§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list(a) EU member states' gross contributions to the EU budget, (b) EU member states' net contributions to the EU budget and (c) the United Kingdom's abatement, for the last two financial years. [161463]
§ Ruth KellyBased on the most recent information published by the European Commission the gross and net contributions of member states for the years 2001 and 2002 are set out in the following tables.
Gross contributions, after taking account of the UK abatement [...]million EU15 2001 2002 Belgium 3,532 3,018 Denmark 1,778 1,688 Germany 19,727 17,582 Greece 1,350 1,338 Spain 6,592 6,551 France 14,471 14,152 Ireland 1,211 1,019 Italy 11,613 11,280 Luxembourg 257 184 Netherlands 5,517 4,467 Austria 2,091 1,809 Portugal 1,266 1,187 Finland 1,233 1,185 Sweden 2,338 2,086 United Kingdom 7,743 10,153 101W
Net Contributions1 [...] million EU15 2001 2002 Belgium -518 -1,475 Denmark 429 216 Germany 9,380 5,897 Greece -4,391 -3,357 Spain -7,057 -8,666 France 2,720 1,929 Ireland -1,108 -1,581 Italy 2,920 3,039 Luxembourg -644 -791 Netherlands 3,830 2,876 Austria 688 255 Portugal -1,681 -2,686 Finland 213 -18 Sweden 1,245 841 United kingdom 1,805 3,985 1Minus sign denotes net recipient. The figures for the UK Abatement, which are included within the figures in the tables, are:
[...] million United Kingdom 2001 7,343 2002 4,934 The UK abatement for the financial years 2001–02 and 2002–03 was:
£million 2001–02 4,427 2002–03 3,234
§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of the EU rebate to the UK has been since its agreement in 1984. [161461]
§ Ruth KellyBy the end of financial year 2002–03 the UK abatement has been worth around £37 billion since its introduction.