EU-Haushalt: Merz besteht auf drastischer Kürzung der EU-Finanzplanungen

Berlin. Chancellor Friedrich Merz reiterated his call for a drastic reduction in EU financial plans following a meeting with EU Council President Antonio Costa. "We need realism in terms of fiscal sustainability," Merz said in Berlin on Wednesday evening. The current proposals from the Commission envision a 60 percent increase in EU budgets.

"Compared to the last period of multiannual financial frameworks during budget cuts in all Member States, that is simply unaffordable," Merz added. The EU Commission's proposals would have to be cut by "several hundred billion euros." Merz reminded that he had organized a meeting with EU net contributors, who paid around 40 percent of the EU budget and even 70 percent of bilateral Ukraine aid from the EU.

They must agree to an agreement on the EU financial framework from 2028 to 2034. "Hence, we have the painful task of setting priorities, and we cannot escape new European debts through that," he said. All areas must be cut back, he insisted, and called for a new focus in the multi-billion euro financial framework. "With a 20th-century budget, we cannot solve the problems of the 21st century." He named future fields as competitiveness and defense capabilities.