03 Sep 2018

The EU Budget and its Conditionalities

An Assessment of their Contribution to Performance and Reforms

Jorge Núñez Ferrer / Roberto Musmeci / David Rinaldi / Oscar Polli

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The EU budget imposes a considerable number of conditionalities on member states regarding the use of the EU budget, and more are being imposed in the next Multiannual Financial Framework. This study, conducted by CEPS for DG REGIO of the European Commission reviews the effectiveness of the conditionalities imposed on member states and beneficiaries. Overall, it finds that the conditionalities have been successful, but that some are excessively burdensome; it therefore proposes some reforms. On macroeconomic conditionalities and the rule of law, the paper offers a note of caution about their use, particularly when the citizen is penalised rather than the administration or government.