Asked by: Baroness Fox of Buckley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the UK’s financial settlement with the EU is paid into the same budget as member state contributions; and whether the financial settlement is ringfenced for specific EU spending projects.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
Payments made by the UK to the EU for the financial settlement are specifically related to the Financial Provisions section of the Withdrawal Agreement. The amounts provided are in relation to outstanding financial commitments between the UK and the EU which arose out of the UK’s participation in the EU budget as a Member State, broader aspects of its EU membership, and under the Transition Agreement.
Payments provided to the EU by the UK under Article 148 of the Withdrawal Agreement, the article summarising the yearly amount payable under Financial Settlement, are entered into the EU General Budget by the European Commission as ‘Special Contributions and Refunds’, under Chapter 6 6 of the Revenue of the EU Budget. Payments assigned to the General Budget are not specified for ringfenced expenditure.