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

Paris fashion week ignores economic pinch

European cities may still be feeling the pinch of the global recession. more »

EBRD supports private ownership in Kazakhstan’s oil and gas sector

The EBRD Board of Directors has approved a $50 million convertible loan to Petrolinvest to finance the completion of exploration works at the company’s main oilfields. more »

Car safety: European Commission welcomes international agreement on electric and hybrid cars

The European Commission welcomes the adoption today at the United Nations in Geneva of the first international regulation on safety of both fully electric and hybrid cars. more »

Lithuania’s rating outlook raised by fitch on budget

Bloomberg has today announced that Lithuania had the outlook on its credit rating raised by Fitch Ratings after the Government implemented an austerity program to curb the budget deficit. more »

Eurostat: Lithuania shows highest increase in retail trade

In January 2010, compared with December 2009, the highest increase in retail trade in the EU-27 Member States was observed in Lithuania. more »

Globalisation fund: Parliament backs aid to Germany and Lithuania

Three thousand former car, refrigerator and construction workers in Germany and Lithuania will get €7.6 million in EU globalisation adjustment fund aid for training, self-employment and job guidance after Parliament gave the green light on Tuesday. more »

Tourism: upbeat prospects for 2010 season

Some 80% of Europeans continue to travel for their holidays according to a new Eurobarometer survey on ‘The attitudes of Europeans towards tourism 2010’. more »

Consumer protection under discussion by MEPS

The EU's internal market will be under scrutiny Tuesday when a series of reports will be debated by MEPs in Strasbourg. more »

EU to provide 45,000 micro-loans to unemployed and small entrepreneurs

EU Employment and Social Affairs Ministers today agreed on a new facility to provide loans to people who have lost their jobs and want to start or further develop their own small business. more »

MEPs set to vote on help for German & Lithuanian workers

Over €7.6 million in financial aid for training and self-employment could be available to former workers in German and Lithuanian if MEPs back the measures Tuesday. more »