Costa warns countries face bigger EU bills without new bloc-wide taxes

European Council President Antonio Costa has begun a round of visits to European Union capitals in search of common ground on new sources of revenue for the bloc's next long-term budget. His itinerary includes Berlin, Warsaw and Madrid — countries whose backing is seen as essential to reaching agreement on the EU's finances.

Costa has repeatedly stressed that no deal on the next seven-year budget will be possible without agreement on new taxes collected at the EU level. According to him, if member states refuse to accept new levies, they will instead face higher direct contributions from their national budgets into the EU's common pot.

France's proposal

Among the most vocal supporters of new taxes is France, which has pushed for new EU-level levies that could raise around €60 billion in total. However, most EU governments are currently pushing back against such new charges, creating obstacles to reaching agreement on the bloc's next multiannual financial framework.

Negotiations continue

The question of introducing new EU taxes has become one of the central sticking points in negotiations over the Union's next seven-year budget. Costa's efforts to find common ground among the bloc's largest economies underline how central the issue has become to the budget talks. The eventual outcome — and which taxes, if any, will ultimately be approved — remains unclear.