Publication

The paper provides an analysis of the failure of the EU's European Council to agree to the budgetary compromise proposed for the 2007-2013 period. The author provides significant insight into the budgetary process in light of the 2004 EU enlargement and, significantly, the differences between net and gross contributions of individual states. Given the significant clout that can be collectively achieved by the new EU members in influencing future spending, the author predicts that changes will occur in structural funding, and that the EU should make a concerted effort to focus on fiscally net-positive financial activities whilst eliminating those zero-sum activities, notably the Common Agricultural Policy, which serve as a tax on some EU citizens to benefit others.