6th October: Andrew Brons has received an answer to his written question concerning the United Kingdom's Budget Rebate.

This was his Question E-7398/2010 to the European Commission which required a written answer:

"The Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budget, Janusz Lewandowski, recently stated to a German newspaper that it was appropriate to end the UK’s rebate in respect of its annual budget contributions.

The rebate was worth EUR 3 billion (£2.5 billion) this year (down from EUR 6 billion in 2009), following a deal negotiated with the UK’s previous Labour Government. Meanwhile, according to figures published by the Office for Budget Responsibility, the UK’s net contribution will rise to £8.2 billion by 2015.

1. Was Mr Lewandowski expressing a commonly held view within the Commission, or are his views strictly personal?

2. Does the Commission support the principles behind the UK’s rebate, and is it of the opinion that the rebate should continue indefinitely in view of the UK’s role as one of Europe’s major contributors to the EU budget, both now and in the past?"

This was the answer given by Mr Lewandowski on behalf of the Commission:

"The 2010 United Kingdom (UK) correction is equal to EUR 3.5 billion. The 2009 correction was EUR 5.2 billion. Part of this decrease in the amount of the correction results from the implementation of the Own Resources Decision on the system of the European Communities' own resources of 7 June 2007 (2007/436/EC, Euratom) that introduced the adjustment of the formula to ensure the UK would progressively contribute fully to enlargement related expenditure except for most of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The Own Resources Decision 2007 was agreed and ratified by all Member States including the UK.

1. In an interview on the forthcoming budget review, Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budget explained the origins of the UK correction (1984, low per capita GDP in the UK versus high proportion of EU budget dedicated to agriculture) and the current situation (higher per capita GDP of the UK versus reduced agriculture budget). The Commissioner also added that, in his opinion, the original justification for the rebate was no longer the same. This conclusion is not a new element in the discussion as it was already included in the Commission Report on Own Resources presented in October 2004.

2. The Commission agreed to the general principle on which the UK correction was based in 1984 (see the conclusions of the European Council in Fontainableau in 1984), i.e. no Member State should sustain a budgetary burden which is excessive in relation to its relative prosperity. It is inherent to this principle that the central condition which justifies the correction, namely the excessive nature of the budgetary burden in relation to relative prosperity, should be subject to regular scrutiny. In December 2005, the European Council asked the Commission to conduct a budget review that would cover both expenditure and revenue side of the budget, including the CAP and the UK rebate. This review will be presented by the Commission in October 2010."

After receiving the answer, Andrew Brons had this to say:

"I have obtained the answer that the Commissioner was not speaking for himself but for the Commission.

"This conclusion is not a new element in the discussion as it was already included in the Commission Report on Own Resources presented in October 2004 and it is inherent to this principle that the central condition which justifies the correction, namely the excessive nature of the budgetary burden in relation to relative prosperity, should be subject to regular scrutiny.

"In other words, the Commission wants to cut the UK's rebate even further.

"The Commission also excuses itself by admitting our rebate was cut last year to finance the new member states (ie to build up their infrastructure, metro services, railways, roads, etc), whilst our own infrastructure is crumbling and when we had 40,000 elderly dying of hypothermia because they could not afford to heat their properties owing to the EU's bogus climate change theories.

Quote: "Part of this decrease in the amount of the correction results from the implementation of the Own Resources Decision on the system of the European Communities' own resources of 7 June 2007 (2007/436/EC, Euratom ) that introduced the adjustment of the formula to ensure the UK would progressively contribute fully to enlargement related expenditure."