European Union leaders have tasked European Council President António Costa with advancing the bloc’s 2028-2034 budget talks, as divisions over proposed revenue sources leave the funding plan unresolved.
At their Oct. 15-16 meeting, leaders discussed the Irish Presidency’s negotiating box without reaching agreement. Costa told the European Parliament on Oct. 21 that he would bring a revised framework to a special summit on Nov. 26-27. The European Council said an agreement before 2027 begins could allow legislative acts to be adopted in 2027 and funding to reach beneficiaries without interruption from January 2028.
The debate concerns which new resources to adopt and how they could affect national contributions. The Irish draft lists company payments and revenue tied to tobacco, uncollected electronic equipment, emissions trading and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). It proposes annual payments of €100,000 to €750,000 for companies with more than €100 million in net turnover, with the amount depending on the company’s turnover band. Other options include a 15% call rate for the tobacco resource, €2 per kilogram of uncollected equipment, and transfers of 30% of Emissions Trading System 1 revenue and 90% of CBAM revenue.
The Irish Presidency estimates its package could raise about €55 billion a year, subject to further negotiations. Separately, the Council estimates that the Commission’s five proposed resources, together with changes to existing revenue, would add an average €58.2 billion annually in 2025 prices. The Irish announcement does not specify a price basis for its estimate, and the figures cover packages with different scopes. The Commission says the additional revenue is intended to help repay NextGenerationEU borrowing and ease pressure on national contributions.
Leaders of the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe and Greens/EFA groups have also proposed a levy on digital services, a levy on online gambling and betting, and a contribution linked to crypto assets. They said they would withhold support for Parliament’s consent to the budget unless EU governments agree on new own resources. The group leaders estimate a digital levy alone could raise up to €25 billion a year; that is their estimate, not an agreed revenue forecast.
The Irish negotiating box sets the budget ceiling at €1.622 trillion in constant 2025 prices, €141 billion, or 8%, below the Commission proposal, according to the European Parliament Research Service.
The Multiannual Financial Framework, the EU’s seven-year spending plan, requires unanimous approval in the Council and the European Parliament’s consent. The separate own-resources decision also needs unanimity and approval by member states under their national constitutional procedures. Costa’s revised framework is due at the Nov. 26-27 summit.
