The amount of funding that Aberdeen City Council received from the European Union plummeted in the last financial year.
The local authority gained £69,272 in funds in 2015-16 – the lowest in the last six years.
Funding peaked at £408,821 in 2012-13, before falling to £394,987 the following year and to £323,264 in 2014-15.
The vast majority of funds from the European Union in Aberdeen have gone to the Interreg programme, which supports development in the seven countries of the North Sea region.
During the last two years, there has been £50,191 in direct funding, while, in 2014-15, £10,929 was spent on hydrogen buses.
North-east MSP Ross Thomson claimed the declining funding was evidence of the body’s lack of commitment to the oil capital and a further reason for a Brexit.
He said: “The UK is the EU budget’s second highest contributor and we are a net contributor, meaning we give more than we get spent on us by the EU.
“The UK pays £11.1bn net each year to the EU, and, as part of that, Scotland pays £1.5bn.
“If we vote to leave, we can retain all that money and spend it on our own priorities at home, rather than let the EU decide how it is spent.
“Furthermore, the figures show that EU funding to Aberdeen City Council is declining.
“Given we are the energy capital of Europe, that figure should be rising and it shows the EU’s lack of commitment to the north-east.”
However, the city’s finance chief, Willie Young, claimed that the European Union had a positive influence on the city and the region.
He said: “I think we need to reflect on the hidden money the European Union gives.
“We estimate a total of £32million has been invested in the last five years. Even if the amount has fallen recently, there are direct and indirect benefits.
“It would be crazy if the UK voted to leave the European Union, the reasons for this is that the world is getting smaller, we know who our partners are and we trade with them.
“It’s not just about the money that comes in, it’s about the influence that we have.”
“Aberdeen is looking to become a global city and we have to work with the USA and the EU and not become an isolated island.”
