Costa: New EU taxes could reduce countries' contributions to the budget
In Berlin, Germany, European Council President António Costa said that new EU-wide taxes could reduce national contributions to the EU budget. As Politico Europe reports, he said the new own resources should protect national budgets, particularly Germany's, which finances about a quarter of the bloc's budget.
At a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Costa said the EU cannot demand more money from member states and must create new own resources. He noted that such revenue is needed to finance common policies in defense and competitiveness, which cannot be addressed by individual governments.
Budget negotiations
The negotiations are taking place less than four months before the informal deadline for reaching an agreement on the EU budget for 2028–2034. The European Commission proposed a budget of nearly €2 trillion, but Merz reiterated his call to reduce the plan by “several hundred billion” euros.
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The chancellor called an increase in the budget unacceptable, as the costs would ultimately be borne by European taxpayers. Several EU diplomats believe that the convincing victory of the far-right Alternative for Germany party in regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt could strengthen Merz's position in the budget negotiations.
New own resources
Costa had previously said he intended to narrow the list of possible new taxes acceptable to EU governments at the leaders' summit on October 15. According to the European Commission's July proposal, new own resources could bring €66 billion to the EU budget annually.
After more than a year of negotiations, EU governments have agreed on only two proposed levies: a carbon adjustment mechanism for imports targeting foreign polluters and a levy linked to uncollected electronic waste. Together, they are expected to provide about €20 billion a year.
