The European Union (E.U.) has a specific system of financing its institutions. The system has been the subject of political discussion since the beginning in 1970 and the recent modification in 2020. This system has come under increasing pressure as a result of the growth of the number of member states and growing economic disparity between the Northern versus Southern and Western versus Eastern member states of the Union. The question of whether to rely on its own sources of finance or on contributions from its members is the subject of a separate political argument.