Budget Rules and Where the Money Comes From

Abstract

The search for financial autonomy in the Union and the development of a set of financial instruments separated from national public finances were central to the evolution of the Union as a part-formed political system rather than a traditional international organisation. It mattered a great deal to the Union that it achieved financial autonomy from the member states. The budget, however small, represents one of the central supranational features of European integration. Hence, financial autonomy forms part of the Union’s embryonic constitution. The purpose of this chapter is to trace the development of the Union’s financial constitution, and to analyse its resources and the impact of the financial rules on member state contributions.