An accounting prank is on the way for the Treasury: by December 340, Italy will have to pay 2013 million euros to the European Union as a contribution to this year's Community budget. The Financial Times writes it, citing a document from Brussels in which the VAT contribution quotas are revised based on the recalculation of GDP up to XNUMX.
With the new criteria – which take into account, among other things, some illegal activities – the Italian GDP in 2013 grew by 3,8% (with a discrepancy of 59 billion euro), while the debt/GDP ratio dropped from 132,6 to 127,9% and the deficit from 3,0 to 2,8%. As it happens, the additional VAT that the recalculation entails corresponds to an exact tenth of the hoard that the government has set aside in view of the ongoing negotiations with Brussels on the 2015 Stability law.
"It is necessary to study method and results in depth", commented the undersecretary to the presidency of the council in charge of European policies, Sandro Gozi.
Contrary to our country, France and Germany will obtain a refund of 1,02 billion and 780 million respectively, while Great Britain will have to pay a particularly salty extra quota: a good 2,13 billion, an outlay that risks significantly strengthening the movement British eurosceptic, long at the top of London concerns.
The Financial Times writes that David Cameron has already promised to do battle at today's summit in Brussels: "The request is unacceptable," said the British prime minister. However, the Commission explains that the numbers quoted by the newspaper are provisional and could change.
EU finance ministers are due to hold an extraordinary meeting today to review the contribution quota adjustment. This was reported by EU diplomatic sources, adding that the Italian rotating presidency has agreed to organize an extraordinary meeting between ministers and the Commission in the coming days to review the numbers.
The sources explain that Great Britain has met with the support of Italy and the Netherlands, also called to provide additional contributions by December. Germany, France and outgoing Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso oppose the revision, emphasizing that the figures are revised every year once the final economic data of the individual countries are available.
