The European Parliament voted to increase the EU’s next long-term budget by 10% and to introduce new revenue streams. Supporters want nearly €100 billion more than the European Commission proposed, with extra funding targeted at agriculture and poorer regions.
Lawmakers in Strasbourg backed expanding the roughly €2 trillion plan for 2028–2034. The motion passed with 370 votes in favor, 201 against and 84 abstentions. The parliament also wants to exclude repayments tied to the EU COVID-19 recovery fund from the budget total.
Proposed new revenues include a digital levy on large corporations, levies on online gambling, an expanded carbon border mechanism and taxes on cryptocurrency gains.
The seven-year EU budget is highly contested and funds areas such as defense, climate action, digitalization and programs like Erasmus. Romanian MEP and lead negotiator Siegfried Muresan called for a “strong” budget, saying, “The position of the European Parliament is clear. We believe we cannot do more with less.”
Several member states, led by Germany and other so-called frugal countries, object to the scale of the increase. An EU diplomat told DPA that rising national debt and strained budgets make calls for a higher EU budget lack credibility, and urged redirecting resources to boost competitiveness and close gaps with the US and China in areas like AI.
The European Commission has proposed a two-trillion-euro framework for 2028–2034, but major contributors pushed back at recent summit talks in Cyprus. Chancellor Friedrich Merz rejected new debt and said the EU must set priorities even if that requires cuts elsewhere. Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten called for the proposal to be “significantly reduced,” saying a sharp rise in Dutch contributions is unacceptable.
Edited by: Alex Berry