Representatives of EU institutions took the stage at a flagship conference in Brussels to push European governments to agree an ambitious long-term budget, including with new own resources.
During the Annual EU Budget Conference, the Commission's flagship event, European Commissioner for Budget Piotr Serafin took an opportunity to push back against so-called "frugal" countries.
“We need to be mindful of the link between having a frugal budget and having a modern budget,” Serafin said at the event. He stressed that a too-small EU budget would not necessarily be cheaper for taxpayers, as money that won't be spent on the EU budget would be taken from national budgets, with risks of overlapping and inefficiencies.
A major focus of the discussion has been the aspect of so-called own resources – EU-wide taxes meant to finance the bloc's budget, as opposed to national contributions coming from European governments.
However, member states have still to make any tangible progress on the politically sensitive part of the file, and with key countries like France, Italy and Poland heading toward elections in 2027, pressure is mounting to conclude the negotiations by the end of the year.
