France is insisting that new pan-European levies should generate more than 60 billion euros for the next seven-year EU budget. This was reported by three EU diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the negotiations.
Paris is the primary advocate for these new levies, known as own resources. France believes they will help fund EU priorities, specifically defense and competitiveness, while reducing member state contributions to the EU budget. France‘s support is critical to securing a budget agreement before the end of the year, ahead of 2027 elections in France, Italy, Poland, and Spain, which could complicate negotiations.
Political risks and budget discussions
There are concerns that a failed budget deal could strengthen the position of France‘s far-right National Rally (RN), which leads in the polls and advocates for halving Paris‘s contributions to the EU budget. During a closed-door discussion on Tuesday, France‘s Ambassador to the EU Philippe Léglise-Costa told colleagues that the new levies must generate more than 60 billion euros. According to diplomats familiar with the talks, this threshold is high for most other countries, which have yet to announce their own revenue targets.
While most governments support the idea of new own resources, they have expressed doubts about specific proposals. Last July, the European Commission proposed a package of five levies that could generate up to 66 billion euros in additional revenue, but it faced resistance from national governments. Ireland, which holds the presidency of the Council of the EU and is coordinating discussions on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), plans to narrow the list of acceptable own resources during a summit of leaders in Brussels on October 15.
Status of negotiations on specific tax initiatives
On Monday, Dublin reported a consensus among governments on introducing new levies, specifically those related to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and electronic waste. These are expected to generate an average of 1.64 billion euros and 17.9 billion euros per year, respectively, between 2028 and 2034. During Tuesday’s discussion, the European Commission expressed a willingness to adjust some tax proposals to increase revenue.
At the same time, it was a significant blow to France that other proposals—regarding levies on tobacco products, corporate turnover, and revenues from the Emissions Trading System—faced resistance from several countries. This was noted in an Ireland memo seen by POLITICO.
Source: Politico
