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

The U.S. has made a decision to transport shipments via Lithuania

President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė welcomed the decision taken by the U.S. Government to transport shipments for the international mission in Afghanistan by transit via the Klaipėda Seaport. more »

Budgets Committee backs EU Solidarity Fund aid for France and Portugal

EU Solidarity Fund aid to repair storm damage in France and Portugal was approved by the Budgets Committee on Thursday. more »

European Investment Bank to provide technical support for sustainable and climate resilient water projects in Samoa

The European Investment Bank and the Government of Samoa formally agreed to support the rehabilitation and upgrade of independent water schemes in the Pacific island state under a EUR 250,000 technical assistance programme. more »

Single Market Forum: A Europe for businesses and consumers after 2012?

Steps to overhaul the European Union's flagship single market were discussed on Tuesday (9 November) by MEPs and interested parties. more »

Blueprint for energy security

Strategy to secure a sustainable EU energy supply and support economic growth over the next decade. more »

EU Globalisation Adjustment Fund: Parliament backs aid for Irish workers

EU funding to help 850 former workers in the aircraft maintenance industry around Dublin find new jobs was approved by the European Parliament on Thursday. more »

Afghans hope saffron will oust Opium

Saffron farmers in western Afghanistan hope to oust opium as a harvest crop. more »

€114,250 form EU Globalisation Fund to help 189 former workers in Polish shipbuilding sector

The European Commission has approved an application from Poland for assistance from the European Globalisation adjustment Fund (EGF). more »

Vision for European industry

New plans for EU industry to create jobs while keeping manufacturing in Europe. more »

€ 3.5m from European Globalisation Fund to help workers in Spanish textile and construction sectors

The European Commission has approved two applications from Spain for assistance from the EU Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). more »