Europe Today: Clash over EU cash set to dominate today's Budget Conference

Name: Europe Today: Clash over EU cash set to dominate today's Budget Conference
Uploaded: 2026-07-02T07:09:14+00:00
Duration: 20 min 2 s
Channel: euronews (in English)

00:14Good morning, it is Thursday the 2nd of July. I'm Maeve McMahon and this is Europe Today,

00:20your daily update of European news and analysis, live here on Euronews.

00:25Coming up, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had to cut short his visit to Dublin,

00:30marking Ireland's six-month presidency of the Council of the EU due to a large-scale attack on Kyiv last

00:36night that killed 10 and injured over 56.

00:39To mark the occasion today in Ireland, all EU commissioners will be travelling to the south to Cork,

00:45including President Ursula von der Leyen. We'll have an update from our political reporter.

00:49Meanwhile, in Brussels, the EU's €2 trillion long-term kitty is up for a debate today at Brussels' much-anticipated

00:56budget conference.

00:58After NET contributed Germany through a spanner in the works this week by calling the current proposal impossible,

01:04we'll hear the views from Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister, whose country has just adopted the euro.

01:10And it's official, Canada will take part in next year's Eurovision Song Contest for the very first time in 2027.

01:18It's the first new country to join since Australia in 2015.

01:22But first, EU finance aficionados will debate the bloc's long-term budget in Brussels this Thursday

01:29at the annual EU Budget Conference Bonanza.

01:31But the fight for cash has just started, with member states split in two camps

01:37over whether to meet the Commission's €2 trillion pitch or to raise it back.

01:42For more, I'm joined here on set by our correspondent, Angela Scudins.

01:45Good morning. Many are probably just thinking, just another conference in Brussels.

01:49Why does today's meeting actually matter?

01:51Good morning, Maeve. So it certainly matters in the wider context of the fight just getting started

01:56when it comes to this €2 trillion pitch from the European Commission for that seven-year budget.

02:01Now, the EU executive proposed this in June last year.

02:05They want to prioritise competitiveness and defence while cutting back, certainly,

02:09on agricultural and regional programs.

02:12Now, the Commission wants this to be signed, sealed and delivered by December this year,

02:17as there are some really consequential elections scheduled for next year.

02:21We're talking about Poland as well as France.

02:24But the heat is on.

02:26It's now up to the heads of state to try and find a compromise

02:29before it's ratified in the European Parliament.

02:31But as you can see, it's already getting heated.

02:33How will this fight unfold, Angela?

02:35Yeah, so we're already seeing debate ratchet up between two predominant camps.

02:39The first is the Friends of Cohesion.

02:41They want a lot of spending in agricultural programs as well as those regional programs.

02:47They also don't want their capitals inundated with angry farmers or government buildings

02:52pelted by potatoes, as we've seen over the last few years.

02:55On the other side of this, we've got the Frugals.

02:58Now, these are the countries in Europe's north.

03:00They pitch a lot more to the budget than what they receive.

03:03Think the Netherlands as well as Germany.

03:06And as you rightly pointed out at the top of the program,

03:08German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz is very against what the Commission has proposed.

03:13He wants at least €400 raised from this.

03:17He's claimed that it is unaffordable.

03:18Now, the president of the Bundesrat, that's the German Senate, was in Brussels this week

03:24to discuss the long-term budget in the European Parliament.

03:27I spoke with him.

03:28His name is Andreas Bovenschulzer.

03:31And I started by asking him whether a compromise can be found between what Brussels wants and

03:37what Berlin needs.

03:38I think in the end, you always reach a compromise after long negotiations.

03:43What I say from the perspective of the German lender, we need a budget of the European Union

03:50that has a size with that the European Union can work.

03:56So we need enough money to fulfill all the tasks of the European Union, especially in difficult

04:03times as we have them today.

04:05We need a European Union that is up to the tasks it has to fulfill.

04:10So I think it should be able to reach a compromise.

04:14On the other hand, I can understand the federal government.

04:17It will really have a difficult time to balance the own budget.

04:22So there's no real surplus money at the moment.

04:25So it will be difficult negotiations.

04:28But in the end, as always, there will be a compromise.

04:32And just on the timeline, Mertz wants this done, the deal to be struck this year.

04:37Is that realistic?

04:38Well, I hope so, but I'm not really sure, because there are only a couple of months left

04:46in this year.

