After Poland, Romania was the second largest net beneficiary of European funds in 2023 (approximately EUR 6 billion), according to an Euronews analysis showing that 17 EU states received more money from the Union budget than they contributed.
Member states contribute to the EU budget and also receive funds from it. Some countries end up being net contributors, meaning they pay more than they receive, while others are net beneficiaries, receiving more than they contribute.
According to the European Commission, the biggest contributors to the EU budget in 2023 were: Germany (EUR 33.8 billion), France (EUR 25.8 billion), Italy (EUR 18.8 billion) and Spain (EUR 13.6 billion). Nine countries contributed less than EUR 1 billion to the EU budget in 2023, with the lowest contributions coming from Malta (EUR 112 million), Cyprus (EUR 259 million) and Estonia (EUR 355 million).
Among the beneficiaries, the top five countries included Poland alongside the four biggest contributors. France received EUR 16.5 billion, followed by Poland (EUR 14.1 billion), Germany (EUR 14 billion), Italy (EUR 12.8 billion) and Spain (EUR 12.1 billion). At the other end, three countries received less than EUR 1 billion from the EU budget: Malta (EUR 277 million), Cyprus (EUR 393 million) and Slovenia (EUR 952 million).
Ten countries are net contributors
Ten EU countries were net contributors, while 17 were net beneficiaries. The countries that contributed more to the EU budget than they received are:
- Germany (EUR 19.8 billion)
- France (EUR 9.3 billion)
- The Netherlands (EUR 6.3 billion)
- Italy (EUR 6 billion)
- Sweden (EUR 1.6 billion)
- Spain (EUR 12.1 billion)
- Austria (EUR 1.3 billion)
- Ireland (EUR 1.3 billion)
- Denmark (EUR 1.2 billion)
- Finland (EUR 0.8 billion)
Poland was the main net recipient, receiving EUR 7.1 billion, followed by Romania (EUR 5.9 billion), Belgium (EUR 4.8 billion), Hungary (EUR 4.4 billion) and Greece (EUR 3.9 billion).
The net contributors are mainly richer countries in western and northern Europe, while the net beneficiaries are mostly members in central and eastern Europe. With the exception of Belgium and Luxembourg, the geographical distribution also highlights an east-west economic divide, the new member states from Eastern Europe often being net beneficiaries.
Contributions and benefits per capita
When considering net contributions and payments per capita, the picture changes significantly due to the wide variation in population size among EU member states.
In 2023, per capita contributions to the EU budget ranged from EUR 137, in Bulgaria, to EUR 688, in Luxembourg. A German citizen contributed EUR 403, a French citizen, EUR 378, an Italian, EUR 318, and a Spaniard, EUR 281.
Looking at net contributions (contributions minus benefits, with contributions greater than benefits), the Netherlands ranked first in 2023, with each Dutch resident contributing EUR 350 more than they received. Ireland followed with a net contribution of EUR 240 per capita, followed by Germany (EUR 235), Denmark (EUR 210) and Sweden (EUR 156).
Luxembourg stands out as the main net beneficiary (contributions minus benefits, with benefits greater than contributions) per capita. Net beneficiaries per capita ranged from EUR 129 in Slovenia to EUR 3,081 in Luxembourg – an isolated case – while Croatia, the second largest net recipient, received EUR 619 per capita.
Although Poland was the largest net recipient in nominal terms, it ranked third from last (of the 17 net recipient countries) in terms of net payments per capita, with EUR 191.In the case of Romania, the net benefit per capita in 2023 was EUR 307.
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