Six EU countries call for hundreds of billions of euros in cuts to new EU budget

Six EU countries call for hundreds of billions of euros in cuts to new EU budget The statement emphasized that the European Union should make clear choices and reprioritize within the budgetBERLIN, August 27. /TASS/. Six EU countries have called for reducing the European Commission’s proposed budget by several hundred billion euros and opposed new common borrowing, according to a joint statement by Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland and Sweden, released by the German government’s press service. The statement said that negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034 had entered a decisive stage and that the countries "jointly support the ambition to conclude the negotiations in 2026." It emphasized that the European Union must make clear choices and reprioritize within the budget. "To arrive at an acceptable landing zone, the Commission’s proposal of nearly 2 trillion Euros needs to be reduced by several hundred billion Euros in a balanced manner. All headings should contribute to such reductions," the statement said. "Given the exceptionally high level of outstanding payment commitments under the current MFF, together with additional transfer mechanisms outside the MFF, a holistic assessment of the payment flows is necessary in the context of the MFF negotiations. Furthermore, we expect the EU institutions to organize their workload within the existing staff levels. Excessive net imbalances must be corrected," it noted. The new EU budget should be underpinned by "an efficient, socially responsible and business-friendly legislative and regulatory framework." "This framework must systematically prioritize the successful, swift and green transformation of our economies, in particular by accelerating planning and permitting procedures. New common borrowing is not the solution to our budgetary challenges and is no alternative to structural reforms," the statement said. The EU budget is adopted for seven years. Negotiations are currently underway on the 2028-2034 budget plan, which, under the European Commission’s proposal, would total 1.76 trillion euros in current prices. 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