Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 50
50
Rejected
We ask the Government to state clearly whether it is prepared to agree to make...
Recommendation
We ask the Government to state clearly whether it is prepared to agree to make a financial contribution to the economic development of lower- income EU countries that does not require payments into the general EU budget (for example in a manner similar to the EU-Switzerland financial mechanism), and, if so, what limits, conditions and safeguards it will seek to ensure value for money for the UK taxpayer. Any financial contribution of this kind ought to be subject to proper parliamentary scrutiny. (Recommendation, Paragraph 130) 95 Developing the UK-EU Strategic Partnership further
Government response summary AI-generated
The government explicitly states it will not make a financial contribution to the EU budget, but notes any potential financial contributions in future agreements would be contingent on clear benefits and subject to robust parliamentary scrutiny.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government · verbatim extract
Rejected
We are prepared to make an appropriate financial contribution to support the relevant costs associated with the EU’s work in this policy area, for example to access EU agencies or databases. We will need to work through the details of this in further negotiations with the EU. In December 2025, the European Commission set out a proposal to the European Council to open negotiations with the UK on “the financial contribution of the United Kingdom towards reducing economic and social disparities between the regions of the Union”. This does not represent a proposal by the Government, and the details of any contribution would be subject to negotiation. We will only sign agreements that are in the national interest and represent value for money. We are not going to provide a running commentary on the details of those future discussions but we will keep Parliament updated on significant developments.
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