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For readers interested in an overview of what led to the adoption of the European Union's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and its aftermath, this book traces the discursive dynamics and milestones of the negotiations around the MFF and the new recovery instrument, aimed at alleviating the economic crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. Covering the negotiations of the current MFF, contributions by both scholarly experts in their respective policy areas and authors close to the policy community in Brussels provide a well rounded insight into this discerning topic. Chapters explore the issues that unfolded during the negotiations of the MFF and recovery package against the backdrop of conflicts over solidarity, identity and sovereignty and thus the scope of cooperation and membership as well as institutional design and authority. EU Policymaking at a Crossroads anticipates, describes and discursively explains changes in selected policy areas, looking into the negotiations, effects and reflections surrounding them. This timely book will be a highly beneficial read for academics and students in the fields of international relations, European politics and public policy. Scholars specializing in multilevel governance of different policy areas such as sustainability, agriculture and migration will also profit from this comprehensive book.

The European Union (EU) budget is about one percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of all Member States amounting to about €240 per annum, per citizen. The EU budget redistributes more than €150 billion annually. These funds are directed towards agriculture and regional policy, which operate to help less developed countries and local communities. Millions of euros are spent on rebuilding roads or hospitals or for the educational and vocational training of thousands of European citizens’. A significant proportion of this money goes towards underdeveloped and economically less well-off regions, especially across Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe (see Figure 1).

In recent weeks, the divisions between North and South, as well as the creation of European corona bonds have dominated most European debates. At the same time, there has been contradictory information regarding the financial aid mobilised by Brussels in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The objectives of this brief analysis are twofold. First, it seeks to clarify and provide an overview of what European Union (EU) financial resources have been mobilised so far to fight the pandemic, what is their distribution and towards whom. Secondly, it discusses the problematic aspects surrounding the financial support offered by Brussels and the Member States. Overall, I argue that although the current European rescue package is significant in size, when designing and presenting it, EU institutions and Member States faced several communication, financial and politico-administrative obstacles, often of their own making. This might explain, at least partially, why so many members of the European public are still sceptical or have a negative attitude towards the EU’s response to the coronavirus crisis.

Το παρόν άρθρο επιχειρεί να εξετάσει το εύρος της δημοσιονομικής ικανότητας της Ε.Ε. εστιάζοντας στα Πολυετή Δημοσιονομικά Πλαίσια (ΠΔΠ). Λαμβάνοντας υπ’όψιν τις πολιτικές που χρηματοδοτεί ο προϋπολογισμός της Ε.Ε., η ανάλυση αντλεί από τα ΠΔΠ 2007-2013 και 2014-2020, συγκρίνοντάς τα με το προτεινόμενο από την Επιτροπή ΠΔΠ 2021-2027. Σκοπός είναι η διερεύνηση της εξέλιξης των ΠΔΠ αξιοποιώντας εμπειρικά δεδομένα, χρηματοοικονομικές εκθέσεις και άλλα κείμενα πολιτικής. Με βάση τη βιβλιογραφία του ιστορικού νεοθεσμισμού η υπόθεση που εξετάζεται είναι ότι η εξέλιξη των ΠΔΠ ακολουθεί αυξητική τροχιά δίχως να εντοπίζονται ουσιαστικές μεταβολές. Εν τούτοις, οι τρέχουσες διαπραγματεύσεις για το ΠΔΠ 2021-2027 εκτιμώνται ως κρίσιμες καθώς μπορεί να δημιουργήσουν «ασυνέχειες» και μια δυναμική «διακεκομμένης ισορροπίας», προκαλώντας αλλαγή σε ό,τι αφορά τους διαθέσιμους χρηματοδοτικούς πόρους σε ορισμένα πεδία πολιτικών., This paper aims at examining the fi scal capacity of the EU by focusing on the Multiannual Financial Frameworks (MFFs). Taking into consideration the policy areas fi nanced by the EU budget, the analysis draws on the MFFs 2007-2013 and 2014-2020, and compares them with the proposed by the Commission MFF 2021-2027. The main objective is to shed light on the evolution of the MFFs by utilizing empirical data, fi nancial reports, and other policy papers. Drawing on the historical institutionalism literature, the main hypothesis is that the evolution of the MFFs follows an incremental path, and no substantial change whatsoever is observed with regard to the fi scal capacity of the EU; however, the ongoing negotiations with regard to the MFF 2021-2027 can be considered as critical, due to the fact that they can produce punctuated dynamics and discontinuities, thus change, with regard to the available financial resources for specific policy fields.

51,9% of the people of the United Kingdom, covering England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Whales, voted to leave the European Union at the referendum that took place on June 23, 2016. The letter triggering article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty about withdrawal of the United Kingdom was signed by the Prime Minister Theresa May and addressed to Mr. Donald Tusk - the President of the European Council. Therefore, Brexit process -“a leap in the dark”- has officially started. Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union is one of the policy domain that has never been approved by the UK. Generous supports to the agricultural sector, which contributed to the GDP of the European Union at only 2%, have always been the major criticism posed by the United Kingdom. The aim of this paper is to analyze the Brexit process in terms of Common Agricultural Policy funding and to predict the prospective developments following withdrawal of the United Kingdom. To achieve this end, after providing a short explanation on the Common Agricultural Policy, financial system of the European Union is explained in brief and net contribution of the United Kingdom to the EU budget and its utilization degree of the funding instruments are dealt in greater detail, especially with reference to agricultural supports such as EAGF and EAFRD. Finally, predictions regarding post-Brexit agricultural policies and funds of both the European Union and the United Kingdom are provided.

The Bachelor´s work is focused on the basic characteristics of EU budget. Furthermore it points out its legal aspects followed by the analysis of the EU budget structure where the following aspects are discussed: multi-annual financial framework, incomes and expenses of the EU budget. Moreover the principles of the EU budget are mentioned in the Bachelor´s work followed by the process of approving the EU budget. The control of the EU budget is enclosed in the literary research. Practical part of this thesis deals with the financial analysis of the budget of EU in the time horizont of nine years.