Key facts
- Germany criticized European Council President António Costa's remarks on the EU's next seven-year budget.
- Germany's Europe minister, Gunther Krichbaum, said Costa's recent interview was "not very helpful" and urged "more realism."
- Costa said agreeing to new EU-wide taxes is key to preventing major budget cuts and keeping national contributions to Brussels under control.
- Germany and Northern European allies are pushing for hundreds of billions of euros in cuts to the EU budget.
- Krichbaum stated that national budgets are under enormous pressure and "the sky isn’t the limit."
- EU governments are lobbying the Irish presidency to reflect their preferences in a new budget negotiating document.
Germany on Tuesday criticized European Council President António Costa's remarks regarding the ongoing negotiations for the EU's next seven-year budget, with Germany's Europe minister stating that Costa's recent comments were "not very helpful" and that "more realism" was needed.
In a recent interview, Costa had emphasized the importance of agreeing to new EU-wide taxes, referred to as own resources, as a crucial step to avoid significant budget cuts and manage national contributions to the EU. He warned that proposed cuts to the European Commission's nearly €2 trillion budget could face opposition from many member states.
However, Germany and several Northern European countries, which contribute more to the EU budget than they receive, are advocating for substantial cuts, amounting to hundreds of billions of euros. They contend that introducing new EU taxes should not be seen as an alternative to these deep reductions.
"One has to wonder whether Mr. Costa has completely lost touch with reality by now," Krichbaum told reporters, adding that "national budgets are under enormous pressure ... and everyone knows that the sky isn’t the limit."
EU governments are actively lobbying the Irish presidency, which is currently leading the budget talks, to incorporate their priorities into a new negotiating document, or "negobox," expected in early October. Ireland has requested ministers to indicate on Tuesday where they are willing to compromise on contentious issues like spending cuts and own resources. Costa is slated to take over the negotiations following an October European Council meeting, where EU leaders will respond to Ireland's proposal.