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

Equal pay for women - not yet

Women in the EU earn on average 18% less than men - a gap that has scarcely narrowed over the last 15 years and in some countries has even grown. more »

EU's biggest-ever energy package

43 gas and electricity projects to split €2.3bn, the most the EU has ever spent on energy infrastructure in a single package. more »

Georgia to gradually integrate into the European common aviation market

Georgia and the European Union have initialled a comprehensive air services agreement at a meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia, today which will open up and integrate the respective markets, strengthen cooperation and offer new opportunities for consumers and operators. more »

Mobility Programme for Business and Industry calls for applications

In order to vitalize and strengthen cooperation of business stakeholders in the region, the Nordic and Baltic countries continue running joint mobility programme. more »

EBRD and Société Générale support economies in Serbia

The EBRD is boosting the availability of financing to the real economy sector in Serbia, with a €20 million credit line to Société Générale Serbia for on-lending to small and medium enterprises. more »

Armenia’s Ameriabank receives EBRD financing

The EBRD is supporting the development of the private sector in Armenia and increases further the availability of financing in the real economy sector with a $10 million loan to Ameriabank for on lending to local companies under its Medium Sized Co-financing Facility (MCFF). more »

EBRD funds modernisation of roads in Albania

The EBRD is supporting the modernisation and improvement of transport infrastructure in Albania with a €50 million sovereign loan to finance the rehabilitation of regional and local roads in the country. more »

Latvia: Social Investment Fund III Project Second Additional Financing

Given the deep impact Latvia has suffered in the wake of the global crisis, and due to the emergency nature of this program, the first operation will focus mainly on the first and second objectives. more »

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn to Visit Africa to Deepen Dialogue on the Continent’s Economic Challenges

Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will visit Africa March 7-11, to discuss opportunities and challenges facing African economies in the wake of the global crisis. more »

2011 budget: focus on youth and economic recovery

Without enough money, the EU 2020 strategy risks turning into "another vague scoreboard for the Member States", the EP Budgets Committee warned on Thursday when adopting its priorities for the 2011 budget. more »