EU Budget

Politicians-take your heads out of the sand and finance a sustainable EU budget

The EU budget totals €976 billion for the 2007-2013 period, with EU citizens paying an average of €270 per year for a budget that is not delivering what it should – transparency and public goods, such as well-being, jobs and economic, financial and environmental security.

With the on-going recession and the relentless call for austerity, the next seven year EU budget has to achieve a lot more. But many EU leaders prefer to bury their heads in the sand and look to quick fixes for the economy and environment rather than face up to the structural solutions needed.

We have a clear choice with the 2014-2020 budgets; continue with a complacent “business as usual” attitude and invest in activities that contribute to climate change, loss of biodiversity and destroy our unique landscape, or we can have the confidence to build a green economy that creates jobs, investment and deliver a competitive Europe.

While the overall EU budget represents only 1% of the European GDP it leverages significant funding from national governments and private investors though co-financing agreements. This ensures that the budget has a multiplier effect, and has a considerable impact on how member states plan ahead.

So how is it spent at the moment?

The current €976 billion budget for 2007-2013 focuses on short–term economic growth and is sometimes spent politically rather than in support of the most efficient projects.

The lion’s share is spent on the Common Agricultural Policy which represents 41% of EU expenditure. It supports intensive farming, the destruction of delicate natural areas and the creation of greenhouse gases.

The next biggest slice is Cohesion Policy (34% of the total budget) which funds transport and energy infrastructure with a high carbon footprint (motorways, airports and fossil fuel power stations) instead of reducing our addiction to this unsustainable model.

A sizeable amount also goes into external actions, like development policy and representing Europe’s interests abroad. We need to make sure that the help we give does not support environmental destruction outside of Europe.

Successful Environmental Policies Underfunded

While Europe has substantial financial muscle, many worthy environmental programmes go unsupported. LIFE -the EU’s only fund solely dedicated to environmental preservation- receives only 0,2% of the whole EU budget. While the Commission plans a small increase in the next budget, even then it will struggle to continue over the coming years to meet demands.

If we are to have any impact on the environmental challenges of our time, our funding decisions need to work in a coherent manner. Supporting damaging activity and then paying to fix the damage just makes no sense and is a waste of scarce public money.

The current €976 billion budget for 2007-2013 focuses on short–term economic growth and is sometimes spent politically rather than in support of the most efficient projects.

Did you know?

On average citizens contribute €270 to the EU budget every year

CONTACT

Philippe Carr

Communication manager

WWF European Policy Office

+32 2 740 09 25

Email Philippe
Sebastien Godinot

Economist

WWF European Policy Office

+32 2 740 09 20

Email Sebastien