Steering Towards Prosperity

The efficient use of cohesion spending is crucial to support lagging regions but also benefits the EU as a whole.

The upcoming debate about the Multi-annual Financial Framework is dominated by the prospect of losing the second largest net contributor to the EU budget. Since we still do not know when and if Brexit will take place, we must operate under the assumption that five billion euros are gone from the budget.

As the EU operates according to a zero deficit rule, this requires either an increase in contributions from member states or a reduction in spending, or both, with the last option being the most probable.

At this point, a number of countries already have declared their readiness to increase their contribution to the budget. This includes Poland that, as biggest net beneficiary of the EU budget, stands to lose most from the cuts. Many look at Germany as a strong economy to fill the deficit, yet this would turn the country into the main source of financing which could translate into political imbalances.