§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment the Government have made of the effect of the membership in the European Union of(a) Poland, (b) The Czech Republic, (c) Slovakia, (d) Estonia, (e) Latvia, (f) Lithuania, (g) Hungary, (h) Slovenia, (i) Cyprus and (j) Malta on the European Union's budget. [65710]
§ Peter HainThe Berlin European Council (March 1999) set a ceiling of 35 billion euro in payments for new member states for 2004–06. Based on its proposals for phasing in EU policies to new member states, the Commission estimates the cost to the EU budget of up to ten new member states acceding in 2004 to be 28 billion euro for the period 2004–06. This can be financed well within the ceiling on Own Resources (which will remain at 1.27 per cent. of GNP). The Commission's proposals remain the subject of negotiation and no estimate of the cost for individual applicants is given. The Government's view is that the final package must respect the overall financial ceilings agreed at Berlin.