks
| Maximum Budget form the Building Blocks
| Budget Size Proposed by the Commission
|
| 1a. Competitiveness For Growth And Employment
| 60
| 133
| 133
|
| 1b. Cohesion For Growth And Employment
| 190
| 355
| 339
|
| 2. Preservation And Management Of Natural Resources
| 330
| 415
| 405
|
| 3. Citizenship, Freedom, Security And Justice
| 101
| 26
| 25
|
| 4. The EU As Global Partner
| 522
| 99
| 95
|
| 5. Administration
| 24
| 28
| 29
|
| 6. Compensation
| -
| -
| 1
|
| | |
|
| TOTAL
| 666
| 1056
| 1025
|
| | |
|
| % of EU GNI
| 0.82%
| 1.30%
| 1.26%
|
| | |
|
| 1 This number excludes funding for the Solidarity and Rapid Reaction Instrument (SRRI), which would add €6bn to the total for heading 3.
2 This number excludes funding for the European Development Fund (EDF), which would add €22bn to the total for heading 4.
|
1 The FP numbers were amended in the final stages of
negotiation of the 2004 enlargement. Back
2
(25367) 6232/04; see HC 42-xv (2003-04), paras 1-37 (24 March
2004). Back
3
HC Deb, 15 June 2004, cols. 702-748. Back
4
See headnote. Back
| 
