23.6.2007 Official Journal of the European Union L 163/17 II (Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is not obligatory) DECISIONS COUNCIL COUNCIL DECISION of 7 June 2007 on the system of the European Communities’ own resources (2007/436/EC, Euratom) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, (2) The Communities’ own resources system must ensure adequate resources for the orderly development of the Communities’ policies, subject to the need for strict Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European budgetary discipline. Community, and in particular Article 269 thereof, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 173 thereof, (3)  For the purposes of this Decision, gross national income (GNI) should be defined as annual GNI at market prices as provided by the Commission in application of the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community (hereinafter referred to as the ESA 95) in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 (4). Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (%), Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors (), 4 In view of the changeover from ESA 79 to ESA 95 for budgetary and own resources purposes, and in order to maintain unchanged the amount of financial resources put at the disposal of the Communities the Commission recalculated, in accordance with Article 3(1) and 3(2) of Council Decision 2000/597/EC, Euratom of 29 September 2000 on the system of the European Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (%), Whereas: Communities’ own resources (°), the ceiling of own resources and the ceiling for appropriations for commitments, expressed to two decimal places, on the (1) The European Council meeting in Brussels on 15 and 16 basis of the formula in that Article. The Commission December 2005 concluded, inter alia, that the own resources arrangements should be guided by the overall objective of equity. Those arrangements should therefore ensure, in line with the relevant conclusions of the 1984 Fontainebleau European Council, that no Member State sustains a budgetary burden which is excessive in relation to its relative prosperity. It is therefore appropriate to introduce provisions covering specific Member States. (") Opinion delivered on 4 July 2006 (not yet published in the Official communicated the new ceilings to the Council and the European Parliament on 28 December 2001. The ceiling of own resources was set at 1,24 % of the total GNIs of the Member States at market prices and a ceiling of 1,31 % of the total GNIs of the Member States was set for appropriations for commitments. The European Council of 15 and 16 December 2005 concluded that these ceilings should be maintained at their current levels. (* OJ L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu- Journal). () OJ C 203, 25.8.2006, p. 50. () O C 309, 16.12.2006, p. 103. lation (EC) No 1267/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (O] L 180, 18.7.2003, p. 1). () O] L 253, 7.10.2000, p. 42.