Written question asked by James Clappison (Conservative) on Tuesday, 29 June 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 1 July 2010. It was answered by David Lidington (Conservative) on Thursday, 8 July 2010 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

European External Action Service

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent estimate is of the likely cost to the public purse of the establishment of the European External Action Service.

Answer: The Commission's amending budget no. 6 to the General Budget proposes an additional €9,521,362 (£8,079,828) for the European External Action Service (EEAS) in both commitment and payment appropriations this year. The UK's gross national income share of EU budget financing in 2010 is currently estimated at 13.8%. The pre-abatement cost to the UK of this proposal in 2010 would be roughly €1,313,948 (£1,115,016).The text of the Decision to establish the EEAS which was given political agreement by the Council in April makes clear that the establishment of the EEAS should be guided by the principle of cost-efficiency aiming towards budget neutrality.

Secondary information