04:46And I'm not really sure whether that is really a realistic timeline.

04:51But I think what the chancellor wants to say is we have to hurry up.

04:55And I think that's a good plan.

04:58But if we don't manage to be in time, we should give ourselves a bit more time.

05:05It's better than to have no budget at all.

05:11Andreas Bovenschulter there speaking to our Angela Skudgens.

05:14And listening to that statement with me here in the studio is the deputy prime minister

05:18of Bulgaria, Tanja Spekinov, who's in Brussels today for those very budget talks.

05:23Welcome to Brussels and welcome to Europe today.

05:26First question about that long-term budget.

05:28Is a compromise feasible?

05:30Good morning and thank you for the invitation.

05:32We are at a crucial point for Europe.

05:34We have to decide the budget that will also decide our future.

05:38And we have to address the issues at hand.

05:41We are in a very tense geopolitical situation, changing circumstances, changing technologies.

05:46So Europe has to do more, has to do better on competitiveness, but it also has to retain

05:51its traditional policies.

05:53Cohesion policy for us is a traditional, important and very beneficial EU policy.

05:58And for Bulgaria, as well as the member states, which are part of our group of countries of

06:03friends of cohesion, it is important that no further cuts are done to cohesion policy.

06:08But that's where it's going to get tricky.

06:09We've already heard the German chancellor.

06:10He wants to cut 400 billion euros from the budget, calling the current proposal impossible.

06:15And cap and cohesion funds, they feel like something of the past.

06:19The future is all about defence.

06:20We hear these concerns by our partners, of course.

06:23But let me say clearly, cohesion policy is not a gift from some member states to others.

06:28It is an investment in a functioning single market.

06:30It makes the infrastructure that then enables firms across Europe to extend, to get new markets,

06:36to get new consumers.

06:37It also creates new opportunities for European industries.

06:40In Bulgaria, many of the vendors for very important projects for goods and services,

06:45high quality projects, have enabled also European industries to deliver these projects.

06:50So Bulgarian citizens receive the extension of the subway, one of the most popular projects,

06:56European funded projects in Bulgaria, delivered also by a lot of European companies.

07:01But Bulgaria, of course, is a small country.

07:02You receive more as well from the kitty than you contribute.

07:05So is your voice even heard in a debate like this?

07:08We believe that how we organise in the Friends of Cohesion will make it feasible that we make

07:15our voice very clear and loud in this discussion.

07:18It is an important discussion because it will enable either Europe to thrive or it will lead

07:24us to a situation where maybe we are already at with a competitiveness lag towards some of

07:28the other member states.

07:29And the two goals, competitiveness and cohesion, they don't go against each other.

07:34You have to have excellence in Europe.

07:36This is what we are going to talk about today, also at the budget conference.

07:39But this excellence cannot be focused in one or two places.

07:42It has to be equally distributed across Europe.

07:44And this budget battle could take months.

07:47It could go into next year.

07:48Will they find a deal by the end of this year, though, ahead of the next year with all

07:51those elections taking place?

07:52It will take months.

07:54It will be hard negotiations.

07:55There is no doubt about it.

07:56Of course, it is better to reach a solution fast.

07:59We would like also to start planning how all these funds will be used then next year.

08:03So it will be beneficial for everybody if we find a solution this year.

08:06And Bulgarians joined the Eurozone back in January reluctantly.

08:09I remember the protests.

08:10How is the economy doing now?

08:12In the longer term, the euro will bring benefits to Bulgaria, strengthen credit worthiness and

08:18strengthen credit ratings, more trust in our country on financial markets.

08:23In the short run, however, there have been some, I would say, pressures, pressures on

08:27the inflation side.

08:28Unfortunately, with the start of the war in Iran, this also contributed.

08:32One could say that some firms coordinated and increased their prices.

08:36This is something we are worried about.

08:38Inflation in April and May was double the euro area average, which is very concerning and

08:43concerning for citizens.

08:45So on that, we have taken first steps.

08:46Once we stepped into office in May, to strengthen the regulators, to see if there were some malpractices

08:52on side of some firms in some sectors, because we don't want the euro adoption to weaken

08:58our price competitiveness.

08:59We see that, for example, in some sectors, these price increases, of course, then they can

09:03transmit lower demand.

09:05So on this, there are some concerns.

09:07The deficit has also increased.

09:09There have been some capital expenditures that have been delayed in recent years.

