EU budget

The largest part of the EU budget, around 45 percent, is spent on support for agriculture, rural development and environmental measures. Investment in sustainable development makes up around 40 percent of the budget. This comprises EU regional policy first and foremost, but also includes investment in, for example, research, education and transport.

Foreign policy measures constitute around 7 percent of expenditure. About 1 percent is spent on police cooperation and fighting crime. Administrative costs make up around 6.6 percent of the budget.

The EU has no right to collect taxes, so the budget is financed by contributions from the Member States. These contributions are made up of:

• Customs duties. These make up around 15 percent of income.
• Agricultural duties and sugar levies on imports of products from countries outside the EU. These represent around 1.5 percent of income.
• A VAT-based contribution. Around 17 percent of income.
• A GNI resource. This makes up around 65 percent of income.
• Other income. Makes up around 1 percent of income.

The EU budget is set by the European Parliament and the Council. The Council has the last word on some of the expenditure, for example on agricultural support and expenses linked to agreements with countries outside the EU, while the European Parliament has the last word on all other expenditure. It is also the European Parliament which gives the final approval to the entire EU budget.

The ceiling for the EU’s income and expenditure is set by means of a long-term budget. The current long-term budget applies from 2007 to 2013.