This briefing introduces the challenges that have been faced in delivering a discharge of the Council's budget over the last decade, with particular regard to the Council's executive activities. The authors analyse the institutional and legal constraints and put forward a number of...

The use of financial instruments within the EU budget is becoming more and more common. The present study first revises key concepts in determining the use of those instruments, before providing an analysis of the functioning and consistency of the ex-ante assessments, which are required by...

The use of financial instruments within the EU budget is becoming more and more common. The present study first revises key concepts in determining the use of those instruments, before providing an analysis of the functioning and consistency of the ex-ante assessments, which are required by...

The EU budget is indeed facing unprecedented challenges which may have profound impacts in the size and structure of the post-2020 multiannual financial framework (MFF). One of the greatest challenges will be to handle the impact of Brexit on the EU budget's revenues. This is not only a...

[This document was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control. It designated Mr Brian Hayes (MEP) to follow the study.] - The recent European crisis has put the issue of government efficiency high on national policy agendas. Policy measures that result in a reduction...

Given that the UK is one of the largest economies in the Europe Union – with per capita income above the EU average and therefore a net contributor – there have been concerns that the country's decision to leave the EU could strongly impact the EU budget. On closer scrutiny, however, this...

The recent European crisis has put the issue of government efficiency high on national policy agendas. Policy measures that result in a reduction of bureaucratic slack or red tape can alleviate the trade-off between consolidation and public service provision. Since 2007 the role of the EU budget...