Statement after meeting with Mario Monti, Chair of the high level working group on own resources

On Wednesday President Schulz met Mario Monti i, chair of the High Level Working Group on own resources in order to take stock of preliminary findings of the working group. President Schulz stressed that the need for clear and stable EU budget revenue streams could not be more urgent with recent high profile incidents showing that the system with which the budget is funded is not working for anyone.

During the meeting President Schulz said that the recent refusal of some Member States to pay the bills for the commitments they themselves had engaged the EU budget for meant that the question of own resources would become a key issue for the coming years.

President Schulz also said that the current system of funding the EU budget had led to unpredictable situations in which some countries, in view of the evolution of their economy, were faced with requests to rapidly contribute further to the EU budget. Such a situation provided another urgent reason to develop an own resource scheme capable of bringing predictability and transparency to the funding of the EU’s budget.

Background

The High Level Working Group was set up as part of the global deal between the Council and the European Parliament on the Multi-annual financial framework 2014-2020. It was tasked with providing new input to the reform of the system of own resources, the method with which the EU’s budget is funded.

The High Level Group has met four times this far. Its first assessment will be officially presented to the European Parliament’s group leaders in early January. The work of the Group will continue in 2015 with progress of the work to be assessed at political level by regular meetings, at least once every six months. The final recommendations will be assessed by the Commission in parallel to the mid-term review of the multiannual financial framework, which should happen before the end of 2016.