The Commission has proposed a budget of almost €2 trillion. Germany and five allies — Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden — are calling for cuts of several hundred billion euros. Italy and Spain are leading a separate group seeking a larger budget.
The size of the budget will determine how much money the EU can put behind von der Leyen’s economic agenda, including investment in strategic industries, energy and artificial intelligence — sectors she says are essential to reducing Europe’s dependence.
“With over €450 billion from the European Competitiveness Fund and the Horizon Europe program, we will support the entire chain — from research to innovation, from laboratories to business, and from initial prototypes to industrial production,” von der Leyen said, referring to the EU’s proposed fund for strategic industries and its research-and-innovation program.
“Europe cannot set new ambitions without providing the means to finance them,” she added.
The spending proposal is facing sustained opposition from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his allies, who argue that the increase is unaffordable while national governments are cutting back.
“The current proposals call for an increase of up to 60 percent,” Merz said in a joint statement with the five countries later on Thursday.