Obligatory Expenditure

Obligatory Expenditure

A government outlay that the European Parliament is required to make in order to fulfill its responsibilities as a body of the European Union. For example, agricultural subsidies are considered obligatory because they are mentioned in the treaties, while payroll for EU employees is not because it is not mentioned specifically. Changes to obligatory expenditures require a majority vote of the total membership of Parliament. However, the difference between obligatory and non-obligatory expenditures is sometimes difficult to determine.