EU-Gipfel: Mehr Verbrenner, weniger China – Merz und Macron besiegeln Autopakt

Brussels - Chancellor Friedrich Merz has firmly stated his stance ahead of the EU summit in Brussels, expressing concerns over the financial viability of the current budget proposals from the European Commission. Merz emphasized that the EU budget needs to be substantially reduced compared to the Commission's suggestions, as no member state could afford to pay such contributions.

The current proposal is 50% above the existing medium-term financial framework, leading to the expectation of challenging negotiations at the summit. Chancellor Merz does not anticipate a rapid agreement during the meeting of the Heads of State or Government. He also stated that a resolution by the end of the year is desirable, but the positions remain far apart.

Merz highlighted competition and defense as European priorities, noting that the EU is lagging behind its timeline. He linked the financial debate to bureaucracy reduction, stating that unless Europe significantly cuts its bureaucratic burden, discussing money would be relatively pointless. Merz believes that Europe needs to remain action-oriented and become more sovereign. However, he feels the EU is not sufficiently fulfilling this mandate at the moment.