EU budget talks split France and Germany over cuts

France and Germany are divided over whether the European Union should make major cuts to its proposed 2028-2034 budget, complicating efforts to reach a deal by Christmas.

The European Commission has proposed a seven-year budget worth nearly two trillion euros, compared with about 1.2 trillion euros for 2021-2027. Germany is leading Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden in seeking cuts of several hundred billion euros.

France, the EU's second-biggest economy and a net contributor to the budget, argues that the bloc needs enough money to meet rising demands. French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that Europe needed “an ambitious European budget” and a stronger budget to support priorities including defence.

Ireland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, is due to present a revised proposal on October 10 aimed at narrowing the gap. EU leaders are expected to discuss the budget in Brussels over two days next week.

The EU wants agreement by Christmas, although the legal deadline is the end of 2027. Officials fear delays could push talks into a more difficult election year, including worries about eurosceptic gains in France and elsewhere.

A third group of 17 southern, central and eastern European countries, known as the Friends of Cohesion, is seeking more funding for agriculture and regional development.

The European Commission has proposed new revenue sources, including a tax on large companies, an electronic waste levy and higher tobacco taxes. The European Parliament wants to add taxes on digital giants and online gambling, but several governments oppose some of the proposed levies.