The Future of EU-Finances

This book brings together different perspectives on the current system of funding the European Union and prospects for future options. Important new political challenges, such as the EU's policies towards international conflicts and the refugee crisis, indicate that there is much potential for a stronger role of the EU. Reforming the revenue system may be an important step to ensure that the EU is able to meet these demands. However, it must not be overlooked that there are also important political differences between member states. From this perspective, a revenue reform that is just another step towards creating an ever closer union may not be suited to overcome these challenges. The volume presents a collection of selected papers from distinguished scholars in economics and law that discuss the options for a reform.Thiess Büttner/Michael Thöne: The Future of EU Finances – Synopsis – Alfons Weichenrieder/Vilen Lipatov: The Subsidiarity Principle as a Guideline for Financing the European Budget – Thiess Büttner: Revenue Smoothing by the EU Funding System – Christos Kotsogiannis: European Union and Own Revenue Resources – (Brief) Lessons from Fiscally Decentralized Economies – Massimo Bordignon/Simona Scabrosetti: The Political Economy of Financing the EU Budget – Friedrich Heinemann: Strategies for a European EU Budget – Michael Thöne: Transferring Taxes to the Union: The Case of European Road Transport Fuel Taxes – Kai Konrad: Light for Europe – An Electricity Tax for the European Union Budget – Christian Waldhoff: Legal Restrictions and Possibilities for Greater Revenue Autonomy of the EU