Drawing on the Church's understanding of stewardship, the panel of bishops argues, "The dislocation between the stated aims and objectives of the EU and current budgetary allocations threaten the public legitimacy and credibility of the European project." 

Rather than using the EU Budget to sustain outdated industries and sectors that too often serve narrowly construed national interests, the submission recommends: "Faced by the global challenge of climate change, the EU budget should be refocused in support of low carbon growth both within the EU's borders and beyond."

The bishops suggest that "a restructured budget would help to respond to the competitiveness concerns of a number of member states and reinforce the EU's position as the global front-runner on low carbon growth." They go on to argue that "introducing a greener budget would have the wider support of EU citizens and would help to renew the EU's raison d'être."

The House of Bishops' Europe Panel is chaired by the Bishop Christopher Herbert of St. Albans. The Europe Panel is a sub-committee of the House of Bishops and acts as point of reference for items affecting the Church of England's relations with Europe and the EU Institutions.
 
The European Commission was invited to undertake a fundamental review of the EU Budget as part of the May 2006 Inter-Institutional Agreement. Launching the Consultation exercise, the Commission president stated: "This is day one of a no-taboos debate about spending priorities. How can the EU focus spending in the right areas to deliver a Europe of results over the coming decades? How should Europe respond to and shape globalization to boost growth and jobs? How do we build a low carbon economy, with secure and competitive energy supplies? This is our chance to start with a blank sheet of paper." The European Commission is due to conclude this consultation exercise by producing a report on future reform of the EU Budget later this year.

A Church of England Representative to the EU Institutions has recently been appointed to help shape subsequent debates on the future of Europe: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr0808.html

A copy of the Bishop's submission is available here.