European Union Budget and Common Policies: Evolution and Vision for the Future

Abstract

The EU budget was originally set up to ensure the financing of common policies adopted by the Member States; today though, as a result of disputes focusing on the net positions of the Member States, this original objective has been overshadowed. In our paper, we are briefly reviewing the development of the expenditure side of the EU budget from the beginning to the present, focusing on the issue of its linkages to EU common policies. Following the evolution of the last decades, we are presenting the recently outlined long-term reform options, then we examine in detail the proposals of the European Commission published in May 2018.