In a report published on Tuesday 27 April, the European Court of Auditors highlighted several issues related to contributions made by non-EU countries to the EU budget in exchange for their participation in certain programmes such as Horizon 2020 in the field of research, and/or Erasmus regarding youth mobility.
According to the EU auditors, eighteen non-EU countries will have contributed a total value equivalent to 1% of the EU budget, or €7 billion over the period 2014-2019. The largest contributors were Switzerland and Norway (2.2 billion each), Turkey (1.3 billion) and Israel (1.0 billion). In addition to their direct contributions, EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) pay €500,000 million each year to certain EU Member States by way of a supplement to Cohesion policy.
The European Court of Auditors has identified several issues linked to these financial flows, including the transparency of contributions made by non-EU countries in order to be granted a right to participate in EU programmes.
The impact of Brexit. The UK’s exit from the Union will also have an impact on contributions to the 2021–2027 EU budget made by non-EU countries wishing to participate in EU programmes.
These individual financial contributions are usually calculated on a ratio basis of non-EU country GDP to EU GDP. While Brexit decreases the EU’s GDP, the financial contribution from non-EU countries is expected to increase. The UK has also indicated its desire to participate in some EU programmes such as Horizon Europe in the field of research, although not Erasmus.
Noting the lack of a specific methodology for calculating contributions, the auditors questioned how it could be ensured that these envelopes are appropriately calibrated in respect of the benefits that are derived from access that is granted to the EU single market.
Furthermore, the Court notes that direct contributions from non-EU countries to certain Member States are not supervised at EU level.
See the report: https://bit.ly/3tXvidL (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)