Veto threat from six EU countries to the 2 trillion euro budget

According to the Financial Times, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Finland are threatening to veto the EU's proposed 7-year budget of 2 trillion euros for 2028-2034.

According to a letter signed by the leaders of six countries, the EU budget needs to be "drastically reformed and choices made". “There will be no agreement this year unless the budget is cut by hundreds of billions,” said a diplomat of one of the signatory countries.

'RESOURCES SHOULD BE SPENDED ON DEFENSE'

According to the news, the six leaders in question want to reduce the funds allocated to farmers and poorer regions, which receive approximately two-thirds of the EU budget, and to shift resources to the defense field and innovative companies, in order to respond to increasing economic and security challenges.

This ultimatum; It reveals divergences between new spending priorities, such as defense and efforts to strengthen struggling industries in the face of competition from China and the United States, and continued support for farmers and poorer regions, which have traditionally received the largest share of the budget.

The budget is largely financed by contributions from member states, with the six signatory countries accounting for around 40 percent of EU budget revenues.

INDECISION DOMINATES THE BLOCK

While the 2028-2034 budget requires the unanimous approval of all 27 member states, 17 countries, led by Spain and Italy, insist that the funds allocated to these traditional spending areas should be increased and that the general budget should exceed the proposed 2 trillion euros.

In this case, Ireland, which holds the current EU term presidency, was given the task of preparing a compromise proposal by mid-October. The Irish government must reconcile the demands of the largest net contributing countries with the demands of the majority of countries that insist on maintaining agricultural subsidies and regional development funds.

TAX PROPOSAL FROM FRANCE

France, a net contributor to the EU budget but also the largest beneficiary of the bloc's agricultural subsidies, is pushing for EU-wide taxes to help finance this increase.