ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ways in which the EU Budget has been financed and the role it has played in terms of allocating and redistributing resources. Particular emphasis is given to the growth of the Structural Funds to provide modest redistribution. This has partly changed the role of the Budget from its original conception and is shedding fresh light on the new kind of European Union which is emerging. It will be argued that the original size of the EU Budget was too small and even today remains insufficient to achieve economic convergence. Further, the proposed resources made available for an enlarged EU appear insufficient and it seems likely that the Budget may need to grow to ensure that the Union will have sufficient resources to finance future expenditures, especially for eastern enlargement.
