Does the EU waste my money?
| How big is the EU budget? |
23%
of the EU's GDP
13%
of the EU's GDP
1%
of the EU's GDP
The EU budget represents a mere 1% of the GDP of all the Member States put together, while national budgets represent a much larger share.
| How much of the EU budget is used for administrative costs (salaries, buildings, etc.)? |
50%
27%
6%
Only 6% of the EU budget is eaten by administrative costs. The bulk of the budget goes back to the Member States, in the form of subsidies for farmers or projects of regional funds.
| How many people work for in the EU institutions? |
about as many as for the region of Tuscany
about as many as many as for central government of Finland
about as many as for the City of Paris
| Where does the money for the EU budget come from? |
National Contributions
Carbon Tax
Financial Transaction Tax
Most of the EU budget comes from contribution of Member States. This makes EU funding unstable. In 2012 Member States were unwilling to give enough money to the Erasmus programme, for example.