Recommendations for changes in the methodology of public EU funds allocation in the context of economic crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic

The article presents the national allocations of EU funds under the Next Generation fund and two selected financial instruments: RRF and REACT EU, which were then interpreted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies have shown that Spain, Italy and France have received more than 50% and, in the case of the REACT EU programme, 64% of the European public intervention value under the RRF instrument to combat the effects of COVID-19. It should be noted that in the current algorithm for the distribution of EU funds, the values of the identified amounts of support in selected financial instruments depend on population, GDP and unemployment. In the second part of the research, which focused on satisfaction indicators, it was shown that citizens of European Union countries value having a job more than high earnings, and this means that they value life stability more than the amount of remuneration. It has also been shown that for EU citizens, social ties are rated higher than spending free time. Taking into account the results of the research, the authors believe that when developing future methodologies for the allocation of European funds, the amount of support from European public funds should be additionally relativized to the indicator of life and time satisfaction, as well as the types and intensity of global asymmetric jumps. The pandemic or the unjustified aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the related energy crises clearly demonstrate that public funds should not be allocated from the point of view of only indicators determining the socio-economic situation of the country. Based on the research, the authors believe that quality of life indicators (finance, employment, social contacts and leisure activities) should be included as a new insight in the criteria for the distribution of EU funds.