§ Sir Teddy TaylorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the net contribution or the net receipt of each member state to or from the EC in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; and if he will express these totals also as a sum per head of population in each member state.
§ Sir John CopeThe European Commission does not publish information on member states' net balances in respect of the EC budget. The latest information available is contained in the European Court of Auditors' report for 1990; this gives information on member states' gross contributions and some 85 per cent. of budgetary receipts, with administration and research the main items of expenditure excluded. Using this incomplete information, the following table gives member states' net contributions (+) or net receipts (-) for 1990, both in absolute terms and per head of population:
mecu1 ecu1 per head Belgium2 +774 +77 Denmark -422 -83 Germany +5,550 +88 Greece -2,470 -245 Spain -1,711 -44 France +1,805 +32 Ireland -1,892 -541 Italy +417 +7 Luxembourg2 +60 +150 Netherlands -368 -25 Portugal -601 -64 United Kingdom +3,387 +59 1 At current prices and exchange rates. 2 Although the table shows Belgium and Luxembourg as net contributors in each year, they are not likely to have been when administrative receipts excluded from the Court of Auditors' report are taken into account. Source: Member states' contributions and receipts—Court of Auditors Report; Population—Eurostat