31971R0002

Official Journal of the European Communities 3

5.1.71 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 3 / 1

REGULATION (EEC EURATOM ECSC) No 2/71 OF THE COUNCIL

of 2 January 1971 implementing the Decision of 21 April 1970 on the replacement of financial contributions from Member States by the Communities' own resources

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, budgets of the three Communities were combined in a single budget ; Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, and in Whereas, in application of that Treaty and of the particular Article 78f thereof; Decision of 21 April 1970, the Communities' own resources must be entered in the Communities' Having regard to the Treaty establishing the budget in accordance with a procedure to be laid European Economic Community, and in particular down ; Article 209 thereof; Whereas it is appropriate to determine the time limits within which and the procedure whereby < the Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Communities' own resources are entered into the European Atomic Energy Community, and in accounts, paid over, and allocated to the budget; particular Article 183 thereof; whereas such time limits and procedure should also be determined as regards standard refunds to Having regard to the Treaty establishing a Single Member States of the expenses incurred in collection ; Council and a Single Commission of the European Communities, and in particular Article 20 thereof; Whereas the Member States keep at the disposal of the Commission and provide it where required with Having regard to the Decision of 21 April 19701 on the documents and information needed to exercise the replacement of financial contributions from the powers conferred upon it as regards the Member States by the Communities ' own resources Communities' own resources and the budgetary (hereinafter called 'Decision of 21 April 1970'), and procedure ; in particular Article 6 (2) thereof;

Whereas the Member States should arrange for Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ; verifications and inquiries related to establishing and making available the Communities' own resources ; Having regard to the Opinion of the European whereas the Commission should exercise its powers Parliament2 ; in accordance with this Regulation ;

Whereas the Decision of 21 April 1970 lays down that Whereas appropriate provision must be made as the Council must adopt provisions relating to the regards the share of each Member State and the control, the making available and the payment of the factors which should be taken into account when ' Communities' own resources, and the procedure for applying Article 3 (3 ) and Article 4 ( 1 ) of the application of Article 3 (3 ) and Article 4 of that Decision of 21 April 1970, and also the adjustments Decision ; between such shares ;

Whereas, pursuant to Article 20 of the Treaty Whereas the application of Article 4 (2), (3) and (4) establishing a Single Council and a Single of the Decision of 21 April 1970 requires a common Commission of the European Communities, the definition of the gross national product and of the procedure for calculating this ;

1 OJ No L 94, 28.4.1970, p. 19. Whereas it is appropriate to specify the balance to be 2 OJ No C 129, 26.10.1970, p. 26. carried over to the following financial year and the

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procedure whereby the revenue to be collected and . (b) of the general provisions laid down by law, the balance to be carried forward will be allocated to regulation, administrative action for relating to the budget; accounting procedure concerning the establish­ ment of own resources and their being made available to the Commission . Whereas close co-operation between Member States and the Commission will facilitate the application of this Regulation, which aims at enabling the 2. The Commission shall pass such information to Communities to dispose of their own resources under other Member States at their request. the best possible conditions ;

Article 5 HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION : Each Member State shall draw up yearly a closing TITLE I statement of account together with a report on the establishment and control of own resources and shall forward this to the Commission before 1 June of the General provisions year following the financial year concerned.

Article 1 Article 6 The Communities' own resources within the meaning of the Decision of 21 April 1970 (hereinafter called 1 . Accounts for own resources shall be kept by the 'own resources') shall be established by Member Treasury of each Member State and broken down States in accordance with their own provisions laid into types of resources. down by law, regulation or administrative action and shall be made available to the Commission in 2 . The established entitlements shall be entered in accordance with this Regulation, without prejudice to those accounts within a period of sixty days the provisions to be adopted in due course following the end of the month during which the concerning revenue derived from value added tax. entitlements were established .

Each Member State shall forward to the Commission, Article 2 within the same period, a monthly statement of those accounts showing the position as regards the 1 . For the purposes of " application of this entitlements established for the month concerned. Regulation, an entitlement shall be deemed to be established as soon as the corresponding claim has 3 . The established entitlements shall be entered in been duly determined by the appropriate department the accounts of the Communities as revenue to be or agency of the Member State. collected in so far as the amounts in question have not been paid over. 2. The competent department or agency of the Member State shall revise the entitlement established 4 . The amounts actually paid over shall be entered in accordance with paragraph 1 where the need for a as revenue in the budget of the Communities. rectification arises .

