Preventing excessive budgetary imbalances in the EU: The question of the UK budget rebate, July 2004

In July 2004 the European Commission announced that it intended to propose to generalise the principle of correcting any Member State's excessive net budgetary burden. The principle was acknowledged in 1984 when a rebate to the United Kingdom was introduced. A 'generalized correction mechanism' has now been proposed by the European Commission, the main characteristics of which is: triggering if net contributions exceed 0.35% of a Member State's Gross National Income (GNI); contributions above this refunded at a rate of 66%; total refund volume limited to a maximum of €7.5 billion a year, financed by all Member States based on their relative share of GNI.

EU: Report

European Commission: DG Budget: Reports on the own resources system: Annual report on allocated expenditure: Financial year 2003

EU: Legislation and Policy Making

	Archive of European Integration: EU official documents: Budgets and financing (some of the older documents provide information on the background to the UK budget rebate)
	European Commission: COM (2004)505 (Vol.1): Report - Financing the European Union. Commission report on the operation of the own resources system, July 2004
	European Commission: COM (2004)501: Proposal for a Council Regulation on the implementing measures for the correction of budgetary imbalances, August 2004
	European Commission: COM (2004)505 (Vol.II): Technical Annex

EU: Background

	European Commission: Press Release: EU budget for 2003: Economic and political benefits for all Member States and display of solidarity to boost the less affluent countries: IP/04/1070
	European Commission: DG Budget: Financing of the European Union's budget
	European Commission: Press Release: IP/03/1371
	European Commission: Press Release: IP/04/908

National/regional/local official organisation

	United Kingdom: HM Treasury: International issues: EU information: Statement on the EU budget
	United Kingdom: 10 Downing Street: PMOS Afternoon Briefing, 8.7.04
	United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Britain and the EU

Commercial publisher and media

	The Economist: EU rebate. Too rich for a rebate, 10.7.04
	Financial Times: Prodi orders rethink on moves to scrap British EU rebate, 13.7.04
	European Voice: UK refuses to bend over EU rebate, 15.7.04
	European Voice: EU funding: it's all about give and take, 15.7.04
	Financial Times: Britain fires fresh salvos in EU battle to scrap £3bn rebate, 15.7.04
	Financial Times: Dutch minister warns UK over EU rebate, 4.9.04
	Financial Times: Straw stands firm on EU budget rebate, 13.9.04
	Financial Times: EU clash likely over proposal to scrap EUR 4bn UK rebate, 8.7.04
	BBC News: Brown seeks to retain EU rebate, 11.9.04
	Financial Times: Europe's leaders under pressure to revise farm subsidies deal, 30.12.03
	EUObserver: New EU states want UK budget rebate scrapped, 13.7.04
	Financial Times: UK gets good return from EU, 27.9.02
	Financial Times: UK rebate linked to EU farms reform / Chirac links concessions on EU farm policy to UK rebate, 23.10.02
	Financial Times: Bargain the rebate, 24.10.02
	Financial Times: Blair backs reform of EU budget rebate deal, 7.10.03
	European Voice: Schreyer's budget blueprint: direct tax for EU citizens and scrap the British rebate, 6.11.04
	Financial Times: Britain insists on keeping EU rebate, 9.7.04
	Financial Times: A new fault-line, 19.12.03 (editorial)
	Financial Times: Two wrongs can make a right, 9.7.04 (editorial)
	European Voice: Juncker slams 1% budget cap, 15.1.04
	Financial Times: Finance chiefs want to cut EU funding, 19.2.04
	Financial Times: EU paymasters threaten to veto Prodi budget, 30.3.04
	Financial Times: Britain's payments to EU cut in revised figures, 13.5.04
	Financial Times: EU budget rebate comes under renewed pressure, 2.7.04
	Financial Times: Row over British EU budget rebate is a bad omen for Blair's 'new Europe', 8.7.04
	Financial Times: UK budget rebate justified, French concede, 8.11.03

Related Publications

Journal Articles

Conning cuts (The European Journal, Vol.11, No.4, March 2004, p5-6)

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