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The Council recognised the unprecedented scale of this year's revision of the revenue to the EU budget and its impact on some member states' national treasuries. It invited the Commission to propose a revision of the regulation on own resources allowing member states concerned to defer the required payments over a period ending on 1 September 2015. The Council also recognised the need to address the high level of unpaid claims and to work constructively on adopting a position on the draft amending budgets for 2014 in a timely manner.
The Council adopted conclusions on EU statistics and on the finance aspects of climate policy, in preparation for a conference of the parties of the U' framework convention on climate change.
Opening Remarks by Commissioner Moscovici at the ECOFIN press conference
David Cameron, the UK prime minister, was indignant when learning at the EU summit of 22-23 October that the UK’s contribution to the EU budget for 2014 was being increased by €2.1 billion after a reassessment of its wealth.
According to the existing rules, the sum becomes liable for payment from 1 December, but Cameron said the sum was “unacceptable” and that the UK would not pay the sum by 1 December.
The finance ministers today called on the European Commission to present an amendment to EU budget laws that would allow a member state additional time to pay a recalculated contribution in the event of exceptional circumstances.
The deal was welcomed by the UK government. George Osborne, the UK’s finance minister, emerged from the meeting to say: “Instead of footing the bill, we have halved the bill, we have delayed the bill, we will pay no interest on the bill and if there are mistakes in the bill we will get our money back.”
Osborne said that the UK would pay around £850 million (€1.1bn) rather than the €2.1bn originally sought by the EU. The payment would be made in the two instalments in the second half of 2015, he explained.
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