The role of the EU budget in the context of the ongoing reforms

The diploma thesis The role of the EU budget in the context of the ongoing reforms assesses the functioning of the EU budget and considers the question of what changes should bring the ongoing budgetary reform. The thesis analyses the problems of functioning of the existing budget, both on the expenditure and revenue side, and also within the budgetary procedures. The main problem is seen in the discrepancy between the structure of the expenditure and the priorities of the EU. Among other problems are listed the fragmentation of expenditure to a large number of goals, unsuitable character of revenue resources, insufficient flexibility and inadequate setting of some of the decision processes linked to the budget. The thesis focuses on the budgetary reform and debates its possible outcomes, which will shape the financial perspective for the period after 2013. The thesis examines different reform options from a complex point of view. It considers the reform proposals from the European Commission, independent academics, research centers and think tanks, and also from the point of view of the Member States' governments. The thesis assesses these proposals in the context of the EU's present priorities, to which belong above all the goals set in the Europe 2020 strategy, and in the context of the effectiveness of public spending in a multilevel government structure. The thesis concludes that the reform should transform the budget into a flexible instrument for achieving EU's priorities financed from autonomous EU revenue resources.