EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/455

(2004/C 84 E/0530)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3897/02

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(14 January 2003)

Subject: The costs of enlargement and the national contributions of the existing Member States

On 17 December 2002 the International Herald Tribune published a report under the headline ‘EU gets a “bargain” in expanding east’. In the article Thomas Fuller claimed that the real financial cost of expansion to the east was approximately EUR 10,3 million (USD 10,5 million), according to documents published by the Commission on 16 December. Furthermore, he said that Commissioner Schreyer had revealed how much each new Member State would receive and how much some of the present Member States would pay, in particular the United Kingdom.

In view of this, can the Commission say:

1. how much each of the new Member States will receive and how much each of the present Member States will pay in each of the first three years of enlargement, in other words the financial contribution of each of the Member States in the EU of 25 between 2004 and 2006;

2. how the sums made available for enlargement in accordance with the conclusions of the Copenhagen European Council will be distributed for each of the new Member States year by year;

3. what it estimates the commercial gain will be for each of the current Member States, taking into account the forecast increase in exports and imports?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(20 February 2003)

Based on the conclusions of the Copenhagen European Council of 13 December 2002, the Commission has published on its Directorate General (DG) Enlargement website a table showing the total commitment appropriations of the agreed Copenhagen financial package for each of the years 2004, 2005 and2006. This table is available at: (http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/negotiations/pdf/financial_package.pdf).

The financial framework with the total commitment appropriations for each of the expenditure items agreed at Copenhagen and additionally, where appropriate, the breakdown by new Member States is also available on the same website at: (http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/negotiations/pdf/financial_frame-work.pdf).

As concerns actual payment flows from the Community budget in favour of the new Member States in the period 2004-2006, as well as the expected contributions of the new Member States to the Community budget in the same period, this will depend on the future implementation of the Community budget. It is therefore impossible to predict exactly the level of these future transfers. However, based on a methodology used in the course of the accession negotiations for estimating future net budgetary positions, tables showing indicative estimated net balances for each of the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 for each of the new Member States are sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat.

As regards the future contributions of the current Member States to the Community budget in the period 2004-2006, this is impossible to predict exactly, as, similar to the situation referred to in the previous paragraph, this will depend on a number of factors including the future implementation of the Community budget as well as rates of economic growth in the Member States. However, detailed information on the current Member States' shares in payments to the Community budget can be found in the following report: (http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/pdf/agenda2000/report2001_en.pdf).

As regards the commercial gains to be expected from Union enlargement, it is clear that the whole process of enlargement has already brought major economic gains for both the current and future Member States as markets have gradually opened and trade increased significantly. The positive economic impact of enlargement is detailed in a Commission study published in 2001 and to be found on the DG Economic and Financial Affairs website at: (http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/enlarge-ment_papers/enlargementpapers04_en.htm).

A number of country specific studies on the costs and benefits of Union enlargement are available on the Commission's DG Budget website: (http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/financing/enlargement_en.htm).

Enlargement is, of course, not simply a matter of weighing budgetary costs against commercial gain. Enlargement is a historic process, through which all participants stand to gain substantially in terms of increased security and stability across the continent.