1. The future of the EU budget – own resources Péter Benő BANAI deputy head of department Ministry of Finance, Hungary Budapest, 30 May 2008.

2. Member States? Payments at national level (e.g. the GNI- based contribution) Citizens? Payments at individual level (e.g. an EU-tax) What are the basic economic and social entities, units of the Union?

3. The budget should „match” with the level of integration No EU tax The budget might be a tool to deepen integration Introduction of an EU tax What is the connection between the „depth of integration” and the budget?

4. Sufficiency, Stability Cost-effectiveness Fairness Financial autonomy Visibility … There is not an own resource which fulfills all criteria. There is a trade-off between different criteria. Weighting criteria determines the own resource system. Which criteria shall be fulfilled by an optimal own resource?

5. Visibility Financial autonomy National authorities should collect the tax! „Dependence” cannot be decreased. Consumption structures are different in the Member States! Fairness (?) Cost effectiveness Stability Two possible advantages of an EU tax compared to the GNI resource Is it a good tool to present the Union? Just in principle!

6. According to the principle of universality budget revenue is used without distinction to finance all expenditure. No „real” agreement on the expenditure side Net positions dominating the agenda Maintenance / introduction of a correction mechanism No „real” agreement on the income side No one is satisfied with the financial perspective Do we need any correction systems?

7. The attitude of Member States towards debated issues of the or. system (1) Note: the nine countries not included in the table have not yet submitted their contribution Based on the contribution of Member States’ governments to the public consultation process on the EU budget

8. The attitude of Member States towards debated issues of the or. system (2) General consensus emerged on the following: Most countries emphasized the necessity to reform the current OR system. The reform should be closely linked to the expenditure side. The GNI-based resource satisfies the requirements of stability, flexibility, and equality. Based on the contribution of Member States’ governments to the public consultation process on the EU budget

9. Thank you for your attention! Péter Benő BANAI Ministry of Finance, Hungary Tel: +36-1-327-2761 Fax: +36-1-327-5949 E-mail: peter.banai@pm.gov.hu