The European Union’s plan for a nearly €2 trillion long-term budget has run into a major roadblock, with Germany and five other big net contributors demanding cuts of several hundred billion euros as member states enter the final stretch of negotiations over the bloc’s spending for 2028-2034.
Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland and Sweden issued a joint statement on Thursday calling for a substantial reduction in the European Commission’s proposed long-term budget. The six countries said any cuts should be made in a “balanced manner,” with every area of EU spending contributing to the reduction, rather than falling disproportionately on any single programme.
The governments said EU spending should instead concentrate on shared priorities, including defence, competitiveness, migration and European sovereignty. They also rejected proposals for new joint EU borrowing to help finance the bloc’s spending needs, arguing in their statement that fresh joint debt is not the answer to the EU’s budgetary pressures.
The stance reflects mounting unease among wealthier member states that the EU’s financial demands are climbing even as national governments face their own pressure to raise spending on defence, energy security and economic competitiveness.
Germany, the EU’s largest economy and its biggest net contributor to the budget, had already pushed for a cut of around €400 billion in June, arguing that the Commission’s proposal was unaffordable at a time when national governments are under pressure to rein in public finances. Thursday’s joint statement broadens that campaign, bringing together five other countries that also pay more into the EU budget than they receive in funding.
The demand sets up tough negotiations among the bloc’s 27 members as they work toward a final budget deal. The Commission’s proposed long-term budget runs through 2034 and is valued at nearly €2 trillion, covering EU-wide spending across agriculture, cohesion funds, defence and other programmes.