Have the article read by OpenAI (Beta). Please note that AI translations may take some time to process.Brussels (dpa) – Germany paid significantly more into the EU budget last year than it received from Brussels coffers, according to an analysis conducted by the German Economic Institute (IW) of previously published data from the European Commission.
According to the IW’s report, published on Monday, Germany paid around 17.4 billion euros more into the EU budget in 2023 than it received, making it the largest net contributor to the European Union. In 2022, that figure was 19.7 billion euros.
France is in second place. Last year, Paris paid out almost 9 billion euros more than it received back. Italy is the third highest net contributor, with around 4.5 billion euros.
The largest net recipient in 2023 was Poland with 8.2 billion euros. It was followed by Romania with 6.0 billion and Hungary with 4.6 billion.
According to the figures, the EU budget totalled 173.1 billion euros in 2023, of which 143.4 billion went to the member states. Added to this were funds from the bloc’s Covid-19 recovery fund totalling 66.1 billion euros, of which 64.6 billion went to the member states.
As the trade group’s largest net contributor, Germany contributed almost a quarter of the funds. The German government emphasises that Germany also benefits more from the EU single market than any other European economy.
Experts cite the weak economic situation in Germany as the reason for the country’s lower net contribution to the EU. “As it is already becoming apparent that no economic recovery is to be expected in Germany this year either,” the report’s authors write, “it can be assumed that Germany’s net contribution will fall once again in 2024.” (12 August)
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