Ukraine after joining the EU: 186 billion euros per budget period?

THE MIRROR Ukraine after joining the EU: 186 billion euros per budget period? Article by Stefan Schultz • 17 hours In an internal paper, Brussels officials estimated that Ukraine would be entitled to 186 billion euros per budget period. Why the numbers should be treated with caution. The integration of Ukraine into the European Union would fundamentally change the budget planning of the confederation of states. This is shown by internal calculations by EU officials, which the media “Financial Times” and “Politico” reported unanimously. According to the currently valid rules for the seven-year EU budget, Ukraine would be entitled to around 186 billion euros in EU funds per budget period. An additional EU enlargement to include six Balkan countries as well as Georgia and Moldova would burden the EU budget with a further 74 billion euros, the reports continue. At the same time, the budget volume would have to increase by 21 percent – to 1.47 trillion euros. That would correspond to about 1.4 percent of the gross national income of the 36 countries. Possible EU enlargement is a key point of discussion at a meeting of EU leaders later this week in Granada, Spain. The EU is currently preparing to start accession negotiations with Ukraine. These could be officially announced in December. The potential changes to the EU budget are just one of many factors Brussels officials are discussing. Many people hope that EU expansion, especially to include Ukraine, will bring more weight on the world political stage, as well as an even larger and more influential EU internal market - as well as a clear sign of the attractiveness of European democratic values. At the same time, expansion entails major risks – especially financial ones. As a result, all current EU countries are likely to “pay more and receive less,” according to Brussels. Many countries that today receive more money from the EU than they pay in would become net contributors. Ukraine would be the main beneficiary of agricultural subsidies in the future. According to Brussels calculations, it would receive around 96.5 billion euros over a seven-year budget period. EU officials base their forecasts on the rules for the current EU budget. This runs until 2027. They admit that the rules are likely to change “significantly” if the EU expands to 36 states. A spokesman for the EU Commission therefore also called the calculations “not very meaningful”.