Contributions to the budget of the European Union in 2020, by member state

In 2020 Germany's contributions to the budget of the European Union was more than 28 billion Euros, the highest of any EU member state. France was the next highest contributor at 23.7 billion Euros, followed by the United Kingdom at 17 billion Euros and Italy at 16.6 billion Euros. The country which contributed the lowest amount was the small island nation of Malta, at 116.5 million Euros.

Largest economies in Europe

The amount which EU member states contribute to the EU budget is heavily linked to the size of its economy. Germany, for example, has the largest economy in the whole of Europe, with Gross domestic product reaching almost 3.4 trillion Euros in 2019. Britain and France have the second and third largest economies in Europe with GDPs of 2.52 and 2.42 trillion euros respectively.

UK Rebate

The amount which the United Kingdom contributes to the European Union budget was a key issue during the Brexit referendum of 2016. Prior to the referendum, the “Leave” campaign famously claimed that the UK sends the EU 350 million British pounds a week, a figure which omitted the rebate which the UK receives from the EU as well as public sector receipts. As of 2019, the UK contributed approximately 9.4 billion to the EU budget and received 8.52 billion back.