The warning comes days before the Irish presidency of the Council of the EU, which is steering the budget talks, is expected to put forward a budget negotiating document with new figures.
Von der Leyen had previously hailed the Commission’s budget proposal for 2028-2034 as “the most ambitious ever proposed.” But Tuesday, as negotiations among governments enter crunch time, she struck a more cautious note.
In a message to Berlin, von der Leyen recalled that the Commission’s budget proposal represents 1.26% of the European Union’s gross national income — a relatively small increase from the current seven-year cash pot.
She also underscored the need to approve “a significant package of new own resources,” which are EU-wide taxes to finance the budget and reduce national contributions to Brussels.
The bloc’s governments are racing to reach an agreement by the end of the year, before elections in France, Italy and Poland in 2027 threaten to disrupt the negotiations.
Despite the looming deadline, EU leaders are still far apart over the size of the new budget.