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EU governments face a blunt choice: agree on new sources of income for the bloc, pay more from their national budgets, or accept cuts to programs they want to protect.
According to a report in Politico, European Council President António Costa issued the warning ahead of difficult negotiations over the EU’s budget for 2028-2034, according to a report by Politico.
The European Commission proposed five new EU-wide levies last year, targeting carbon imports, emissions, unrecycled electronic waste, corporate profits, and tobacco products. Together, they could raise around €66 billion annually.
National governments, however, are reluctant to give Brussels greater taxation powers, particularly when some countries would shoulder more of the cost than others. Any new levy requires unanimous approval.
Costa warned that rejecting the proposals would not make the bill disappear.
Without new revenue, he said, governments would have to reduce their ambitions in areas including security, defense, competitiveness, farming, and regional development. The alternative would be asking member states to contribute more from their own national budgets.
For Cyprus, the argument is far from abstract. EU agricultural money supports farmers, while cohesion funds help pay for infrastructure, local development, and projects in less prosperous areas. European funding also supports migration management, an important issue for a small island on the bloc’s southeastern border.
Cuts could therefore be felt in communities and sectors that rarely think of themselves as part of a Brussels budget battle. Higher national contributions, meanwhile, would leave the Cyprus government with less money for spending at home.
Costa wants leaders to narrow down an acceptable package at the Oct. 15 European Council summit, paving the way for an overall budget agreement by December.
Costa coming to Cyprus
The debate will come directly to Nicosia on Friday, Sept. 4, when Costa meets President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace as part of his tour of all 27 EU capitals.
The two will hold a private meeting followed by expanded talks and are scheduled to make statements at 10:35 a.m.
Cyprus will argue for a budget that recognizes the needs of small island states and protects national funding for cohesion, agriculture, and migration.
The Cyprus problem will also feature prominently. Christodoulides is expected to brief Costa on efforts to restart negotiations and argue that the EU can use its political influence and its relationship with Turkey to support the UN-led process.
Other items on the agenda include EU enlargement, competitiveness, Ukraine, and developments in the Middle East and Gulf.
*With information from Politico
