EU Budget

The left-hand side of the infographic shows the EU budget for 2020, divided by administrative and programme budgets, referring to commitment appropriations. Some 2.0 % (or €3 682 million) of the annual budget (€185 billion) is allocated to the European Commission’s administrative expenditure, while 3.5 % (or €6 540 million) serves the administrative budgets of other EU institutions, as well as pensions and European schools. The box on the right shows who manages the EU budget. The Commission bears ultimate responsibility for implementing the EU budget. In practice, however, nearly four-fifths of the budget is spent under ‘shared management’, with Member States’ authorities effectively distributing funds and managing expenditure. The remainder of the budget is covered by ‘direct management’ – that is, managed by the Commission and its executive agencies, including staff in EU Delegations – and ‘indirect management’, under which a range of bodies including international organisations, third countries, the European Investment Bank and other public or private-sector partners spend EU funds.