Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000 implementing Decision 2007/436/EC, Euratom on the system of the European Communities’ own resources

The adjustment of Member States' national contributions (own resources) based on Value Added Tax (VAT) and Gross National Income (GNI), referred to in Regulation No 1150/2000 as ”VAT resources and the additional resource”, to the financing of the Union budget takes place every year on the first working day of December.

These adjustments vary from year to year. As the data calculated in 2014 demonstrate, adjustments to GNI own resources resulting in additional amounts to be made available by some Member States may be exceptionally high because of major revisions made by Member States to their GNI data for previous years.

As Member States provide the basic data to the Commission, the global set of data with the impact on own resources for all Member States is known only in October of each year.

According to the current rules in Regulation No 1150/2000, these adjustments have to be made available on the first working day of December. There is no discretion to agree on a later date.

In particular near the end of the financial year, and if the amounts at stake are very high, this may put Member States in a difficult budgetary situation and may even imply a significant risk for their economic or financial stability.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)704: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:704:FIN

ESO: Background information: EU budget: rule change to give more flexibility on exceptional adjustments to national contributions http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-eu-budget-rule-change-to-give-more-flexibility-on-exceptional-adjustments-to-national-contributions/

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