Ireland backs 'ambitious' new EU taxes as budget talks intensify
The Irish government, which is chairing member-state discussions on the EU’s long-term budget, will present an “ambitious” draft text featuring proposals for new EU taxes.
The European Union is currently negotiating its long-term budget for 2028-2034, with Ireland chairing the talks. EU institutions aim to finalize the deal by the end of the year. The draft of the budget will include new taxes, known as own resources, which are a first for the bloc's history. Irish Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne stated that all proposed own resources, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, parcel handling fee, online gambling tax, tobacco excise duties, CORE, e-waste, EU Emissions Trading System, digital levy, and tax on crypto assets, are still on the table.
The own resources proposal is a crucial component under consideration during the negotiations. The European Commission proposed a €2 trillion budget, but the talks have divided member states into two groups: the "Friends of Cohesion" seeking to protect funding for agriculture, fisheries, and regional development, and the "frugal" group advocating for budget reduction and reallocation towards competitiveness and defence.
A compromise proposal from Cyprus suggested a €32.8 billion cut, focusing on programmes favored by the modernisers. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has expressed skepticism about the proposed own resources and called for significant budget cuts. A deal on the budget must be reached by the end of the year; otherwise, it could undermine Europe's credibility.
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