Article3¶

Member States shall take all requisite measures to Provisions for making available and paying over the ensure that the supporting documents concerning Communities' own resources established entitlements and the making available of own resources are kept for three years . Article 7

1 . The amount of own resources established shall Article 4 be entered by each Memberv State to the credit of the account opened with the Treasury for this purpose in 1 . . Each Member State shall inform the the name of the Commission . This account shall be Commission, at the latter's request : kept free of charge. ( a) of the names of the departments or agencies responsible for establishing own resources and, 2. Each amount shall be . entered gross . In the where appropriate, their statutes ; thirty days following notification of each entry, the

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Commission shall issue a transfer order in favour of purpose to the Treasury or to the appropriate the Member State for the amounts corresponding to department of each Member State shall be carried out the standard refund for the expenses incurred in as soon as possible. collection as referred to in the fifth subparagraph of Article 3 ( 1 ) of the Decision of 21 April 1970. 2. In cases of actual liquidity difficulty and where all possibility of obtaining advances against the financial contributions of Member States is Article 8 exhausted, the Member States shall, at the Commission's request, make an advance on future 1 . Own resources to be established by each Mem­ resources not exceeding one and a half month's ber State together with its financial contribution shall estimated revenue. be the subject of a provisional estimate entered in the budget, account being taken of Article 3 (3 ) and Advances exceeding the amount indicated in the first Article 4 ( 1 ) of the Decision of 21 April 1970. subparagraph and justified by the requirements of a rectifiying or supplementary preliminary draft budget 2 . Payment shall be made of the amount actually may be authorised by the Council acting by a established by the Member State for the kind of qualified majority on a proposal from the resources involved; where appropriate, payment shall Commission. The method for settling the accounts be made in the proportion fixed by the budget, shall be fixed at the same time as the authorisation is subject to rectification when closing the accounts. given .

3 . Adjustment shall be made for amounts which a Article 12 Member State may have overpaid or which might still be owing. Transfer of funds shall be made, so far as possible, from currencies of Member States having a revenue Article 9 surplus into currencies of the other Member States. They shall be restricted to actual cash requirements . 1 . The entry referred to in Article 7 ( 1 ) shall be made within a period of sixty days following the end of the month during which the entitlement was TITLE III established . Provisions concerning measures of control 2. Any delay in making the entry shall give rise to the payment of interest by the Member State Article 13 concerned at a rate equal to the highest rate of discount ruling in the Member States on the due date. 1 . Member States shall take all requisite measures That rate shall be increased by 0-25% for each month to ensure that the amounts corresponding to the of delay. entitlements established under Articles 1 and 2 are made available to the Commission in accordance with this Regulation. Article 10 2. Member States shall not be required to place at 1 . The entitlements established under Article 2 (2) the disposal of the Commission the amounts -shall be entered in the monthly return corresponding corresponding to established entitlements solely to the date of revision and shall be added to or where, for reasons of force majeure, these amounts subtracted from the total amount of the established could not be collected. entitlements . 3 . Every six months Member States shall The provisions of Article 9 (2) shall also apply to these new entitlements . communicate to the Commission, where appropriate within the framework of existing procedures, comprehensive information and questions of 2. The expenses incurred in collection as referred principle concerning the most important problems to in the fifth paragraph of Article 3 ( 1 ) of the arising out of the application of this Regulation and Decision of 21 April 1970 shall be refunded, account in particular matters in dispute. being taken of the entitlements established under Article 2 (2 ). Article 14 Article 11 1 . Member States shall carry out the verifications 1 . The Commission shall have at its disposal for and inquiries concerning established entitlements and implementation of the budget the amounts credited the making available of own resources . The to its account. Orders and instructions which, in Commission shall make use of its powers in accordance with actual needs, it forwards for this accordance with this Article.

