Commission Press: canceling Sweden’s discount in the European Union

– It’s time to make a decision. European Union Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger said on Wednesday in Entries ahead of next week’s EU summit It is hoped that Heads of State and Government will be able to agree on the necessary political guidelines to move forward in negotiations on the Union’s next multi-year budget for 2021-2027.

Oettinger warns that delays in the multi-year budget could have serious consequences for EU support payments, for example, for research and other investments.

One percent is not enough

Sweden and Germany, among other countries, demand that the EU budget for the next seven years should not exceed 1% of the member states’ gross national income, GNI. But according to Günther Oettinger, a German Christian Democrat, it is not possible to achieve all the goals set by the member states if one sets the budget ceiling at this level and at the same time does not want to reduce the EU equation and agricultural subsidies. .

My message is that with one percent you can’t fund new data, Oettinger said, referring to areas such as defense, security, digitization, research, climate and migration.

In addition to financing the new policies, the budget gap that arises when the UK leaves the EU – €84 billion – must be filled by the remaining members.

The Commission proposes a budget of 1.114%, which it believes is in fact less than total spending today. The Budget Commissioner indicates that there is a majority among Member States for this level.

The Swedish government has estimated that the commission’s proposal would increase Sweden’s annual membership fee by SEK 15 billion. However, the Committee considers that the proposed level will not “lead to significant and unsustainable increases in Member State contributions”.

cancel discounts

In 1984, Margarita Thatcher, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, negotiated the deduction of the EU tariffs. The country was then poorer than the EU average. This discount is paid by other EU countries. Since then, five other wealthy member states, including Sweden, have had a discount on the British opponent. Now that the UK is leaving the EU, and there with the original EU opponent, the Commission is of the view that the entire system should be scrapped over a five-year period.

Our position is and remains that all discounts must be removed, said Oettinger, referring to the injustice that arose with the discount system.

– Bulgaria and Croatia, on the basis of their respective GNI, give more to the European Union than the richer countries. It’s about solidarity, Oettinger said.

to me Commission accounts The five countries that currently have a discount to the UK’s discount – Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark – have the lowest EU fees in relation to their GNI.

“Member states with opponents are among the most prosperous in the European Union,” the commission said.

Demanding more private income

The vast majority of EU revenue today comes from EU member states’ membership fees. But the EU budget also receives revenue from customs duties on goods from outside the EU, while a smaller portion of member states’ value-added tax revenue goes to the EU.

But according to Günther Oettinger, the amounts that come from tariffs are getting less and less as the EU concludes more and more free trade agreements where tariffs are being scrapped.

The Commission proposes to increase revenue directly to the EU budget and hopes that between 10 and 14% of the EU budget will be private resources. An example of a source of income could be EU emissions trading.

European Parliament demands more

Tomorrow Thursday, the European Parliament will vote on its position on the budget negotiations. There, parliamentarians are expected to demand a multi-year budget equal to 1.3 percent of GNI.