No C 80/14 Official jQurnal of the European Communities 28. 3. 88 
The Committee approves the present proposal, which constitutes a 'technical' adjustment of the 
amount of the tax relief for small non-commercial consignments to maintain its real value. 
The Committee would, however, have preferred a system proposed earlier by the Commission and 
unanimously approved by the Committee ('), but unfortunately rejected by the Council, setting up 
an automatic annual adaptation process. 
(») OJ No C 103, 16.4. 1984. 
Done at Brussels, 27 January 1988. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alfons MARGOT 
Opinion on the own resources Decision (') 
(88/C 80/07) 
On 15 September 1987 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under 
Article 100A of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the own resources 
Decision. 
The Section for Economic, Financial and Monetary Questions, which was responsible for 
preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 12 January 1988. The 
Rapporteur was Mr Pardon. 
As its 252nd Plenary Session (meeting of 27 January 1988) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following Opinion by a large majority with 2 votes against. 
1. Introduction 2. General comments 
1.1. In its own-initiative Opinion of 19 November 1987 
on the Financing of the Community, the ESC expressed its 
views on certain aspects of the Commission's Communi­
cation to the Council entitled 'Making a success of the 
Single Act — a new frontier for Europe'. 
The current proposal for a Decision deals with own 
resources. It is merely the legal embodiment of some of the 
proposals contained in the above Communication. 
The Committee's basic standpoint on the Commission's 
ideas for solving the Community's financial problems is 
contained in the above-mentioned Opinion. The present 
Opinion complements that earlier Opinion and must be 
read in conjunction with it. The failure of the Copenhagen 
Summit does not change the Opinion's basic tenor. 
(') OJ No C241, 8.9. 1987, p. 3. 2.1. The worldwide stock market and monetary 
disturbances currently being experienced are aggravating 
the economic and social problems which have existed for a 
number of years, making it even more urgent for the 
Community to have the means needed for its policies. The 
Member States should not skimp in granting it those 
means. Political compromises are often necessary but in 
this case it must be ensured that they do not lead to a 
resurgence of budgetary problems in the shorter or longer 
term. 
But the Community also has a responsibility to the 
individual citizen who, ultimately, provides the finance 
which enables the Community to carry out its tasks. 
Financing should therefore be sufficient, but it should also 
be as equitable as possible, taking account of each Member 
State's ability to pay. 
2.2. The Commission maintains that a progressive 
increase in own resources up to a maximum of 1,4 % of 
Community gross national product would, by 1992, 
28. 3. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 80/15 
provide the Community with 45 % more resources than 
would be forthcoming under the present system. 
This increase has been assessed over a period of several 
years at constant prices and with a built-in safety margin to 
take account of inflation and exchange rate fluctuations. 
As forecasts always carry an element of uncertainty, the 
growth rate is difficult to determine, but this problem can 
be mitigated to some extent by updating the five-year 
forecasts each year. 
2.3. The 1,4 % of gross national product ceiling is 
entirely feasible and a case can be made for it. But real 
budgetary discipline will still have to be introduced and 
maintained. 
2.4. This top rate will remain in force beyond 1992 
unless the decision is amended. The Commission will be 
submitting a Report on the development of own resources 
in the period up to 1992 — the date set for completion of 
the internal market. It would be premature to make any 
further pledges on this matter for the time being. 
2.5. The proposed system has been devised with a view 
to fairness and solidarity, the aim being to accommodate 
the less favoured Member States by reducing their 
contributions and enabling them to benefit from common 
policies through the structural funds. 
3. Specific comments 
3.1. Article 2 paragraph 1 (b) 
The allocation of customs duties on ECSC products to the 
Community budget, amounting to some 150 million ECU 
per annum, is entirely acceptable. Specific ECSC needs can 
be covered by this budget. 
3.2. Article 2 paragraph 1 (c) and paragraph 2 
The rate to be applied to the VAT assessment basis is 1 %, 
but this can be adjusted — upwards or downwards — by 
Done at Brussels, 27 January 1988. the Council. Any upward adjustment must clearly fall 
within the limits set by Article 3 paragraph 1. 
This discretionary power is limited however by the 
requirement that the decision be unanimous and that the 
European Parliament be consulted. The ESC would also 
expect to be consulted if the Council were to envisage using 
this power. 
This kind of flexibility could be used to make adjustments 
for national divergences in economic development and/or 
to correct any mismatch in the composition of own 
resources e. g. if receipts are inadequate given the rate 
applied to the additional base. 
This flexibility should not however be allowed to 
undermine the proposed system which uses gross national 
product as the best measure of Member States' relative 
prosperity. 
3.3. Article 5 
Under the previous rules it was also possible to carry 
forward a surplus or deficit of resources over actual 
spending from one financial year to the next. This option 
seems all the more justifiable in view of the fact that any 
differences would be small, as the budget is theoretically 
balanced and any disparity can only result from changes in 
the course of a financial year. 
4. Conclusion 
The ESC greatly regrets that the Member States were not 
able to sink their differences at the Copenhagen Summit. 
The failure to tackle the budget problem threatens to put 
further pressure on the Community's already strained 
finances. The ESC can only stress that it is absolutely vital 
that a solution along the lines of the Commission's 
proposals be achieved at the extraordinary session in 
Brussels in February 1988. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alfons MARGOT