Thinking the EU budget and public spending in Europe: the need to use an aggregate approach
Bref | 30/06/2011 
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It is essential to deal with the negotiations on the EU budget on the basis of an “aggregate” vision of European public finances, which integrates national and Community levels:

  • Firstly, it enables to assess the total level of public spending in the EU and to obtain a better vision of the EU’s main financial priorities.
  • Secondly, most of the spending carried out by the EU takes place in fields of competence “shared” with Member States, and is thus frequently accompanied by significant national spending.
  • It also enables us to answer a longer-term question: is the current distribution of public spending between the Community and the national level comparable, or required to be comparable, with the distribution observed in other confederal or federal entities (such as the United States, Canada or Switzerland)?

    • This Policy brief by Amélie Barbier-Gauchard provides very enlightening elements of comprehension on these different perspectives. It also finally points out economic rationales in favour of more fiscal intervention at EU level to benefit from the “added value” of public spending at EU level.




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    The author
    Amélie Barbier-Gauchard
    Associate Professor in Economics and Researcher in Economics at BETA (University of Strasbourg/CNRS), and Scientific Adviser at the Centre d’Analyse Stratégique (Paris).
    In view
    How to spend better together
    | 30/06/2011
    While the European Commission just presented its proposal on a new “financial framework” for the period 2014-2020, Notre Europe launches a set of publications about European budget and expenditures, a central issue for the functioning and future of the European Union.
    See also
    The "added value" in EU budgetary debates: one concept, four meanings
    Policy brief by Eulalia Rubio | 30/06/2011
    The notion of ‘added value’ will probably be at the centre of the EU budgetary negotiations. However, this notion lacks conceptual clarify. On the basis of an analysis of official documents and academic contributions to the debate, this Policy brief highlights the existence of at least four different ways of interpreting ‘added value’, each one having different practical implications.
    Defence spending in Europe: Can we do better without spending more?
    Policy paper by Fabio Liberti | 30/06/2011
    The negotiations about the EU budget after 2013 can’t ignore austerity concerns but, due to its limited size, we cannot expect major savings from applying austerity at the EU-level.
    Project
    The European budget
    Research project