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2. Accordingly, Member States shall : purposes, Community transit and inward processing, shall be applied by the appropriate authorities of — carry out any additional measures of control the Member States when establishing own resources. Commission may ask for in a reasoned request;

— associate the Commission, at its request, with the measures of control which they are carrying out. TITLE IV Member States shall take all steps required to facilitate these measures of control. Where the Procedure for application of Article 3 (3) and Article Commission is associated with these measures, 4 ( 1 ) of the Decision of 21 April 1970 Member States shall place at is disposal the supporting documents referred to in Article 3 . In order to restrict Article 16 as far as possible additional measures of control the Commission may, in special cases, require that certain 1 . For the purpose of this Regulation, 'share of - documents be put at its disposal. each Member State' means the proportion of expenditure entered in the budget - of the 3 . The measures of control referred to in Communities and financed by means of own ^ paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not prejudice the following resources within the meaning of the Decision of 21 measures : April 1970 deriving from that State, and also, where appropriate, by means of the financial contributions ( a) the measures of control undertaken by Member of that State, calculated in accordance with the scale States in accordance with their own provisions shown in Article 3 (2) of that Decision. laid down by law, regulation or administrative action ; 2. The upper limit of the. share of each Member (b) the measures provided for in Article 206 of the State for any given financial year shall correspond to Treaty establishing the European Economic its share in the financing of the budget of the Community and Article 180 of the Treaty estab­ Communities of the preceding financial year, lishing the European Atomic Energy Com­ calculated in accordance with Article 3 (3 ) of the munity ; Decision of 21 April 1970, plus (c) the inspection arrangements made pursuant to — 1% until 31 December 1974; Article 209 (c) of the Treaty establishing the — 2% between 1 January 1975 and 31 December European Economic Community and Article 183 1977 . (c) of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community. 3 . The lower limit of the share of each Member State for any given financial year shall correspond to 4. Before the end of 1973, the Commission shall its share in the financing of the budget of the report to the Council on the functioning of the Communities of the preceding financial year, system . calculated in accordance with Article 3 (3 ) of the Decision of 21 April 1970, less 5 . The Council shall, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, determine : — 1-5% until 31 December 1974 ;

( a) the conditions which officials appointed by the — 2% between 1 January 1975 and 31 December Commission must satisfy when they carry out the • 1977 . verifications provided for in this Article, in particular with regard to professional secrecy and the procedure whereby they exercise their powers Article 17 of investigation; For the purposes of application of Article 3 (3 ) and (b) where required, other provisions for applying Article 4 ( 1 ) of the Decision , of 21 April 1970 and this Article . without prejudice to Article 3 (5) of that Decision, the following factors shall be taken into account:

( a) the expenditure incurred during the financial year Article IS in question, plus the appropriations carried over to the following financial year, less the The provisions of Community law applicable to appropriations carried over from preceding matters referred to in the first paragraph of Article 2 financial years and written off, and also revenues of the Decision of 21 April 1970, in particular other than own resources and financial regarding nomenclature, origin, value for customs contributions from Member States ;

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(b) for each Member State, the resources for which the compensation account which it has drawn up, an entitlement has been established during the showing the debit or credit balance of each Member financial year in question. State. Each debtor Member State shall pay to each creditor Member State part of the amount shown in its debit account, that part being proportionate to the share of the creditor Member State in the total­ Article 18 amount entered in the credit account.

1 . In so far as the shares of certain Member States do not fall within the limits referred to in Article 16 3 . In the month following this communication, the debtor Member States shall pay to the creditor (2 ) and (3 ), the shares above and below the limits Member States the amount owing in the national shall where necessary be adjusted to bring them currency of the latter at the parity declared to the within those limits; any deficiency in the budget shall International Monetary Fund. then be apportioned among the other Member States in accordance with the scale laid down in Article 3 (2) of the Decision of 21 April 1970. Article 22

2. This operation shall be repeated if necessary. The percentages to be taken into account for the Calculations under Articles 16 to 20 shall, for each 3 . Any surplus resulting from application of this operation, be rounded off at the fourth decimal place. Article shall be carried over to the following financial year.

