The UK was a net contributor to the EU budget, which meant that it paid in more into the annual budget than it saw in returns. In 2024 the EU budget was €189bn, of which the UK gross contribution would've been around €24bn, net around €14-16bn.
Changes to public procurement rules allow for tenders below a certain threshold to be reserved for application only by local producers - meaning SMEs in the local area have a greater chance of winning these tenders, keeping investment in the local area.
The EU introduced a plastic packaging levy in 2021, with each kilo not recycled resulting in an 80 cent fee. The UK is estimated to have not recycled 1.4 million tonnes of plastic packaging in 2021, so would’ve seen a fee of €1.1 Billion in 2021 alone.
The UK has rolled out its own bespoke Subsidy Control Regime, which takes into account feedback from UK industry and is able to move more quickly to facilitate decision-making - including a system of self-certification for subsidies below a given amount.
During the pandemic, the EU27 gave the EU the ability to take on its own debt, with the EU member states effectively acting as guarantors – and then took on €750bn of debt to give Covid loans to member states. The UK avoided being responsible for this.
