European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
How the EU budget is spent
How the EU budget is spent: EU cooperation with Greenland
Having been a part of the European Community since 1973 through Denmark’s membership, Greenland withdrew from the European Community in 1985 after the island secured home rule from Denmark. Since then, Greenland has been associated with the European Union as an Overseas Country and Territory (OCT). Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived
In 2014, around 122 million people were ‘at risk of poverty or social exclusion’ (AROPE) in the 28 EU Member States– a quarter of the population. This means they were in at least one of the following situations: at risk of monetary poverty (17.2 % of the total population); living in households with very low work intensity (11.1 %); or severely materially deprived (9.0 %). Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Spending programmes under the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework
The EU budget corresponds to around 2 % of total public spending in the European Union, and its impact on the economy is debated, with many analysts deeming it relatively small in size in comparison with the wide range of policy areas in which the EU has responsibilities. However, the EU budget has features that can amplify its impact, starting with the underpinning idea that pooling resources at EU level can be more efficient and effective in a number of policy areas than individual expenditure by Member States. Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Fight against fraud: Pericles 2020, Hercule III and AFIS
Member States share an obligation with the EU to protect the Union’s financial interests and to counter fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities affecting them under Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), on which the EU anti-fraud programme is based. Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)
An investment gap in the European Union (EU) persisting several years after the financial and economic crisis is one of the various challenges confronting the EU’s multiannual financial framework (MFF) for the years 2014 to 2020 since its beginning. Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Euratom research and training programme
All EU Member States are party to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The purpose of the Community is to create the necessary conditions for the development of a powerful European nuclear industry. Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: European Fund for Sustainable Development
The European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD) is one of the EU financial instruments that promote a proactive development aid policy. It covers three areas of activity (‘pillars’): financing, providing technical assistance for the development of bankable projects, and helping to improve the business environment in partner countries through dialogue. Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Guarantee Fund for External Actions
The Guarantee Fund for External Actions (GFEA) backs loans and loan guarantees granted to non-EU countries, or to finance projects in non-EU countries. Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Galileo and EGNOS [Policy podcast]
The current EU multiannual financial framework (MFF) for the 2014 to 2020 period allocates €7 071.73 million to deliver and to ensure the security and interoperability of two EU satellite navigation systems: the European geostationary navigation overlay service (EGNOS), and Galileo. The rules for both systems are set out in Regulation (EU) No 1285/2013 (the ‘GNSS Regulation’). Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Development Cooperation Instrument
The Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) is the main financial instrument in the EU budget for funding aid to developing countries. Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Copernicus – The EU’s Earth observation and monitoring programme
Copernicus is the European Union’s earth observation and monitoring programme. It has a space component and a ground-based component, and provides users with data services. Continue reading
How the Budget is spent: Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020 – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020) – is the successor to seven previous framework programmes. With a budget of over €70 billion, it is unique in the world, not only in terms of budget, but also duration and scope. Continue reading
How the Budget is spent: Youth Employment Initiative
The Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), with an initial financial envelope of €3.2 billion for 2014-2015, is the main EU funding programme of this political commitment. Its objective is the fight against youth unemployment in the worst-affected EU regions by supporting young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) in regions with a youth unemployment rate above 25 %. Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation
With a 2014-2020 budget of €225.3 million (0.02 % of the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework), the current INSC promotes a high level of nuclear safety, radiation protection, and safeguards for nuclear material outside the EU, from Argentina to Mongolia. Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: European Maritime and Fisheries Fund
Written by Magdalena Sapala, Jean Weissenberger, The €6 396.6 million European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) may be the smallest of the European Structural and Investment Funds for the 2014-2020 period, but it is the principal financial tool supporting the EU common fisheries policy (CFP). Governed by Regulation 508/2014, (the EMFF Regulation), the Fund aims at providing the … Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Macro-financial assistance
Written by Ana Claudia Alfieri, One important European Union (EU) objective is to achieve macroeconomic and political stability in its neighbourhood by ‘developing a zone of shared stability, security, and prosperity’ through a set of policies that help to bring candidate, potential candidate, and neighbourhood countries closer to the EU. One of these policies is … Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II)
Written by Martin Svasek, The Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) supports countries that are candidates or potential candidates for EU membership. The support goes towards measures aiming at adopting and implementing the political, institutional, legal, administrative, social and economic reforms required to comply with the Union’s values and to align progressively with the Union’s rules, … Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Nuclear decommissioning assistance
Written by Gianluca Sgueo and Matthew Parry, In the early 1990s, in the wake of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the EU began providing financial and technical assistance to partner countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia via the TACIS and PHARE programmes. In 1999, the EU launched three nuclear decommissioning assistance programmes (NDAP) specifically to … Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace
Written by Alina Dobreva with Philipp Wegner, The EU contributes to the prevention of emerging crises and to an effective response to existing ones through the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP), launched in 2014. The instrument provides funds for conflict prevention, ensuring capacity and preparedness to address pre- and post-crisis situations and peacebuilding. … Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: European Social Fund
Written by Martin Svášek, The European Social Fund (ESF) was established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and is the oldest EU structural fund still in place. Originally designed to improve employment opportunities for workers in the internal market, the fund aims at raising living standards. For the current 2014-2020 programming period, Regulation (EU) … Continue reading
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