Re: The lrish Problem over???
Originally Posted by
Bread
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The rebate we receive can only be spent by the UK on things that the EU allows us to - a piece of information not very well known ....
The EU will have to beg for the shortfall from Albania and Macedonia, or even better, the countries that don't pay anywhere near what they could pay, like yours.
Bye !
The amount of the rebate changes every year depending on the values of the UK's GNI, its VAT receipts and the euro/pound exchange rate. Once the rebate is calculated from the payments and receipts in a given year, the UK's GNI-based contribution in the following year is reduced by that amount. So it is not spent on anything.
The effect of the rebate is to increase contributions required from all other member states, to make up the loss from the overall budget.
The rebate distorts UK funding negotiations with the EU. Normally, countries and independent agencies within each country bid to receive central EU funds. The UK government is aware that two-thirds of any EU funding will in effect be deducted from the rebate and come out of UK government funds. Thus the UK has only a one-third incentive to apply for EU funds. Other countries, whose contributions into the budget are not affected by funds they receive back, have no incentive to moderate their requests for funds.