During the course of the semester, the European Union provided the Czech Republic with a surplus of funding that far exceeded expectations.
In the first half of the year, the Czech Republic recorded an excess of 45.6 billion crowns from the European Union budget compared to the resources it absorbed. Of this amount, 24.8 billion crowns represent funds allocated within the NextGeneration EU (NGEU) recovery plan, aimed at supporting economic revitalization. These figures were disclosed by the Ministry of Finance earlier this week.
Last year, the Czech Republic had accumulated a surplus of 61.2 billion crowns in its net position towards the EU, including funds earmarked for the recovery plan. This confirms the country’s role as a net beneficiary of European funding. Since joining in 2004, the Czech Republic has contributed a total of 843.7 billion crowns to the well-known European budget, receiving approximately 1.88 trillion crowns in return.
The total net position throughout the entire period of EU membership now stands at 1.03 trillion crowns, rising to 1.09 trillion crowns when factoring in contributions from NGEU. The Minister of Finance, Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS), commented on this positive trend, emphasizing that the semi-annual performance represents the second-best outcome in the past seven years. Stanjura also reported that the success in obtaining these funds has had a tangible impact on the national budget, which received an influx of 47.3 billion crowns from European funds in June.
The inflow of resources from the European Union has also helped reduce the deficit in the state budget to 215.4 billion crowns in June, compared to the 271.4 billion recorded in May. Stanjura expressed confidence in future results, highlighting that the full implementation of the ongoing program could yield further positive outcomes. These figures confirm the significance of EU membership in securing funds for investments in the economy, especially during times of crisis. Stanjura underscored that, in addition to traditional structural funds, the instruments of NextGenerationEU, included in the National Recovery Plan, have played a crucial role.
The Ministry of Finance emphasized that the current positive balance of the net position towards the EU is primarily attributable to revenues from structural funds and the cohesion fund, totaling 29.4 billion crowns. Furthermore, from the Common Agricultural Policy, 25.2 billion crowns have been allocated to the Czech budget. In the first half of this year, the country has also benefited from an additional 24.8 billion crowns, earmarked for rural development and reinforcing cohesion through NGEU.
Fonti: https://www.novinky.cz/sekce/ekonomika-10
Fonte immagini: https://pixabay.com/
Fonte grafica: https://storyset.com/