09:13They have to be done this year.

09:15So that we address this issue, we are also taking steps to further implement and finalize

09:21the recovery plan.

09:22This is my portfolio, the Bulgarian National Recovery and Resilience Plan, something that

09:26was lagging because of the political instability.

09:29We managed to unlock the fourth payment after a visit that we had with President von der

09:34Leyen and delivering on the important rule of low milestones that were expected for Bulgaria

09:39for many years.

09:40Okay, Deputy Prime Minister, thank you so much for joining us here this morning.

09:42on Europe Today.

09:44Now, Ireland has officially taken over the rotating presidency of the Council of the

09:48EU in a ceremony at Dublin Castle that included a special guest, Ukraine's President Volodymyr

09:53Selensky.

09:54Our political reporter, Jorge Lebradero, is in Dublin and sent us this report.

10:00Accession dominated the first day of the Irish presidency of the EU Council.

10:04Volodymyr Selensky himself flew to Dublin to attend the opening ceremony and made the

10:09case for his country's application.

10:11We remember that last month, Ukraine and Moldova finally opened the first cluster of negotiations

10:17after a very long wait.

10:19Now, Selensky says he wants to open the five remaining clusters as soon as possible.

10:24But there are two obstacles in his way.

10:26First, Hungary.

10:28Prime Minister Peter Magyar is raising fresh concerns about Ukraine's accession and the

10:33pace of negotiations.

10:34So, as a result, things are already slowing down in Brussels.

10:38Then we have Poland.

10:39Selensky is currently embroiled in a bitter dispute with Poland over his decision to name

10:44a military unit after the Ukrainian insurgent army.

10:48Poland says his decision is so controversial that it could lead to the blockage of Ukraine's

10:53accession.

10:54Can Selensky handle two vitals at the same time?

10:56This was my question to him during the press conference.

10:59Take a listen at his rather conciliatory response.

11:03Even with some difficulties with the urban government, we did everything.

11:09So, I hope that Peter Magyar will support and I hope that also Poland's government will support.

11:17I think it's important when we all have rules, not, I mean, it's just, you know, political

11:25emotions.

11:25We are neighbors and I'm sure, of course, we had difficulties in our history.

11:30But, you know, all the, I mean, mostly countries in Europe had difficulties in the past.

11:36But we live now, now we have one aggressor and now we have unanimity and we are defending

11:43EU and we have to think about security for our people for the future.

11:52Ukraine's President Selensky there answering a question to our Jorge Lebrero in Dublin.

11:57But moving on with humanitarian needs in Venezuela skyrocketing since the earthquake last week,

12:02the European Union has sent 5 million euro in aid.

12:06For more on the situation on the ground, our Lauren Walker spoke to Joao Almeida de Silva

12:10from the EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre.

12:13He's stationed at an operations base in La Guardia Stadium in the city of Macuto, the hardest hit area.

12:20We are progressing and unfortunately, the time limit is,

12:23and the clock is ticking in order, as related to the retrieval and of still possible survivals.

12:32Still, there are teams working, so there is still hope.

12:34But unfortunately, we are now entering the second stage, more of this operation.

12:39So the teams will start to demobilize probably towards the end of the week and as from tomorrow

12:45and after tomorrow.

12:47And then we will enter into the second stage, so some more health and medical and in-kind assistance

12:52and humanitarian aid.

12:54What has your work there been like so far?

12:56Can you tell us a bit more about what you've been doing there?

12:59So our work is to coordinate, to facilitate and to work with local authorities

13:03in order to speed up as much as possible that these teams can go into the terrain and work.

13:09We are also to coordinate what is the incoming also assistance and all humanitarian aid

13:15that is about to come.

13:17We had already one flight of really few that landed here on Monday,

13:21coming from Copenhagen with almost 50 tons of assistance.

13:26And this will be our work for the next days as we demobilize the teams from Central US

13:31and move into more health and in-kind assistance provision in Venezuela.

13:36Now, reports are coming from the ground in Venezuela,

13:39with some people suggesting that a lot of the help is coming from international aid,

13:44like you're providing, and from citizens,

13:47and that the state and the army are very much absent in these operations.

13:52Is this something, does this correspond with what you're seeing on the ground?

13:55Well, it's difficult to enter.

13:58We know all the political situation here in Venezuela,

14:00but this is what we have here.

14:03It's with the army that we have to work,

14:05and the other ones in control of the airport of the port.

