§ Mr. Marlowasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest estimated net receipts and contributions for each EEC country from or to the EEC budget for the last two full years; and what are the estimates for the next two full years.
§ Mr. Lawson[pursuant to his reply, 5 November 1979]: The net recorded 113W budget transfers for 1977 and 1978, as calculated by the Commission, were given to the House in my reply to the hon. Member for Fife, Central (Mr. Hamilton) on 11 June 1979. [Vol 968, c. 141–42.]
The figures for 1979 and 1980 in the following table are based on the Commission's latest forecasts:
1979* (£ million)† 1980 Belgium/Luxembourg +368.5 +542.1 Denmark +279.1 +239.7 Germany -737.0 -833.1 France -119.7 -96.5 Ireland +361.6 +342.3 Italy +265.2 +447.6 Netherlands +114.0 +249.8 United Kingdom -844.7 -1,310.3 + Net beneficiary; - net contributor. Note: In drawing up this table MCAs paid on agricultural products imported into the United Kingdom and Italy from other member States have been treated as benefits to the exporting country.
* After full article 131 refunds (article 131 of the Treaty of Accession limits the gross contributions of the new Member States to the 1978 and 1979 budgets. In December 1977 the European Council discussed the interpretation of this article and agreed that all member States would initially pay full own resources, but that the new member States would receive refunds, quarterly in arrears, to reduce their gross contributions in line with an agreed formula. The figures shown include four quarterly refunds in respect of the 1979 budget, the last of which will be paid in the first quarter of 1980. They do not include the refund paid in the first quarter of 1979 in respect of the 1978 Budget).
† Converted from EUA at the exchange rates used in drawing up the 1979 and 1980 Community Budgets: £1 = 1.5875 EUA and 1.4813 EUA respectively.