The 27-nation European Union wants an agreement on the 7-year budget of the EU by Christmas, because any future dealmaking would give the power to the potential eurosceptics, who win in polls across Europe.
The so-called eurosceptics’ candidate Marine Le Pen, and the German AfD want to slash their country’s contribution to the EU budget. Putting the screws on the EU, Le Pen said on the eve of the summit that it would be a “democratic scandal” for leaders to adopt a budget before next year’s votes.
At stake is the nearly two-trillion-euro budget. EU leaders must agree on how much to give to farmers, what to spend on defence and how to make the economy more competitive against the United States and China, and whether to pour European money into migrant “return hubs” in Africa.
Germany is leading a group, the so-called “frugals,” that includes the Netherlands and Sweden, who demand cuts of several hundred billion euros. In another corner is France, which opposes massive cuts to the budget and believes the continent needs a larger pot to match the rising challenges.
And in the third camp are the so-called “Friends of Cohesion,” demanding more funding specifically to support agriculture and regional development. Some experts warn there can be no agreement without “substantial” new bloc-wide taxes including on large companies, environmental taxation and levies on tobacco. What’s more, France wants EU-wide taxes on digital services, crypto-assets and online gambling, which the European Parliament also demands.
The big question of the summit is whether compromise can be found. The answer comes soon.
