EU budget: Germans pay record contribution of 25 billion euros, Poland largest recipient De-escalation after angry speech: Vucic announces lifting of roadblocks in Kosovo

The German financial contribution to the EU budget reached a new record last year. According to calculations by the German news agency, the Federal Republic sent net around 2021 25.1 billion euros contributions to the common expenditure of the European Union. France gave everything it could with 12.4 billion euros only about half the money Italy with about 3.2 billion euros less than one seventh.

According to the calculations, this was the largest net recipient in absolute terms Poland, from the EU budget about 11.8 billion euros more out than in. Then followed Greece with 4.5 billion euros, Hungary with around 4.1 billion euros and Romania with almost 4 billion euros.

In 2020, the German net contribution was significantly lower at around EUR 19.4 billion. However, during the negotiations on the EU’s financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027, the Federal Republic and the other net contributors agreed to increase their contributions again in order to largely offset the loss resulting from the departure of the UK net contributor from the EU. compensate .

Poland and Hungary disputed

The figures are politically explosive, especially due to the large flow of money to Poland and Hungary. Both states have been criticized for serious violations of the rule of law and other fundamental values ​​of the EU. For this reason, only certain resources from the Community budget earmarked for Hungary have been frozen for the time being.

The EU Commission, which is responsible for both the EU budget and compliance with the rule of law in the EU, declined to comment on the figures at dpa’s request. The Brussels authorities have not published the balance sheets for some time because they fear that the figures could be used for political purposes – for example by EU opponents in the net contributors.

In addition, the Commission points out that the EU budget is very small compared to national budgets and that the benefits of EU membership cannot be derived from budget figures alone. For example, it is argued that the financial advantages that export countries such as Germany enjoy due to the free movement of goods have been omitted.

You can also see this in Berlin. “No other European economy benefits as much from the EU internal market as Germany”, according to a federal government website. Germany puts a lot of money into the EU pot, but benefits even more from it.

How much money an EU state has to pay into the Community budget depends mainly on its share of the EU’s economic power. Calculated per capita, in addition to the Germans, the Danes, Swedes, the Dutch and Austrians are also important net contributors. (aeg/sda/dpa)