German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the leaders of five other major European economies have urged cuts of several hundred billion euros to the next EU budget for the period 2028-2034. The European Commission had proposed a budget of nearly 2 trillion euros, but the six signatory countries — Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland and Sweden — are calling for a reduction of several hundred billion euros while already financing nearly 40% of all member state contributions. They want funding focused on defense spending, competitiveness, innovation and the fight against irregular migration. This initiative comes as NATO members have committed to raising their defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic product by 2035.
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