EU budget: Germany struggles; net contribution falls by 4 billion euros

Brussels – In 2024, Germany had a net contribution—meaning it paid more than it received—of about 13.1 billion euros. That figure is 4 billion lower than in 2023, a sign of how German stagnation is draining Brussels’ coffers. Sounding the alarm is the German economic research institute IW Köln, which yesterday, 26 November, published a report entitled “EU budget and Member States: who is a net contributor, who is a net recipient?“. To get an overview, consider that the EU spent some 247 billion euros in 2024, of which 194.7 billion was for member state contributions.

In addition to German generosity, Brussels can rely on France. Paris contributed 4.8 billion euros in 2024, followed by Italy with 1.6 billion. On the other side of the fence are those who received more money than they contributed. In first place, Greece, with 3.5 billion; then Poland, with 2.9 billion (in 2023 it was first with 8.1 billion); and in third place, Spain, with 2.2 billion. Well-spent European money that guaranteed, in 2024, GDP growth of around 2 percent across all three economies.

Despite the reduction in Germany’s contribution, Berlin remains the most significant contributor, even on a per capita basis. Germans pay 157 euros more than they get, followed by the Irish with 130 euros per head. The ratio is the reverse for citizens of the Baltic States: there, due to the small population, each inhabitant receives around 500 euros more than what they sent to Brussels.

In any case, the institute notes in the document that “the net position of a member state says nothing about the benefits of EU membership.” It is an intellectual honesty that distances itself from a simplistic way of assessing pros and cons.”

What seems central instead is the economic burden on the Brussels coffers. The drop in German payments could become a problem. The main reason remains Berlin’s economic stagnation, stuck at a zero-point growth territory even in 2025.