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

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.