Managing EU money: the Commission’s power in implementing EU spending programs

The budget of the European Union (EU) is subject to intense political bargaining and has received much scholarly attention in the past. Less is known about the different roles that Commission and Member States play in managing the numerous spending programs established under the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). A fund’s management can be the sole responsibility of the Commission, shared between Commission and the Member States or delegated to third countries or international organizations. These management modes lend varying degrees of influence to the Commission and Member States over the decisions on how money is spent, including to whom and under which conditions. On one side, the multi-level governance of cohesion funds involves national and regional actors with considerable say over the use of funding, limiting Brussels’ role. On the other side, the Commission manages several funds that directly benefit non-state actors without interference from national governments, such as the research program Horizon Europe. Drawing on the novel ReSpend database that captures institutional spending features across EU social and industrial policy programs from 1987 to 2027, this article aims at exploring in more detail the qualities of these constellations. The first part will establish the historical genesis of the different management modes, focusing on the rationales at the time of their establishment as well as their development and relative importance over time. Against this backdrop, the conditions influencing the choice for a management mode are examined in more detail by comparing selected cases from the dataset. The findings should help us understanding better the factors shaping the power of the Commission over spending and its evolving role vis-à-vis the Member States. This should also inform the debate on the development of the EU from a regulatory state to a reconfiguration that also includes features of a spending state.