TITLE V Article 19 Procedure for application of Article 4 (2), (3 ) and (4) of the Decision of 21 April 1970 For budgets up to and including that for the financial year ending 31 December 1974, the adjustment provided for in Article 18 shall be carried out when Article 23 the budget is finally passed and shall be finally adopted when the accounts for revenue and 1 . This Article shall be applicable where it may be expenditure are submitted. necessary to take provisional measures in derogation under Article 4 (2) and (3 ) of the Decision of 21 April 1970 . Article 20 2. The gross national product at market prices 1 . From the financial year 1975 up to and shall be calculated on the basis of statistics established including the year ending 31 December 1977, the by the Statistical Office of the European adjustment to the budget provided for in Article 18 Communities ; it shall correspond, for each Member shall be carried out when the accounts for revenue State, to the arithmetic average for the first three and expenditure are submitted. years of the five-year period preceding the financial year in respect of which Article 4 (2) and (3 ) of the Decision of 21 April 1970 is applicable. 2 . This adjustment shall give rise to financial compensation between the Member States concerned . 3 . The gross national product shall be established in units of account at the parities declared, to the International Monetary Fund. Article 21 If there is a change in parity in the course of a year, a 1 . The financial compensation referred to in parity based on the parities declared to the Article 20 (2) shall be effected in accordance with the International Monetary Fund and weighted on a time third subparagraph of Article 4 (1 ) of the Decision of basis shall be applied. 21 April 1970.

4. As long as the derogation provided for in 2 . The Commission shall communicate to the Article 4 (2) of the Decision of 21 April 1970 is Member States, during the month following the applied to one or more Member States, the closure of the accounts for revenue and expenditure, Commission shall fix, in its preliminary draft budget,

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the estimated percentage of the budget to be covered — all the revenue credited to the accounts for the by the financial contributions of the Member State or financial year in question, less that part of the States concerned on the basis of the proportion of revenue credited to the accounts for the preceding their gross national product to the sum total of the financial year which was not collected during the gross national products of the Member States, and financial year in question. shall establish the rate of the value added tax corresponding to the remainder of the budget to be . covered by the other Member States. The amounts 2 . The outstanding amounts within the meaning of shall be approved in accordance with budgetary the second indent of paragraph 1 shall be recorded procedure. separately in a suspense account and credited to the account for the financial year during which they are actually collected. 5 . If at the close of the accounts of the financial year in question the Commission finds that the Member States which have paid financial 3 . The balance to be carried over shall be finally contributions on the basis of the gross national determined in accordance with the budgetary product have in terms of percentage actually covered procedure at the same time as the account for by means of those financial contributions more then revenue and expenditure referred to in Articles 19 and their share, it shall establish the necessary 20 are closed . adjustments taking account of the provisions of the third subparagraph of Article 4 ( 1 ) of the Decision of 21 April 1970 .

TITLE VII 6. For the purposes of this Regulation :

. Provisions relating to the Advisory Committee on the ( a ) the gross national product at market prices is Communities' Own Resources, and final provisions equal to the gross domestic product at market prices plus income from employment, property and business received from the rest of the world Article 25 less the corresponding, flow towards the rest of the world ; 1 . An Advisory Committee on the Communities' Own Resources (hereinafter called the 'Committee') (b ) the gross domestic product at market prices, is hereby set up . which represents the final outcome of production by resident productive units, corresponds to the total production of goods and services by the 2. The Committee shall consist of representatives . economy, less total intermediate consumption, of the Member States and of the Commission . Each plus import charges. Member State shall be represented on the Committee by not more than five officials.

The Chairman of the Committee shall be a TITLE VI representative of the Commission.

Procedure for application of Article 4 (5 ) of the Secretarial services for the Committee shall be Decision of 21 April 1970 provided by the Commission.

Article 24 3 . The Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure. 1 . The balance of one financial year to be carried, over to the following financial year, in accordance with Article 4 (5 ) of the Decision of 21 April 1970, shall consist of the difference between : Article 26

— expenditure incurred during the financial year in The Committee shall examine the questions raised by question, plus the appropriations carried over to its Chairman, on his own initiative or at the request the following financial year, less appropriations of the representative of a Member State, which carried over from the preceding financial years concern the application of this Regulation, and in and written off; and particular:

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(a) information and communication provided for in Article 27 • Articles 4 ( 1 ) (b), 5 and 13 (3 ); This Regulation shall enter into force on the day (b) cases of force majeure referred to in Article 13 following its publication in the Official Journal of the (2); European Communities.

(c) measures of control and inspection provided for It shall have effect from the date of entry into force in Article 14 (2). of the Decision of 21 April 1970.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States .

Done at Brussels, 2 January 1971 .

For the Council The President

M. SCHUMANN