The Netherlands to get €124m rebate from EU over 2016

Photo: Europa.eu

Brussels is to repay €124m to the Netherlands following a recalculation of the contributions made by all EU member states in 2016, the Financieele Dagblad said on Friday.

By contrast, the UK, Ireland and Italy will have to pay more money to the EU over 2016, the paper said.

Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem hinted at the rebate in November, but the exact amount was made public by the European Commission only on Thursday. The rebate will be subtracted from the Netherlands’ EU contribution for the current year.

Relatively seen, the Netherlands is the largest net contributor to the EU coffers. Just over 0.4% of Dutch GNP goes to Brussels every year. In 2005 this amounted to nearly €6bn. However, the country also receives subsidies which lowers the net contribution to about €2.5bn, or €150 per capita.

The recalculation is the result of a new method of determining GNP. In addition to the Netherlands, Estonia and Sweden are receiving the largest rebates.

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