Europeupdated 2h ago2 min read
Friedrich Merz Leads Germany To Reject New EU Budget, Calls For Cuts And Restructuring
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Merz demands substantial cuts to the next EU long-term budget. He rejects cohesion and agriculture spending, prioritizing competitiveness, defence, and deregulation.
Merz presses budget cuts
Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the Bundestag that Germany will lead the group of net contributors who oppose the new EU budget, and he said, "The amount of the new proposal is not a basis for an agreement." Merz argued that the current proposal contains an 8% cut from the previous EU Commission resolution, which amounts to about 159,000 million euros, and he said the EU budget would rise to 1.8 trillion euros for those six years.
Merz said he will lead the opposition to the planned budget while he also called for restructuring European spending around "security and competitiveness," and he excluded from priorities, for example, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Alternative for Germany leader Tino Chrupalla told Merz, "German taxpayers can no longer afford the endless financial and military support to Ukraine," as Merz defended his position by saying, "No euro flowing to Ukraine is lacking in our country’s social and educational spending."
Ukraine aid and frozen assets
Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the EU summit in Brussels that "No member country can afford that," and he said, "We must significantly reduce the common budget compared to the Commission's proposals." Merz also advocated increasing Ukraine aid in Brussels, and he said, "We will also need to increase the funds here to truly help Ukraine in a sustainable way."
Merz opposed transferring a portion of the EU-frozen Russian assets to the USA, and he said, "That is our affair, and we will decide on it." Merz warned that "We see an increasingly ruthless wave of attacks from Russia against Ukraine," and he said he remained convinced that Europe was defending "Europe’s political order" under pressure from Russia.
Le Pen threatens to block
Marine Le Pen warned that France could block the EU budget over Ukraine funding, and she said, "To be honest with Mr. Zelenskyy, I have to tell him – in fact, warn him: listen, we can’t do any more."
Le Pen said France could resist future EU support for Ukraine if Paris carries too much of the cost, and she argued that France’s share of the EU’s €90 billion loan package amounts to €18 billion.
Le Pen threatened to withhold half of France’s contribution to block an agreement on the wider EU budget, and she told the Financial Times, "The honest thing to do with Mr. Zelenskyy is to tell him, to warn him in fact: listen, we can’t do more, we can’t manage more,"
Le Pen also cast doubt on whether France would continue backing EU funding for Ukraine if she wins next year’s presidential election, while she reiterated her "absolutely total condemnation" of Russian aggression and said she opposed Ukraine joining the EU, describing membership as "hara-kiri" for France.