Emmanuel Thomas I Friday, June 16, 2023
BERLIN – German Finance Minister Christian Lindner says he doesn’t see any capacity for Germany to make any extra payments into the EU budget. The budget situation in Germany is tight, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) politician told dpa.
“In view of the necessary cuts in our national budget, we cannot make any additional contributions to the European Union budget at the moment.”
He said Germany is not the only country in that position right now. In part because of the high cost of supporting Ukraine, the EU’s long-standing budget for 2021 to 2027 is “stretched to its limit,” according to the European Commission. It is currently under review and the commission plans to present the results of that review on June 20.
Lindner said that he expects that the commission will ask for additional funds. He said additional funding needs should be met through reallocations or using margins in the EU budget for unforeseen events, before requesting further contributions from EU countries.
There must be clear prioritization, he said, “focusing on the unavoidable additional financing needs arising, for example, from the EU’s legal obligations.”
On Friday the EU finance ministers are to meet in Luxembourg. The main item on the agenda is a plan to reform EU debt rules.
