In collaboration with the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) and the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw), Blomeyer & Sanz conducted an analytical study on “How EU funds tackle economic divide in the European Union”.

When assessing the benefits, the Member States receive from the EU budget, they primarily focus on their individual net position, i.e. the net operating balance between their national contributions and the transfer received from the EU budget. The study presents limitations and problems related to the Member States’ net position thinking, outlines benefits accruing to Member States beyond the pure financial streams associated with EU budget and sets approaches to overcome the net position view.

The full study can be accessed here.

The video briefly presents the main findings.