The European Budget in times of crisis - What is in it for the regions?

THE RECENT ECONOMIC CRISIS,

globalisation and climate change pose new challenges to public expenditure on all levels of public governance, be it on European, national, regional or local level, inside our outside the EU. 

International organisations and transnational institutions such as the Council of Europe or the European Union, have to reflect on how to spend the money they entrusted with in a more efficient way to overcome the crisis and to boost economic recovery and well being of the citizens.

DEBATE ON EU BUDGET:

It comes as no surprise that the budget of the European Union is the target of many debates and negotiations between EU member states and other stakeholders. Can EU objectives be better realised by relying on the instruments financed by each Member State separately or by means of resources put together in a common budget? Which criteria should be applied for financing specific instruments of common policies by the joint budget (European value added)? Is a reform of the EU budget needed and if so which policies should it finance in order to bring a European value added? Should new resources be explored and certain EU policies such as the CAP get less financial assistance from Brussels? 

REGIONS CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEBATE:

At the AER Bureau meeting in Porec, Istria (HR) AER members will be able to contribute to the current discussions and debate with experts the impact of the EU budget on their regions. Main speakers will be:

* Fabian ZULEEG, EPC Chief economist
* Prof. Fritz BREUSS, Vienna University of Economy and Business and economist at the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO)
* Roy PERRY, AER Vice-President of Institutional Affairs Committee and Deputy leady, Hampshire County Council (UK)

The EU Budget is dominated by two policy areas, notably agricultural policy and regional policy. AER works hard to ensure that the funding available for regions is delivered in the best possible way so that regions can get out the maximum benefits. Please check this link to follow AER's work on

Future Cohesion Policy