Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-07-04-Speech-2-162"
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"en.20060704.25.2-162"2
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"In the light of the very technical report by my fellow Member, Mr Lamassoure, concerning the EU’s own resources, I think it vital to draw attention to the idea put forward by Belgium and by Guy Verhofstadt a few years ago: that of giving the EU genuine financial autonomy via the introduction of what has been called a European tax.
An additional tax? Surely not. The idea is simply that, rather than pay what is due to Europe to their own nations, Europeans should be allowed to fund the EU directly, in the way that Americans fund the federal state. For the individual European, it is a plan that would, therefore, have no great significance at all from a financial point of view but that would be pregnant with symbolism, since everyone would thus be made aware of the portion of his or her tax devoted to European integration. I would point out, incidentally, that Europe costs each European 26 cents per day.
Although the plan is warmly welcomed by certain Member States (notably Austria and Luxembourg), others remain nervous about an instrument intended, nonetheless, to bring Europe closer to its citizens. The plan would also enable us to leave behind the sterile debate between states that are net contributors and those that are net beneficiaries. Europe would then, most certainly, have resources in keeping with its ambitions."@en1
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