Overview of EU Funds and National Outcomes (2021-2027)
Spain stands among the top beneficiaries when EU funds are distributed in absolute terms. The 2021-27 European Union budget allocates 1.2 trillion euros, with analysis from Scope Ratings monitor, including insights from country and sector ratings director Alvise Lennkh-Yunus, highlighting Spain as a major recipient within this framework.
In this allocation pattern, Spain, Italy, France, and Poland together account for roughly half of the 1.2 trillion euros directed to national governments for the 2021-27 period. These funds cover rescue, adaptation, and agricultural programs and collectively represent around 8.5 percent of the EU-27’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Broadly speaking, the EU’s 1.2 trillion euro package for 2021-27 is channeled through several instruments: cohesion funds amounting to 387 billion euros; agricultural policy funds totaling 261 billion; repurposing of the 2014-20 budget estimated at 255 billion with potential use through 2023; and 332 billion euros from the Next Generation EU (NGEU) Recovery and Resilience Mechanism.
Nonetheless, Lennkh-Yunus notes that benefits will not be evenly distributed across all member states, as financing tools vary in impact.
Italy emerges as the largest absolute beneficiary, supported by EU loans totaling around 185 billion euros, followed by Spain with about 177 billion, Poland at 165 billion, France at 123 billion, Romania at 81 billion, and Germany at 77 billion.
According to the projections, Spain would receive roughly 15 percent of its 2021 GDP during the 2021-27 period, while Italy would reach about 10 percent, France around 10 percent, and Germany about 2 percent. Other countries such as Croatia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Slovakia, Greece, Romania, and Hungary are expected to receive between 30 and 45 percent of their GDP through these instruments.
Different instruments favor different nations. For example, in the cohesion funds category, Poland leads with substantial support, followed by Italy, Spain, and Romania, with figures in the tens of billions of euros for each.
Under the Common Agricultural Policy, France remains the top beneficiary with around 46 billion euros, followed by Spain and Germany (each about 31 billion), Italy at 27 billion, and Poland at 22 billion.
Overall, around seven member states receive the bulk of these funds. Approximately 70 percent flow to Italy, Spain, and Poland, with 13 to 15 percent to France, about 6.5 percent to Romania, 6.3 percent to Germany, and roughly 5 percent to Greece. The remaining 20 EU members together secure about 30 percent of these funds, excluding SURE loans and Next Generation EU finance.
SURE Loans
The SURE program acted as a temporary vehicle to finance employment-related initiatives during the Covid-19 crisis. It disproportionately benefited Italy, which received about 27 billion euros and is expected to access a total of around 123 billion euros through EU loans. Spain received roughly 21 billion, while Poland secured about 11 billion.
Regarding NGEU loans, several countries have yet to make significant demands. Beyond Italy, Romania has requested about 14.9 billion euros, Greece around 12.7 billion, and Poland approximately 11.5 billion.
Even though these loans must be repaid, borrowing costs were favorable for several countries. The European Commission notes savings of roughly 3.8 billion euros for Italy, about 1.6 billion euros for Spain, around 900 million euros for Romania, and roughly 500 million euros for Greece, reflecting the lower interest rates attached to these instruments.