14:08So, well, our strategic points in terms of logistics to bring assistance in.

14:13The EU has pledged 5 million euros in support.

14:15However, there are preliminary reports that suggest that actually the damage that has done,

14:20it could cost up to $11 billion.

14:23Would you say that the support that is being given now,

14:26this financial aid, is a drop in the ocean when you see the damage that these earthquakes have done?

14:32I would like my comments on this for my colleagues from the humanitarian side,

14:37as we are here representing civil protection, so more on the response side.

14:41But definitely what we see is that there's going to be a huge need to support Venezuela.

14:46The figures speak for themselves in terms of deceased people,

14:49but also especially of the disappeared people or missing people still.

14:53So what we see is that there is in the loom massive health crisis

14:58that will unfold in the coming days or weeks also,

15:01because the weather is extremely hot, extremely humid.

15:04So we suspect now that health will be the critical issue for the next weeks to come.

15:12Now, moving on, according to fresh data from the Eurobarometer,

15:15Europeans are increasingly viewing the European Union as a source of stability,

15:19despite growing anxiety about the state of the world.

15:22But with inflation, unpredictable world events,

15:25and, of course, the cost-of-living crisis, pessimism is rife.

15:29Our Jakob Janis reports.

15:32A spectre is again haunting Europe, but this time that spectre is anxiety.

15:37According to the newly released Eurobarometer,

15:39which surveyed over 26,000 respondents this spring,

15:43inflation and the cost of living have jumped to become again the top priority,

15:47but this time for almost half of EU citizens.

15:50But hey, whether you live in Lisbon or Budapest,

15:53your reporter is quite sure you've noticed that.

15:55But the numbers also reveal other truths.

15:58So let's break them down together.

16:01The EU experiences now a quiet crisis of confidence.

16:05Nearly a third of all Europeans now expect their personal standard of living

16:09to deteriorate over the next five years.

16:11And that pessimism reveals a stark generational divide.

16:14While almost one in five of young people brace for tougher times,

16:18that economic anxiety climbs to one in three among those aged 55 and over.

16:23And Western European heavyweights are leading the charts.

16:26In France, 44% of citizens expect a decline.

16:30Germany and Austria are equally gloomy,

16:32with 38% of their citizens bracing for a drop in their standard of living.

16:37But if we zoom out to Central Eastern Europe,

16:39the outlook remains remarkably resilient.

16:41In Poland and Hungary,

16:43fewer than one in ten people expect their situation to worsen.

16:46And where life gets tougher,

16:48faith in Brussels goes down as well.

16:50One third of Bulgarians, Greeks and Austrians,

16:53together with 28% of French and Italian respondents,

16:56now declare their nations have not benefited from EU membership.

17:00But here goes a surprise.

17:02Despite the economic gloom,

17:04optimism for the future of the EU stands at 59%,

17:07which is much higher than the outlook for the wider world,

17:10or even citizens' own countries.

17:12And let me leave you with something positive.

17:14Three out of four still agree that their nation has benefited from the bloc,

17:18and view the EU as a vital place of stability in a troubled world.

17:23And all of that leaves the continent suspended.

17:28Uncertainty and hope.

17:30So let's hope that this uncertainty will be over soon.

17:38And now it's time for something a little bit lighter,

17:40our brief World Cup update.

17:47The US team will join its other two co-hosts in the round of 16

17:51after their win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

17:53England and Belgium also threw.

17:56The three lines won a tight match against the Democratic Republic of Congo,

18:002-1.

18:01And Belgium's win against Senegal was even tighter

18:03after coming back from two goals down.

18:06They went into extra time and scored a last-minute penalty.

18:10And tonight, of course, we've two European duels.

18:13Spain will take on Austria,

18:14and Portugal will play Croatia and Switzerland then against Algeria.

18:19Enjoy the games.

18:20But that brings this edition of Europe Today to an end.

18:23Thank you so much for tuning in, as always.

18:25Have a great day,

18:26and I'll see you soon here on your own news.

18:57I'll see you soon here on your own news.

19:20I'll see you soon.

19:39I'll see you soon here on your own news.

19:40I'll see you soon.

19:43Bye-bye.

19:44Bye-bye.

19:45Bye-bye.

19:49Bye-bye.

19:50Bye-bye.

Europe Today: Clash over EU cash set to dominate today's Budget Conference

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