33RD REPORT: THE 2008 EC BUDGET
Letter from Kitty Ussher MP, Economic
Secretary, HM Treasury to the Chairman
I was pleased to have the opportunity on 5 July
to give evidence on the 2008 EC Budget to sub-committee A chaired
by Baroness Cohen. I have already sent you a report of the outcome
of the Budget ECOFIN meeting in Brussels on 13 July, at which
the Council discussed and adopted a Draft Budget, which broadly
met the Government's objectives.
I welcome the report that the Committee published
on 30 July, and am grateful for the broad endorsement that the
report gives to the Government's approach to the negotiations
on the 2008 EC Budget, including our commitment to budget discipline
and sound financial management, as well as the principles the
Government believes should inform the upcoming comprehensive review
of the EC Budget. We will take the report's recommendations into
account in our ongoing negotiations.
I should perhaps clarify, to avoid any misunderstanding,
that the Government is pressing for the Commission itself to launch
a review of the EU's administrative expenditure, with the Gershon
approach as a possible model: the Government is not best placed
to initiate or conduct such a review itself.
As far as the European Institute of Technology
is concerned, I agree with the Committee that its budget should
have been reduced to a level commensurate with the phased approach
now proposed, and that the margins under the headings of the EC
Budget should be reserved for genuinely unforeseen needs. Further
clarity on the source of funding for this project is essential.
The Government opposed the Council's "General Approach"
on the basis of these budgetary concerns at the Competitiveness
Council in June. Regrettably, the UK was in a minority on this
issue.
The Treasury will continue to keep the Committee
informed as the annual budget negotiations, and the Budget Review,
progress.
4 September 2007
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