Review of the EU Budget. Federal Trust Submission to European Commission – EU Budget Review 2008

Many commentators and some national governments believe that the review of the European budget currently taking place will usher in an era of radical change for the European Union’s financial affairs. There is indeed a widespread sense among governments and voters that the European Union’s budget is today largely a product of its past history, lacking contemporary legitimacy and only approximately related to the Union’s present needs and challenges. Few would deny the appropriateness of a fundamental
reconsideration of the intellectual and political basis on which the European budget currently stands. This submission is a contribution to such a reconsideration. It is divided into three parts: a summary review of the principal political premises which frame the budgetary debate; a brief analysis of current political and academic proposals for budgetary reform; and a package of reforms which, taken together, seek to address many of the voiced concerns about the Union’s current budget.