Money flows from Brussels to EU countries for structural support or agriculture, for example. Most of it still comes from Germany. But the EU’s largest economy also benefits.
The most important things in brief
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Germany continues to be the largest net contributor to the EU with a contribution from 17.4 billion euros in 2023.
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France is in second placei with a net contribution of almost 9 billion euros.
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Largest net recipient was in 2023 – as in the previous year – Poland with 8.2 billion euros.
Last year, Germany paid significantly more into the EU budget than it received from it. This is the result of an analysis by the German Economic Institute (IW) of previously published data from the EU Commission.
17.4 billion euros for the international community
According to the study, Germany paid around 17.4 billion euros more into the community’s budget in 2023 than it received, making it the EU’s largest net contributor (2022: 19.7 billion euros). France is in second place: last year, Paris paid out almost 9 billion euros more than it received in returns. Italy is in third place with a net contribution of around 4.5 billion euros.
The largest net recipient in 2023 was – as in the previous year – Poland with 8.2 billion euros. Behind this are Romania (6.0 billion euros) and Hungary (4.6 billion euros). According to the analysis, when looking at net payments per inhabitant, Ireland is at the top – with 236 euros per capita. In Germany, payments amounted to 206 euros per capita. In relation to gross national income (GNI), however, the Federal Republic remains the largest net payer, according to the authors. GNI refers to the economic output generated by all residents.
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Germany benefits most from the EU internal market
According to the information, the budget of the European Union (EU) in 2023 comprised a total of 173.1 billion euros. Of this, 143.4 billion euros went to the member states. In addition, there were funds from the international community’s Corona reconstruction fund amounting to 66.1 billion euros, of which 64.6 billion euros went to the member states. As the largest net contributor to the Union, Germany is contributing almost a quarter of the funds. The federal government stresses in principle that At the same time, Germany benefits more from the EU internal market than any other European economy.
The experts cite the weak economic situation in Germany as the reason for Germany’s decline in its net contribution to the EU. “Since it is already becoming apparent that no economic recovery is to be expected in Germany this year either (…), it can be assumed that Germany’s net contribution will fall again in 2024,” the authors write.
