The European Union (Finance) Bill 2015–16 is a Government bill scheduled to receive its second reading in the House of Lords on 8 July 2015. The Bill would enable the United Kingdom to approve the European Union’s new ‘Own Resources Decision’ (ORD), made on the 26 May 2014 by European Union Council. The new ORD would amend the arrangements for the financing of the annual budget of the EU.
The Bill contains two clauses:
• Clause 1 of the Bill would approve the European Council decision of 26 May 2014, which agreed European Union financing for the period 2014–20. As specified in part 1, section 7 of the European Act 2011, an Act of Parliament is required to adopt a decision relating to the system of own resources of the European Union. The Clause would also add the new ORD to the list of Community Treaties in section 1(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. As outlined in the explanatory notes this would allow “payments made by the United Kingdom pursuant to the Decision to be charged directly on the Consolidated Fund or the National Loans Fund under section 2(3) of that Act”.
• Clause 2 of the Bill would repeal the European Communities (Finance) Act 2008, which would be superseded by this Act. Subsection 3 of the Act specifies that the EU (Finance) Act would automatically come into force at the end of the period of 2 months beginning with the day on which it is passed. The Bill would extend to the whole of the United Kingdom. The Clause also specifies the short title of the Act.
The Bill passed the House of Commons unamended. Attempts to amend the Bill at Committee stage in the House of Commons were negatived on division.