The own resources ceiling has been kept stable since the year 2000. In view of EU enlargement, the European Commission (EC) explored possible ways to make the system more transparent. Hypotheses included: creating new own resources and replacing the UK rebate with a general correction mechanism applicable to all EU countries. Member States could only agree upon relatively minor modifications. They further reduced the importance of the VAT resource in favour of the GNI resource, which many observers consider more a national contribution than a genuine “own resource”. As for TOR, the share of the amounts that Member States retain as collection costs was raised from 10% to 25%, thus reducing the yield of these resources. A series of specific temporary correction mechanisms were set up for Austria, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. Despite being a strong advocate of enlargement, the UK would have contributed a proportionally much lower share of its costs in comparison with other Member States due to the mechanism of the rebate. To tackle this issue, adjustments to the UK rebate were phased in. As a result of all these ad hoc measures, the own resources system has become more and more complex.
Be the first to write a comment.