Germany biggest net contributer to EU – yes, with 9,25 € per month
Last week several German newspapers came up with news which is not new if you read regularly about European issues. Yes, it was time again to say something about the net contribution of Germany to the European Union.
Like others also the FAZ stressed that Germany has to pay over 9 billion Euros as net contribution to Brussels – meaning Germany has to pay 9 billions even after having received European money via different programmes and funds.
And what were the headlines? The FAZ wrote “Germany’s net contribution get bigger and bigger”. n-tv wrote “Germany pays more”. The WELT titled “Germany still biggest net contributor”. You can go on reading German newspaper and the result would be more or less the same.
Where is the article “The European Union still guarantees peace 60 years after its founding”?
And by the way: the 9 billion Euros mean that every German has to pay 9,25 Euro per month for Europe. If you compare that with e.g. the interest paid by the German state (approximately 62 billion Euros) it means that every German has to pay over 63 Euro per month just to bear the interests of the public debt of Germany. In addition to that the “Bund der Steuerzahler” a German NGO which cares about the taxpayers, discusses public spending and publicizes waste of tax spending. The latest report gives examples on how to reduce the public spending about 27 billion Euros - which is three years of Germanys EU net contribution.
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy published in May this year the so called “Kieler Subventionsampel” which is nothing less than a traffic light giving advice on how to proceed with state subsidies. The result: 7,5 billion Euro can immediately be annulled (red light) and moreover approximately 20 billion Euros are on yellow.
Do I have to say more when we discuss 9 billion Euros for the European Union? I guess not!
