The aim of the paper is twofold: to present a preliminary analysis of the distribution of the Rural Development (RD) expenditure for specific measures related to human capital across EU and to investigate which factors may explain the variation of intensity of spending between the regions. In particular, a descriptive analysis of the budget and of the expenditure for EU 27 will be presented. A linear regression model (OLS) is also presented in order to verify which factors weigh more in determining the spending decisions for the European regions. The analysis is carried out taking into account the EAFRD expenditures for the measures related to human capital for the period 2007-2008 at NUTS2 level.