Prosperity and net contributions

In 2011, the European Commission presented examples of data, indicating that these showed no clear correlation between net contributions and relative prosperity under current arrangements and in a context that had significantly evolved since 1984 (lower share of the EU budget devoted to agriculture spending; increased relative prosperity of the UK; and significantly reduced role of the VAT resource in the mix of resources financing the EU budget). The Commission considered also that existing net contributions were generally low. In addition, the UK rebate can have a distortive effect on UK expenditure of EU funds, potentially making their use less interesting for the country. For example, if the UK obtains resources under the European Union Solidarity Fund, which provides support in the event of major natural disasters, in practice the actual aid received will be reduced by two-thirds due to the mechanism of the rebate.