Page 156 - SEVEN STEPS for COMPREHENDING the EUROPEAN UNION

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THE UNION FOR CITIZEN WELLBEING

Since the end of the last century, the EU significantly improved the
social and economic life of many European states, ensured lasting
peace on the vast territory of Europe, and created guarantees for the
protection of the human rights and the fundamental freedoms of
European citizens while making possible their participation in the work
of the EU institutions as well as in shaping various EU policies.
The European Union plays a key role in world politics and global
economic development. The Union represents the biggest political
and economic coalition, which serves almost 450 million consumers. It
maintains the EUR as an autonomous currency, it makes almost 16% of
the contribution to world trade and runs a foreign policy on behalf of
27 European states, etc.

The 2024 EU budget amounts to roughly EUR 189 billion. (The
budget is part of the EU’s ongoing multiannual financial framework,
which covers the 2021–2027 period and has a total allocation of around
€1.07 trillion) It is being filled by three primary sources: 1% of EU
member state gross national income, duties for import to the Union
and the share of VAT which is paid in member states.
The annual contribution of member states to the EU budget per
citizen equals EUR 240, which is EUR 0.65 per day. The biggest contributor
among EU member states is Germany – EUR 25 billion per year. France
makes EUR 21 billion in contribution to the EU budget.
There are 60,000 civil servants in the EU institutions which serve
almost 450 million EU citizens. They consume only 7% of the EU
budget. 132
There have been ups and downs for the EU since the 2000s
and setbacks, too. In 2005, two founding members, France and the

132 Fact check on the EU budget
https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/eu-budget/eu-budget-added-value/fact-check_en