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Merz Urges European Partners to Agree on Lower EU Budget This Year
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Economy & Trade

Merz Urges European Partners to Agree on Lower EU Budget This Year

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged European partners to agree on a lower EU budget for 2028-2034 this year.
  • Merz argued the current proposal is too high and called for reduced spending on agriculture and cohesion, with increased focus on defense and competitiveness.
  • While Germany and some allies share this view, a majority of EU states, particularly the 'Friends of Cohesion' group, advocate for maintaining current funding levels.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is pressing European partners to reach an agreement on a reduced European Union budget for the 2028-2034 period within the current year. Merz stated that the proposal currently under negotiation is "too high" and emphasized the need for predictability in the EU's financial planning.

I want us to reach a decision this year, I think it is important, also for the predictability of the entire EU budget.

— Friedrich MerzGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the urgency of agreeing on the EU budget.

Speaking ahead of a key EU summit session dedicated to the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), Merz argued that "the proposal on the table is clearly high." He reiterated Germany's stance that "we must not incur more debt" and "we can only spend what we have." Berlin advocates for reallocating funds, proposing less spending on agriculture and cohesion policies, and directing more resources towards defense and competitiveness.

The proposal on the table is clearly high, so it is necessary to reduce the figures and not incur more debt because we can only spend what we have.

— Friedrich MerzMerz explains Germany's position on the proposed EU budget.

While Germany, along with countries like the Netherlands, Austria, and Nordic nations, shares this fiscal conservatism, Merz acknowledged that this position is not the majority view within the EU. Sixteen member states, forming the "Friends of Cohesion" group, which includes Spain and Italy, are pushing to maintain at least the current levels of agricultural and regional aid, contrary to the European Commission's initial draft proposals which already included cuts.

There must be a new proposal and then the revenue and expenditure structure must be analyzed.

— Friedrich MerzMerz outlines the next steps for negotiating the EU budget.

The differing positions set the stage for potentially contentious negotiations. Both sides appear firm in their stances, aiming for a conclusion by the end of the year, before a year marked by significant electoral calendars, including the French presidential elections.

I hope that today we will debate this controversial topic in a spirit of good European cooperation. But we must debate it in such a way that we reach a common agreement in the second half of 2026.

— Friedrich MerzMerz expresses hope for a cooperative approach to budget negotiations.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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