European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
How the EU budget is spent
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
How the EU budget is spent: Justice Programme (2014-2020)
Written by Rafał Mańko, EU law is applied on a daily basis by national judges in the Member States, who rely on assistance from the EU Court of Justice only in the most complicated cases. Judges otherwise interpret and apply EU law on their own. In the European area of freedom, security and justice, national … Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: EU Aid Volunteers initiative
Written by Alina Dobreva with Philipp Wegner, Volunteering brings practical relief to communities hit by natural or man-made disasters. It also raises volunteers’ awareness and strengthens their sense of solidarity with victims, and helps them to acquire professional skills and experience. The EU Aid Volunteers initiative (EUAV) promotes volunteering among young Europeans, breaking down the … Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Erasmus+
Written by Sidonia Mazur, Denise Chircop; Graphics by Christian Dietrich. Erasmus+ is the European Union’s single programme encompassing action in the fields of education, training, youth and sport for the years 2014-2020 with a financial envelope just below €15 000 million. Erasmus+ comes under the budgetary heading ‘Smart and Inclusive Growth’. The programme finances learning mobility for … Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: European Neighbourhood Instrument
Written by Matthew Parry, The European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) was established in 2014 by Regulation (EU) No 232/2014 and endowed with a budget of just over €15.4 billion for the 2014-2020 period. The ENI funds EU efforts to cooperate with and promote development in 16 countries and territories on its eastern and southern frontiers, as … Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: The European Regional Development Fund
Written by Magdalena Sapała, The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of five European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds aimed at achieving economic, social and territorial cohesion in the European Union. The ERDF’s primary task is to redress the main regional imbalances in the Union through investment in the structural adjustment of regions where … Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Cohesion Fund
The Cohesion Fund allocation for 2014-2020 is €63 396.06 million, this is 14% of total ESI Funds allocation and almost 7% of the total EU Multiannual Financial Framework. The biggest recipient of the fund in absolute terms is Poland, followed by Romania. Estonia and Slovakia receive the highest support per inhabitant. Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Common Agricultural Policy
Written by Gianluca Sgueo, Francesco Tropea and Marie-Laure Augere-Granier, With 52% of the European Union (EU) territory classified as predominantly rural, more than 170 million hectares of agricultural land, and 113 million people (nearly one quarter of the EU population) living in rural areas, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) represents one of the largest shares of expenditure from … Continue reading
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