Berlin: Germany has become the loudest critic of the EU own resources package since European Council President Antonio Costa took charge of the 2028-2034 budget talks, and the row now shapes the run-up to the leaders’ meeting planned for 26 November 2026.
Leaders argued for more than five hours at their 15 October summit in Brussels without narrowing their differences. The Irish presidency compromise trims the Commission’s proposal by 8%, or about €141 billion, yet the next budget would still run roughly 30% above the current one. Costa told governments that any deal must include new EU-wide revenue, which makes EU own resources the central test of his mandate.
The negotiating text keeps the five EU own resources that the Commission proposed in July 2025. They cover a contribution from large companies, tobacco excise, electronic waste and a bigger share of carbon border levies, and together they would raise about €55 billion a year. Parliament wants more EU own resources, including digital platforms, crypto assets and online gambling worth up to €32 billion annually, but leaders agreed only to keep examining those options.
Berlin and Prague resist most strongly. German officials accused Costa of losing touch with reality, and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš called the Commission’s revenue plans unacceptable. Ireland and the Netherlands would feel the pressure if talks turn to other levies. Tax specialists report that Costa has considered earmarking part of the revenue from the OECD’s 15% global minimum tax, an alternative to the company contribution that Germany opposes.
Costa will now hold bilateral talks and draft a revised negotiating box in the coming weeks. Accounts differ on the deadline. One report says the summit conclusions dropped the end-of-year target, while another quotes them as aiming for agreement by the end of 2026 so that funding reaches beneficiaries without interruption in January 2028. Macron has reportedly warned that political room for a deal could vanish after the new year.
The row cuts across familiar camps. Southern and eastern members that gain most from cohesion and farm payments want the total protected, while net contributors want a smaller budget. Both sides now look to EU own resources as the lever that could narrow the gap between the Commission’s ambition and national treasuries’ limits.
Costa has little room to manoeuvre. Leaders meet informally in Dublin on 13 November, the extra summit follows on 26 and 27 November, and the formal December gathering on 17 and 18 December remains the fallback. Each date gives capitals a chance to restate their positions, and EU own resources will stay at the centre of every one of them.
The fight over EU own resources matters because it decides who pays for defence, cohesion and competitiveness spending in the next decade. Until governments settle the issue, the whole 2028-2034 package stays blocked. Readers can follow the leaders’ conclusions on the European Council website and the detailed reporting from Eunews.
