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.