HL Deb 16 June 1992 vol 538 cc10-2WA
Lord Monkswell

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will list, for each member state of the EC, the net per capita contribution to, or receipt from, Community funds, together with the per capita income of the inhabitants of each member state, for the years 1975, 1980, 1985 and 1990.

The Earl of Caithness

The European Commission do not publish information on member states' net balances in respect of the EC Budget. The Court of Auditors' Report (first published in 1977) gives information on member states' gross contributions and some 85 per cent. of budgetary receipts, with administration and research the main items of internal expenditure excluded. The report in 1977 gave information on member states' contributions from 1973, but only dealt with receipts from 1976. Using the incomplete information given in the Court of Auditors' Report, the following table gives member states' net contributions per capita (+) or net receipts per capita (-) for the years 1976 (as 1975 is not available), 1980, 1985 and 1990:

ecu per capital1
1976 1980 1985 1990
Belgium2 +11 +27 +22 +77
Denmark -47 -66 -57 -83
Germany +17 +26 +54 +88
Greece -133 -245
Spain -44
France +2 -8 -2 +32
Ireland -59 -202 -358 -541
Italy +3 -12 -15 +7
Luxembourg2 +7 +13 +106 +150
Netherlands -8 -28 -24 -25
Portugal -64
United Kingdom3 +5 +24 +35 +59
Notes:
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.
3 The UK's contribution in 1976 is lower than it would otherwise have been owing to transitional arrangements following accession which reduced its gross contribution.

Source: Member states' contributions and receipts—Court of Auditors Report; Population— Eurostat.

Figures for gross disposable income are not available. The net disposable income per capita for each member state for the same years was as follows:

ecu per capital1
1976 1980 1985 1990
Belgium 5,535 7,698 9,434 13,464
Denmark 6,722 8,237 12,925 17,296
Germany 5,649 8,230 11,540 15,782
Greece 2,182 2,914 4,168 4,910
Spain 2,457 3,656 4,923 8,820
France 5,324 7,841 10,888 14,443
Ireland 2,200 3,705 5,932 8,050
Italy 2,985 5,141 8,537 12,894
Luxembourg 6,648 9,615 15,804 22,310
Netherlands 5,612 7,704 10,222 12,966
Portugal 1,611 2,028 2,880 5,119
United Kingdom 4,161 5,977 9,331 11,750
Notes:
1 At current prices and exchange rates.

Source: Eurostat, National Accounts.