Skip to main content

The EU’s sources of income include: contributions from member countries; import duties on products from outside the EU; a new contribution based on non-recycled plastic packaging waste; and fines imposed when businesses fail to comply with EU rules. The EU countries agree on the size of the EU budget and how it is to be financed several years in advance. 

The EU budget

The EU budget is financed from the following sources

  • a proportion of each country’s gross national income (GNI) in line with how wealthy they are
  • customs duties on imports from outside the EU
  • a small part of the value added tax collected by each EU country
  • starting in 2021, a contribution based on the amount of non-recycled plastic packaging waste in each country
  • other revenue, including contributions from non-EU countries to certain programmes, interest on late payments and fines, as well as any surplus from the previous year

To finance NextGenerationEU, the European Commission will raise funds on the capital markets, which will be repaid over a long period until 2058.