This report informs the House about the Commission's proposals fro the 2007 General Budget of the European Communities. The report is in four sections. The first explains how the budget is decided and the Committee's role. The second looks at the seven year financial programme, 2007-13. The third section summarises the significant proposed changes to funding under each of the budget headings. The final section is a summary of conclus
This report summarises the results of the European Court of Auditors' examination of the European Union's accounts for 2007 and progress on the range of initiatives taken forward by the Commission and Member States. For the first time the Court provided a positive Statement of Assurance, without qualification, on the reliability of the Commission's accounts, in effect confirming that they give a true and fair view. But for the fourteenth successive year the Court did not provide a positive Statement of Assurance on whether the underlying transactions conformed to applicable laws and regulations. Cohesion Policy funds, which are designed to reduce disparities in the level of development between regions and Member States, for example by supporting major infrastructure projects, remain the most challenging component. Based on its audit work, the Court estimates that, for expenditure on Cohesion projects, at least 11 per cent should not have been reimbursed by the Commission in 2007. This conclusion reflects weakness in controls at Member State level, but also the difficulty of implementing complex programmes. In the Cohesion Policy area the Commission has increased the rate at which it recovers incorrect payments from Member States, from 287 million euros in 2007 to 843 million in September 2008, and it predicts that further corrections will be finalised in Spring 2009. Financial corrections in future years could have an impact on the United Kingdom.
This statement is the thirtieth in the series. It describes the EU Budget for 2010 as adopted by the European Parliament; and sets out details of the United Kingdom's gross and net contributions to the EU Budget over the financial years 2004-05 to 2009-10, together with estimates for 2010-11 and projections from 2011-12 to 2014-16, and over the calendar years 2004 to 2009, together with the estimate for 2010. It also includes details of recent developments in EU financial management and the fight against fraud
A tension between (richer) contributing Member States and (poorer) recipient Member States has always characterised the history of the budget of the European Union, the politics of which has often turned fraught. This volume evaluates the prospects for major change to expenditure and the structure of the budget for the period starting in 2014.
This statement is the thirty-first in the series and describes the EU Budget for 2011. It also sets out details of the United Kingdom's gross and net contributions to the EU Budget over the financial years 2006-07 to 2011-12 (together with estimates for 2009-to 2015-16) and over the calender years 2004 to 2009 (together with an estimate for 2012). Finally it includes details of recent developments in EU financial management and the fight against fraud affecting EU funds
The European Union: How Does it Work? is the perfect introduction to the EU's structure and operations for those coming to the subject for the first time. Leading scholars and practitioners cut through the complexity to explain how the EU really works and why it matters. The third edition of this successful textbook has been updated in light of the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and the effects of the financial crisis on the Eurozone. It includes three new chapters, on the policy-making process, democracy in the EU, and EU internal and external security. Student understanding of the main actors, policies and developments is aided by the inclusion of helpful learning features throughout the text. The European Union: How Does it Work is also supported by an Online Resource Centre with the following features: For students: - Multiple choice questions - Flash card glossary For registered adopters of the textbook - Seminar questions and activities - PowerPoint® presentations
This report finds that the funding of the EU is complex and lacks transparency and that there is a need for a simpler system that would reduce the administrative burden. It concludes that a Gross National Income based revenue source is the best way of providing the bulk of the budget's funding. Apart from other considerations, the Committee has seen no evidence that any other new form of taxation would provide the same level of clarity and certainty.
Developed as an alternative to the American and Russian military systems, the Galileo programme is an independent European navigation satellite system designed specifically for civilian applications, primarily funded and controlled by the European Union and the European Space Agency. Galileo has potential uses across many sectors, though transport applications such as road and rail traffic monitoring, road pricing systems and air traffic control have been considered key areas of benefit. An earlier Committee report on the topic (HCP 1210, session 2003-04, ISBN 9780215020550), published in November 2004, recognised the potential benefits of the programme for the UK and Europe, but raised concerns over its cost and funding sustainability unless rigorous cost-benefit analyses were undertaken. The programme is currently in its development phase, with the second of two experiemental satellites due to be launched at the end of 2007. It is not expected to be fully operational until 2013-14 (originally this phase was meant to have commenced in 2008), and until Galileo becomes operational, Europe is largely reliant on the American and Russian systems. The Committee's report examines i) the costs, funding and value for money of the programme, including the delays encountered, the UK share of costs, the collapse of the public-private partnership (PPP) negotiations and the governance and procurement strategy; and ii) the impact of the complexity of the EU decision-making process on the programme's future funding and management.
