According to an internal German government document seen by the media on Tuesday, Germany requested a reduction of 400 billion euros from the European Commission's proposed budget of 2 trillion euros for 2028-2034, and warned that the current plan is “unaffordable.” Since the EU budget requires the unanimous approval of all 27 member states, Germany's strong opposition heralds difficult negotiations ahead. Berlin warned in the document that “under these circumstances, it is impossible to reach an agreement.” As the EU's largest net contributor, Germany is concerned about the proposed size of the next seven-year budget. Compared to the 2021-2027 budget of 1.3 trillion euros, the size of the new budget has increased significantly. Berlin believes that even if 400 billion euros are cut according to its proposal, the size of the new budget will still be 27% higher than the current budget, which will increase Germany's annual investment by more than 50 billion euros.

According to an internal German government document seen by the media on Tuesday, Germany requested a reduction of 400 billion euros from the European Commission's proposed budget of 2 trillion euros for 2028-2034, and warned that the current plan is “unaffordable.” Since the EU budget requires the unanimous approval of all 27 member states, Germany's strong opposition heralds difficult negotiations ahead. Berlin warned in the document that “under these circumstances, it is impossible to reach an agreement.” As the EU's largest net contributor, Germany is concerned about the proposed size of the next seven-year budget. Compared to the 2021-2027 budget of 1.3 trillion euros, the size of the new budget has increased significantly. Berlin believes that even if 400 billion euros are cut according to its proposal, the size of the new budget will still be 27% higher than the current budget, which will increase Germany's annual investment by more than 50 billion euros.