The proposals from the EU governments include a reduction of 32.8 billion euros. This proposal was supposed to be a compromise between countries wanting significant savings and countries opposed to cuts in agriculture and regional support.
Insufficient
For the European Parliament, that compromise struck by the ministers is moving in the wrong direction. The earlier multiannual budget proposed by the European Commission, amounting to approximately 2 trillion euros, is already considered insufficient by the EU politicians. Further cuts would exacerbate this problem, according to them.
The Parliament wants not less, but more money. In its own proposal, it called for a 10 percent increase in the budget. This puts it sharply at odds with countries seeking to limit EU expenditures.
Promotion
Gambling Tax
Additionally, the Parliament criticizes that there is still no agreement on establishing new “own resources” (i.e., new EU taxes). According to the European Parliament, it is difficult to create a strong and renewed budget with cuts and without new income. One of the considerations is an EU tax on betting and online gambling.
The gap between member states and the Parliament is increasing pressure on the negotiations. The EU wants to reach an agreement by the end of this year so that the budget debate will not be postponed to 2027.
Without the approval of the European Parliament, the new multiannual budget cannot be adopted. Therefore, this rejection of the EU countries’ initial proposal is more than a political signal: it could significantly influence further negotiations.