WRITTEN QUESTION E-1837/02 by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission. A European tax to finance the Community budget.
Date: 2002-06-27
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: financing of the EU budget, own resources

C 137 E/30

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

12.6.2003

However, the Commission is not in a position to create or run such funds. Neither does the Commission
have the human resources nor the appropriate and flexible rules to manage or coordinate such funds.

The creation of these funds would require important financial resources. The Commission does not dispose
of the financial resources necessary to create those funds.

(2003/C 137 E/033)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1837/02

by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: A European tax to finance the Community budget

(27 June 2002)

The proposal made by the Commission presidency for the creation of a European tax to finance the
Community budget has elicited a wide range of reactions and comments in political, business and
economic circles, despite the absence so far of any concrete details to back it up.

Given the Commission’s powers of initiative as conferred on it by the Treaties, it is clear that the proposal
will receive consideration for the medium- and long-term future, even though it remains hypothetical and
has not, for the moment, led to any concrete decisions.

Can the Commission state whether this proposal for a European tax to finance the Community budget is
based on any concrete initiative on the Commission’s part, and provide information on the state of
progress concerning any studies which have may have been drawn up by experts to propose to the
Commission the structural bases which might support its President’s proposal?

Answer given by Mrs Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(13 September 2002)

Following Article 9 of the Council Decision of 29 September 2000 on the system of the European
the Commission shall undertake, before
Communities own resources
1 January 2006, a general review of the own resources system. It committed itself before the Parliament
‘the question of creating new
to perform this review by the end of 2004. As part of the review,
autonomous resources should be addressed’.

(2000/597/EC, Euratom) (1),

Ahead of this review, it could be useful to open a political debate with regard to the main options to tackle
future revisions of the Union financing system. This could involve an examination how to maintain the
level of ressources needed to support EU policies in view of enlargement and to respond in the budgetary
field, while respecting the principle of equity, to the need to better connect Europe and its Institutions to
the general public by increasing their democratic accountability and transparency, a horizontal theme
guiding the wider debate on the future of Europe.

These issues could in particular be discussed in the Convention on the future of Europe.

The outcome of these discussions will then be taken into account for the general review of the own
resources system that the Commission shall undertake and in the preparations of the accompanied
concrete proposals.

(1) OJ L 253, 7.10.2000.