"The EU budget needs drastic cuts"/ Merz: It is unacceptable for the institutions to add 2,500 new jobs
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the European Commission's initial proposal for the EU budget of nearly 2 trillion euros should be cut by hundreds of billions of euros, while it is unacceptable to add 2,500 new jobs to the EU institutions.
Speaking at a press conference with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, Merz called the Commission's plan unacceptable and unbalanced. "That's why we need a draft budget with cuts at all levels, amounting to several hundred billion euros. These cuts are essential," Merz said.
Merz also criticized a Commission plan to increase the number of EU staff, a move that Brussels says is necessary to cope with the increased workload caused by the current geopolitical crises. "It is unacceptable to create another 2,500 new positions for the European institutions. We will not accept this," the chancellor said, arguing that Germany was reducing government staff by 8% by 2029.
Under its presidency of the European Council, Ireland will have to present a new budget proposal ahead of a summit of EU leaders in October. Irish Prime Minister Martin will have to face pressure from Merz for spending cuts, while other countries such as Italy, Spain and Poland support a bigger budget.
At the press conference, the Irish leader was reserved in response to German demands, saying only that he would “listen carefully to the chancellor about what is important to him and to Germany.” Another sensitive issue for Ireland is the identification of new taxes across the bloc to finance the budget, known as own resources, which require unanimous support among EU countries.
The Commission proposed five new own resources last year, including higher tobacco tariffs and a controversial tax on EU businesses, to generate new revenue to cover rising defence and competitiveness spending. But Germany has strongly opposed the business tax and has rejected suggestions that the Commission could exclude small and medium-sized enterprises in order to reach a deal.
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