Brussels faces resistance from frugal European capitals as it seeks an additional €66bn for the bloc’s common budget to cover rising interest costs, migration-related expenses and commitments stemming from the war in Ukraine.
As part of an overhaul of the EU’s seven-year budget proposed on Tuesday, the European Commission seeks support for a €50bn package for Ukraine until 2027, of which a third would be grants and the remainder loans, as well as cash reoriented from other areas of the budget. The commission also plans to set up a dedicated mechanism to handle interest cost overruns, with an indicative value of just under €19bn over the four-year period.
Ursula von der Leyen, the commission president, called the extra cash request a “very targeted and limited proposal” that aims to respond to a world that has radically changed since the inception of the EU’s latest seven-year budget in 2021.