Overview

This bill approves a 2014 European Union Council decision on the EU's system of own resources and updates UK law to reflect this decision. It essentially formalizes how the EU funds itself and amends existing legislation to include the latest agreement.

Description

The bill has two main parts:

• Approval of EU Decision: It approves the Council decision of May 26, 2014, (2014/335/EU, Euratom) which sets out the EU's system for raising its own funds. This approval is required under section 7(1) of the European Union Act 2011.
• Legal Amendment: The bill amends the definition of "the Treaties" and "the EU Treaties" within the European Communities Act 1972. This update adds the 2014 Council decision to the list of treaties that form the legal basis for the UK's relationship with the EU (previously including decisions from 1985, 1988, 1994, 2000 and 2007).
• Repeal: The bill repeals the European Communities (Finance) Act 2008, as it is now superseded.

Government Spending

The bill itself does not directly impact UK government spending. It simply ratifies an existing EU agreement on how the EU finances itself. The UK's contribution to the EU budget is determined by separate agreements and would be unaffected by this specific bill.

Groups Affected

The bill primarily affects:

• UK Government: The bill requires them to formally approve the EU's funding mechanism and update UK law accordingly.
• EU Institutions: The bill's approval reinforces the legal basis for the EU's 2014 funding system.
• UK taxpayers (indirectly): The UK's contribution to the EU budget, which is influenced by the EU's own resources system, may be indirectly affected in the long term, though this bill does not change the existing contributions.

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