§ Keith VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost to the UK of the proposed enlargement of the EU. [105674]
§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's estimate is of the effect of enlargement on Britain's contribution to the EU budget. [106067]
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§ Mr. MacShaneThe Copenhagen European Council agreed €25.1 billion of payments for the new member states between 2004–06. This means the overall annual net cost of enlargement is less than one-thousandth of the GDP of the EU-15. And the UK's share of any additional cost will continue to be limited by the abatement.
The Government publish forecasts of the UK's net contribution to the EC Budget as a whole rather than individual elements. Latest estimates of the UK's net contribution are set out in the footnote to table B17 of the November 2002 Pre-Budget Report (Cm 5664).
§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the consequences of the enlargement of the EU on the work load of the European Court of Justice; and what plans he has for reforms to allow the Court to deal with the consequence of enlargement. [106066]
§ Mr. MacShane[holding answer 31 March 2003]: We expect an increased work load for the Community Courts after enlargement. The Government supports an effective European Court of Justice (ECJ). Changes under the Treaty of Nice will facilitate the allocation of work between the ECJ and the Court of First Instance (CFI), and provide for judicial panels to be attached to the CFI. Each new member state will appoint one judge to each court. The Government have been fully engaged in discussions in the Future of Europe Convention which are looking at various improvements relating to the work of the courts including how to improve the enforcement of EC law.