Friedrich Merz of the CDU has reiterated his demand for significant cuts to the future EU budget. Speaking on Wednesday after a meeting with European Council President Antonio Costa in Berlin, Merz dismissed the Commission’s current financial projections, which call for a 60 percent increase in the budget framework, stating that such a rise is “simply not affordable” during a time of necessary household savings. He demanded that the proposals be cut by several hundred billion euros, asserting that all areas of the budget should be affected by these reductions.
Merz warned that “excessive debt” poses a threat to the “sovereignty and capacity to act” of the European Union. He described the necessity of setting “priorities” and implementing reforms to strengthen Europe’s competitive and defensive capabilities as a “painful task.”
In related discussions regarding the scope of “far-reaching decisions” facing the EU, Merz invited representatives from Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, and Finland to Berlin to discuss financing. These five countries collectively contribute 40 percent of the EU budget and provide 70 percent of the bilateral aid to Ukraine.
