A €116 billion question: making sense of the 2009 EU budget

Published: 30 January 2009 y., Friday

Biudžetas
The EU Budget 2009 provides more money for growth, the environment, jobs, research and food aid for developing countries. The Budget for 2009 was adopted by MEPs in the end of 2008. With the signature of the EP President Hans-Gert Pöttering in Strasbourg on 18 December 2008 the complicated budget procedure was completed. In this focus we look at how the EU budget is adopted, how the money is collected and used.

What is in a budget of 116 billion euro?  Some facts....
 
In 2009, the biggest share of the EU budget – 45% or €60 billion - will go to research, innovation, employment and regional development programmes, which hold increased importance in light of the current economic crisis.
 
An 11% increase in research and a 22% increase in the EU's innovation programme will help boost competitiveness and a low-carbon economy. Spending on the environment and rural development will rise by 2.9%.
 
The EP and the Council agreed on extra funds to combat the food crisis in the third world with 1 billion euro in farm aid going to the developing countries between 2008 and 2010.
 
64 cents per day
 
Administrative costs represent only a small part of the overall EU budget - 7.7 % - even if many people wrongly believe that the greatest part of the EU budget is spent on administration.
 
The sum total of all the financial resources covered by the budget roughly amount to a contribution of around 64 Eurocents per day for each of the EU’s 495 million inhabitants.
 
The amount allocated for the budget sounds like a lot of money - and indeed it is. However, to put it in perspective it amounts to only 1% of the combined gross national income of all the 27 members.

Šaltinis: europarl.europa.eu
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

The most popular articles

EP budget: tackling Lisbon challenges and preparing for enlargement

The European Parliament's proposal for its own operational budget for 2011 includes the financing of measures in preparation for enlargement with Croatia. more »

MEPs call for closer ties between universities and industry

Links between business and the academic world need to be strengthened but higher education institutions must retain their autonomy and public support, says a resolution adopted on Thursday by the European Parliament. more »

Elena Salgado presents the Spanish plan to save 15 billion euros at the Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings

The Spanish Minister of Economy and Finance, Elena Salgado, will present the additional fiscal tightening measures set out by the Spanish Government to her eurozone (Eurogroup) counterparts on Monday; the measures were required by Spain’s European partners as a condition of approving the plan to bolster the euro on 9 May. more »

Commission opens in-depth inquiry into €20 million capital injections into Elan of Slovenia

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation under EU State aid rules into capital injections destined to two subsidiaries of state owned company Elan Skupina in Slovenia. more »

European economy making tentative recovery

GDP growth in the EU expected to gradually pick up, though recovery less robust than past upturns. more »

EESC for comprehensive financial regulation

The EESC tabled its opinion on the regulation of alternative investment funds, such as hedge funds and private funds. Although endorsing the much debated proposal of the European Commission, the EESC calls for uniform risk data provision for all such funds and emphasizes their responsibility in triggering the crisis. more »

The Eurogroup leaders conclude the Greek aid process and examine the progress of the crisis

Concluding the process and deciding on the schedule for releasing the funds agreed on for Greece, as well as examining and learning lessons from the crisis for the governance of the eurozone, will be the focus of the discussions of the heads of state and government at the meeting in Brussels this Friday. more »

Shanghai 2010 - a first for the EU

The EU pavilion at the world expo in Shanghai marks the first time the EU has presented itself to a large Chinese audience. more »

Shanghai World Expo wows the crowds

Shanghai's World Expo offers visitors plenty of fun offering bizarre things to do at over 200 pavillions competing for attention. more »

EIB supports upgrade and extension of electricity transmission network in Hungary with EUR 150 million

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a loan of EUR 150 million to MVM Zrt. for the capacity increase and the extension of a high-voltage transmission network, partly constituting priority axes of the Trans-European Energy Network (TEN-E) in Hungary. more »