Germany news: Merz courts 'frugals' to trim EU budget
Chancellor Friedrich Merz is hosting leaders from several European Union net contributor countries as Berlin pushes for a smaller bloc budget. DW has more.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is in Berlin on Monday, August 10, 2026, to invite leaders from several EU countries to push for a smaller and more modernized EU budget. The talks are set to take place ahead of key negotiations this autumn. Merz has targeted net contributors to the EU budget, who are often referred to as the "frugals."
These countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland, and Denmark, would like to see significant cuts in the EU's next seven-year budget, as well as changes in the way the funds are spent. Merz has proposed cutting several hundred billion euros from previous budget proposals, which were estimated to be around €2 trillion for the 2028-2034 period.
He described the Cyprus proposal as "unaffordable and unbalanced." In a separate development, the lead candidates for Saxony-Anhalt's state election have engaged in a heated debate ahead of the regional election. The center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) candidate, Sven Schulze, accused his far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) challenger, Ulrich Siegmund, of lacking a future-oriented plan for Saxony-Anhalt.
In response, Siegmund claimed the AfD had a clear plan, suggesting reorganizing migration to free up funds for investments such as hospitals. Schulze stated that Saxony-Anhalt represents the beginning of a political change in Germany.
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