Germany rejected the EU budget plan that envisioned €100 billion for Ukraine - Politico

The German government has expressed strong disagreement with the proposed European Union budget, the day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the plan in Brussels. It envisioned allocating 100 billion euros in aid to Ukraine, writes UNN with reference to Politico.

A comprehensive increase in the EU budget is unacceptable at a time when all member states are making significant efforts to consolidate their national budgets. Therefore, we will not be able to accept the Commission's proposal.

The Commission proposed a central EU budget of 1.816 trillion euros for the seven-year period starting in 2028. This figure would mean a significant increase in the EU's purchasing power compared to the current budget, which has been in effect since 2021.

The Commission, among other things, introduced three new taxes targeting electronic waste, tobacco products, and high-turnover companies to repay post-COVID debt, estimated to cost between 25 and 30 billion euros annually.

We also do not support the additional taxation of companies proposed by the European Commission. We must maintain the Commission's approach to reforms and focus the budget on new priorities. This course is correct to make Europe strong in the future.

Merz has repeatedly emphasized that, from Berlin's perspective, EU spending should become more efficient, rather than increasing the overall amount of funds.

We need to reorganize priorities in the European budget. Additional tasks cannot always be associated with additional costs... and this is a difficult task we are currently facing.

The budget needs approval from all EU countries and the European Parliament by 2027.

Recall

The European Commission presented a proposal for the EU budget for 2028-2034 amounting to 2 trillion euros. Of this amount, 100 billion euros are planned to be allocated to assist Ukraine in supporting its recovery and path to EU membership.