Press Release: 2003 Budget: Commission proposes to return EUR 5 billion to Member States

The European Commission proposed on 29 October 2003 returning €5 billion of unused appropriations from the 2003 EU budget to the Member States. This will result in substantial reduction of Member States' contributions to the EU budget. This is because an assessment of the payments relating to the closing of the 1994-1999 structural funds period shows that substantial amounts will not be used for 2003. It has become clear that sums to be paid in 2003 have been overestimated by Member States.