Ireland, Czech Republic benefit from 2007 EU budget
(BRUSSELS) - Ireland and the Czech Republic, which pose a threat to the future of the European Union's reform treaty, are net beneficiaries from the EU budget, according to figures released Friday.
Ireland received 671 million euros (1.1 billion dollars) from the EU's coffers last year, while the Czech Republic was handed 656.4 million euros, the 2007 budget report showed.
Britain, France, Germany and Italy all remained net contributors, meaning that they pay more into the EU's common budget than they receive back in subsidies, funds and other benefits.
On June 12, Irish voters rejected the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which is meant to make the 27-nation bloc operate more smoothly as it grows, as well as create new senior posts like that of a president and foreign policy supremo.
The Czech Republic has not yet ratified the treaty, and its eurosceptic leaders have suggested the document was killed off by the Irish referendum.
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