Emerging risks and new challenges 341
Of the total amount, €672.5 billion is divided into two main categories:
loans (€360 billion) and grants (€312.5 billion). In addition, there are var-
ious lines of the Commission’s multiannual budget for an amount of €77.5
billion, giving a total of €390 billion in grants. Yet, such borrowing will
have to be reimbursed through an increase in the contributions of Member
States. This could sow the seeds of a future European debt crisis. Moreover,
the distribution of grants instead of loans creates a strong moral hazard: as
each Member State contributes to a limited extent to the EU Commission
budget, it is incentivized to spend ineciently. In response, the so- called
“frugal” Member States (Austria, Den ...