ZEW President Fuest Appointed to “High-Level Group” on EU Financing Reform

On a proposal of the European Council, the President of the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Prof. Clemens Fuest, has been appointed to the newly created EU's "High-Level Group on Own Resources". The group’s objective is to develop proposals for the future financing of the European Union and to identify ways to make the present EU own-resources system more accountable, fair, and transparent.

The European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament had agreed on establishing such a group during the negotiations over the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework for 2014–2020. The Commission, the Council and the Parliament each appoint three members to the working group. Former EU Commissioner and Prime Minister of Italy Mario Monti chairs the group.

In a first step, the high-level group evaluates existing proposals to reform EU financing. It will draft a preliminary assessment by the end of 2014. A decision on new own-resource initiatives on the basis of the group’s proposals is scheduled for 2016.