BRUSSELS ― The European Commission has proposed a central EU budget of €1.816 trillion for the seven-year period from 2028 after days of fraught internal negotiations. That figure would represent an increase in the European Union’s spending power compared with the current budget that has run from 2021. The members of the Commission, led by President Ursula von der Leyen, finally settled on this number on Wednesday, meaning that total spending would rise to 1.26 percent of the EU’s gross national income, compared with around 1.1 percent over the current period. The Commission claimed that its budget will amount to €2 trillion because it’s factoring in a rise in inflation over the coming years and including the repayments of its post-Covid debt. However, Siegfried Mureșan, the budget negotiator for von der Leyen’s own center-right European People’s Party, described this method as “misleading.” His criticism was echoed by lawmakers from across the spectrum. The announcement fires the starting gun on at least two years of ― probably bad-tempered and tortuous ― wrangling with the European Parliament and national capitals, all of whom must approve the final sum. Many governments are likely to push for a smaller budget, or one with different priorities, than the Commission is proposing. European budget commissioner Piotr Serafin presented the plan on Wednesday afternoon in the Parliament’s budget committee. Commissioners approved the spending plan after their heads of cabinets ironed out the most sensitive issues during two days of almost non-stop negotiations in Brussels. The overall €1.816 trillion figure is expressed in 2025 prices and compares with a budget of €1.2 trillion between 2021 and 2027 in current prices. A planned large increase from the previous seven-year period is not unusual at this stage.  

BRUSSELS ― The European Commission is zeroing in on a proposal for a centralized budget of €1.717 trillion for the seven-year period from 2028, as arguments over the final number went to the wire on Tuesday night. That figure ― contained in a document seen by POLITICO and being fought over by senior Commission officials in Brussels just hours before the plan is publicly announced ― would represent an increase in the bloc’s spending power compared with the last budget that ran from 2021. If the members of the Commission, led by President Ursula von der Leyen, settle on this number over the next few hours it would mean total spending would rise to 1.23 percent of gross national income for the seven years from 2028, compared with around 1.1 percent over the current period. The sum was confirmed by four EU officials and diplomats but, showing how sensitive the final figure remains, even most of the 27 commissioners had not seen it by late Tuesday. They will meet Wednesday morning for final approval. The overall total takes into account predicted inflation over the seven years and compares with €1.2 trillion in current prices in the budget between 2021 and 2027. Negotiations inside the Commission are stretching until late Tuesday night and the figures could still change. Von der Leyen will present the proposal later on Wednesday. A planned large increase is not unusual at this stage because national governments would be expected to chip away at it before giving their final approval before the end of 2027. Most of the budget is formed of contributions from the EU’s 27 governments, with smaller revenue streams such as customs duties and a plastic tax topping up the final total. Several countries, including Germany, the bloc’s largest and most powerful economy, have already warned against expanding the EU’s money pot at a time when voters across Europe are increasingly turning to populist and anti-EU forces. The EU budget, known as the multiannual financial framework, covers all EU spending from farmers’ subsidies to aid to developing countries, cultural projects and transport infrastructure. Camille Gijs contributed to this report.