Figure 3 – EU budget and general government expenditure in the EU (2019, € billion)

Before the outbreak of the pandemic, the EU budget represented some 2 % of total public spending in the European Union (see Figure 3), reflecting the fact that spending competences and resources in most policy areas lie mainly at national and/or local levels. These data show a situation very different from that of federal entities, where federal spending usually represents some 50 % at least of final public spending (or 15 to 20 % of gross domestic product) in decentralised models, such as the United States (US).