There can be no agreement on the next long-term EU budget this year without an agreement on new taxes, European Council President Antonio Costa told the 27 national leaders, Euractiv reports. Costa wrote a formal letter of invitation to leaders who will go to Brussels on June 18 and 19 to continue work on a proposal for a seven-year EU budget worth almost two trillion (one thousand billion) euros.
– We need to focus our discussion on the key elements to facilitate an agreement by the end of the year. This includes progress in new own resources, which will be decisive for matching our ambitions with the necessary funds – Costa wrote in the letter of June 10.
The increase in new taxes, known in EU jargon as “own resources”, is one of the most controversial elements of the Commission’s plan, which has already been attacked by defenders of traditional spending priorities, from regional development funds to agricultural subsidies.
The proposal states that Brussels could raise 58 billion euros a year through changes in customs revenue and existing green taxes, tobacco tax, e-waste tax and corporation tax. But progress has stalled, and EU leaders have asked the Commission to assess additional proposals made by the European Parliament. The commission expects Parliament’s proposed digital tax, imposed on online gambling and cryptocurrencies, to raise around €13 billion a year.
France refuses to agree to a budget without big new taxes, while countries like Sweden and Germany – known to be austere – don’t want them. Costa is putting pressure on the leaders, knowing full well that next year the bloc faces a series of national elections, from France to Spain to Poland. EU officials are concerned that the topic of EU budget contributions could become entangled in the national campaign. RS
