Le Pen vows to downsize EU as she brings contribution cut fight to Brussels

BRUSSELS — Far-right leader Marine Le Pen pledged to turn the European Commission into a “secretariat” in the service of its member countries as part of her plan to slash the size and power of the European Union should she win France’s presidential election next year.

“Over the past 10 years, France has seen the implementation of a European vision that is the exact opposite of the one I will champion,” Le Pen told reporters at a press conference in Brussels after a meeting with fellow European far-right leaders. “They wanted a powerful Europe. We got a powerless Europe. They wanted European sovereignty. All we’ve gotten is the dilution of national sovereignty.”

Le Pen is in Brussels the day before EU leaders are set to meet for key discussions over the bloc’s next seven-year budget. EU countries have weakened their commitment to wrap up negotiations by year-end amid a major split between frugal countries joined by Germany, which want to further shrink the budget, and countries like France which support more EU spending. Council President António Costa had hoped to get a budget finalized before elections in France, Italy and Poland in 2027 threaten to derail the talks.

Le Pen, the front-runner in the race to replace term-limited President Emmanuel Macron next year, and her party last week said they would unilaterally slash France’s annual contribution to the EU budget by €11.1 billion as early as next year.

Le Pen frames the move as necessary to help fix France’s disastrous public finances — she is proposing €140 billion in savings by 2032 — but her critics say such a move would set up a dramatic showdown with Brussels that could end with France leaving the bloc.

This developing story will be updated.

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