A3-0228/94

Resolution on a new system of own resources for the European Union

The European Parliament,

-having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

-having regard to its resolution of 10 June 1992 on the Commission communication 'From the Single Act to Maastricht and beyond: The means to match our ambitions',

-having regard to its resolution of 27 October 1993 on the adoption of an Interinstitutional Agreement on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure for 1993-1999,

-having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement on budgetary discipline of 29 October 1993, and in particular the declaration on the system of own resources,

-having regard to the conferences on the system of own resources with representatives of national parliaments and the Council Presidency of 21 and 22 February 1994,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A3-0228/94),

A.whereas the Community should have sufficient own revenue to cover its expenditure,

B.whereas, with regard to own resources and, in particular, the two such resources of most recent creation, the notion of such resources has to some extent been vitiated in practice, although in legal terms what is involved does beyond any doubt and with no possibility of alteration still constitute own resources,

C.convinced that the reforms proposed by the Commission involving a reduction in the VAT ceiling from 1.4% to 1% and the capping of the VAT base at 50% of GNP further weaken the own resource nature of VAT as a source of revenue,

D.convinced that the current system of own resources does not lead to a fair distribution of the burden either in terms of national GNP or in terms of per capita GNP,

E.convinced that a genuine system of own resources must be transparent, fair and balanced,

F.whereas the Union's own revenue has an impact on the nature and not the volume of revenue and the system of revenue is therefore neutral as far as yield is concerned,

G.whereas the question of revenue fairness should be geared to the GNP of the Member States or EU citizens and should not be directly linked to arrangements governing expenditure,

H.whereas a democratically evolving European Union must be financially autonomous within its sphere of competence, while respecting the subsidiarity principle, one reason being the fact that national parliaments cannot take sufficient account of the European perspective,

I.whereas the system of resources supplying the budget of all public administrations and the procedure for its adoption are closely tied to the budgetary accountability of any representative democracy,

J.whereas the European Union supplies public assets which must be financed through state revenue which is tied to the Union,

1.Calls on the Council and the Member States to create a genuine system of own resources for the Union before the current financial perspective expires in 1999 and to begin negotiations on such a system of own resources within the framework of the Intergovernmental Conferences in 1996;

2.Calls on the Commission to submit a proposal on a system of own resources for the Community before the start of the Intergovernmental Conferences in 1996 which should be based entirely on own revenue;

3.Takes the view that the Union should have sufficient own revenue to cover the tasks transferred to it and put it on an independent financial footing - with due regard for the subsidiarity principle - with a view to meeting its political objectives;

Elements of a system of own revenue

4.Calls for the creation of a system of revenue which is clear and understandable for the public and which can be collected and verified in a uniform manner throughout the Community;

5.Calls for the creation of a system of revenue which takes account of the contributive capacity of the individual Member States and taxpayers when sharing out costs;

6.Calls for the creation of a system of revenue which does not lead to greater burdens for the public but which makes it clear what proportion of the tax yield lawfully accrues to the Union and to the Member States respectively;

7.Calls for the creation of a system of own resources in which revenue is generated in such a way as to establish a direct link and accountability between the European Union (through its budgetary authorities: the Council of Ministers and Parliament) and taxpayers and which thus fosters the democratic bond between the Union and its citizens;

A new third own resource

8.Is convinced that the first two categories of revenue, levies, premiums and compensatory amounts and customs duties, constitute own revenue on the basis of the Community's responsibility for external trade and should be maintained as such; points out, however, that there will be a continual decline in such revenue, particularly owing to the recent GATT agreements and the CAP reform now underway;

9.Is convinced that a new third source of revenue should be created in place of the existing third and fourth resources which should take the form of a specified percentage of VAT, given that, despite all the discussions about a 'fair' definition of the basis of assessment, VAT still represents the most reliable basis for own revenue: VAT is politically controllable, it is well-known and familiar to the taxpayer in the Member States and it can and must be harmonized throughout the Community;

10.Is convinced that a Union proportion of VAT, directly imposed on the basis of tax declarations and denoted as such on invoices, is the most appropriate means of meeting the demands of being simple and transparent and constituting an effective link between the taxpayer and the destination of the tax (European Union);

11.Is convinced that an open indication of the Community's share of VAT in the form of separate VAT statements would help to correct mistaken perceptions among the public as to the costs of the Union and thus enhance identification with the Union;

12.Takes the view that the increasing transfer of tasks from the Member States to the Union should be matched by appropriate transfers of own resources which can be easily adapted to those tasks which are necessary and desired;

13.Considers the introduction of 'educational taxes' of an economic and/or environmental kind to be worthy of consideration in principle; takes the view, however, that given their degressive nature and differing impact in individual countries they can constitute only additional funding and should preferably be left to the Member States;

Tax fairness

14.Adheres to the aim of tax fairness, even though it is clear that absolute tax fairness cannot be attained but only approximated to;

15.Considers it necessary, with a view to attaining greater tax fairness on an individual level, to study closely the possibilities of a split Union rate of VAT, with consideration being given to a basic rate for products in a general basket of goods and an increased rate for all other products;

16.Considers it possible, however, with a view to attaining greater tax fairness at national level, that revenue equalization similar to the German financial equalization scheme between the Federal Government and the Länder might take place between the Member States after the balance has been drawn up for the relevant financial year in order to compensate for remaining imbalances as regards GNP;

17.Emphasizes in particular that revenue under the first and second categories, which is collected at the Union's external borders and border posts, should remain revenue of the Union and should not accrue to the place, region or Member State which collects it [the European Union currently pays the Member States 10% in fees for such collection];

18.Is convinced that a distinction should be made between tax fairness and the question of fair distribution: the latter is generally determined at political level and must be geared to the Union's objectives such as economic and social cohesion between all its parts; stresses in this connection that the economic benefits of the internal market significantly outweigh the sums paid to the Union by its members, particularly for the economically most developed countries;

19.Considers that a fair system of revenue and expenditure which has received democratic approval will make a decisive contribution to eliminating the need for partial solutions which have in the past encumbered the Community budget;

20.Approves the granting of temporary derogations for individual Member States with a view to attaining the objective of a uniform and general system of own revenue; rejects, however, a Community 'à la carte' in respect of the system of own revenue in which individual states might claim privileges for an indefinite period;

System of finances and democratic participation in decision-making

21.Takes the view that the transfer to European level of an increasing number of political powers in fields such as agricultural policy, external trade, internal trade, development aid, transport and social policy and economic and monetary policy should go hand in hand with corresponding action to provide the Union with democratic legislative powers, which would include both tax and budgetary powers and appropriate financial autonomy ('no representation without taxation');

22.Takes the view that a continued transfer of previously defined amounts by the Member States in a manner detached from the decisions of the budgetary authority runs counter to democratic procedure, leads to unnecessary additional expenditure and favours results which, from the point of view of budgetary policy, are absurd; stresses, therefore, that the European Union's budgetary autonomy would have a positive impact on subsidiarity in its true sense and strengthen the sense of accountability for the taxes paid by its citizens;

23.Underlines the need to submit revenue and expenditure to thrifty financial management and, particularly in the wake of the Maastricht decisions, strict controls to combat fraud; points out that awareness with regard to increased controls grows in line with increasing financial autonomy;

24.Calls on the Commission to incorporate the above criteria for and elements of a new system of own resources for the Union in its proposal;

25.Calls on the Council to use the above criteria and elements as the basis for its negotiations on a new system of own resources for the Union;

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26.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the parliaments and governments of the Member States.