Stefan Sejourne, Vice President of the European Commission, stated in his speech at the POLITICO competitiveness summit that EU member states can renegotiate their share of the common budget, but this action should not be done unilaterally.
Budget Agreements and Contribution Reductions
Sejourne emphasized: "Reducing contributions, within the framework of a legitimate European negotiation, is valid, as it is an agreement among 27 countries. There are many examples of countries that have requested a reduction in their contributions." He also pointed out that such reductions cannot occur without the agreement of other Union members and added: "Doing this unilaterally only means exiting the Union."
Marine Le Pen's Economic Plans
Marine Le Pen, the French presidential candidate, has announced in her economic plans that she wants to reduce her country's contribution to the EU budget by about 11 billion euros next year. This move could lead to a significant challenge with Brussels. Her nationalist party (RN) intends to propose this reduction as an amendment to the 2027 financial bill.
Future Budget Negotiations
The President of Ireland, who currently holds the presidency of the EU Council, is negotiating the new budget for 2028-2034 for the 27 countries. On Saturday, he proposed to reduce the budget amount to 1825 billion euros, which is 141 billion euros less than the European Commission's initial proposal. European leaders are set to discuss this issue on October 15 and 16 to align their positions closer together.
