Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has sharply criticised the European Commission’s proposed budget, warning it could lead to the EU’s collapse.
The European Commission's proposed new budget lacks clear strategic foundations and would ruin the European Union, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday.
"This budget would ruin the European Union. This budget I believe will not survive even next year, the Commission will either have to withdraw it or the Commission will have to backtrack step by step," Orban said, criticising plans to allocate money to Ukraine and planned changes to farm subsidies.
His comment comes after the European Commission proposed a 2 trillion euro ($2.31 trillion) EU budget for 2028 to 2034 on Wednesday (16 July), with a new emphasis on economic competitiveness and defence and plans to overhaul traditional spending on farming and regional development.
"It is a budget that matches Europe's ambition, that confronts Europe's challenges and that strengthens our independence," Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels.
She added that, "The budget is larger. It is smarter and it is sharper. It delivers for our citizens and our business, our partners and our future."
The Commission said its proposal amounted to 1.26% of the 27-nation European Union's Gross National Income - a measure of the size of the economy - compared to 1.13% for the current seven-year budget.
But the Commission proposed several ways to raise more funds directly, including a new tax on companies doing business in Europe that have an annual net turnover exceeding 100 million euros in an EU country.
Some EU countries and lawmakers were quick to criticise the proposal.
"The EU is important for our prosperity, but the proposed budget is too high," Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen said.
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said "globalist bureaucrats" were plotting to "drain Europe’s money into Ukraine" while "our farmers are rising up to defend their future".
"The EU Commission’s budget proposal isn’t just unfair, it’s not even fit to be negotiated," he said on X.
Farmers held a protest in Brussels, with influential European farmers' lobby group COPA-COGECA calling the day European agriculture's "Black Wednesday".
Russia’s special presidential envoy for Afghanistan has warned that any return by the United States to Afghan soil would end in “disaster” for W...
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is currently on a working visit to New York, where he has held a series of bilateral meetings with repre...
Semiconductor shares from Asia to Europe rose sharply on Tuesday after Nvidia unveiled a $100 billion partnership with OpenAI to build massive Artific...
Georgia’s Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili delivered two sharply contrasting messages to Europe on the same day — accusing the European Union...
Russia has launched a series of attacks on Ukraine's railways since the summer, using long-range drones to target key points, but the network is still...
On Tuesday, NATO denounced Russia for breaching Estonian airspace last week, warning it would employ “all necessary military and non-military tools” in its defence against what it described as “a pattern of increasingly irresponsible behaviour” by Moscow.
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is currently on a working visit to New York, where he has held a series of bilateral meetings with representatives of major businesses and international organisations.
Semiconductor shares from Asia to Europe rose sharply on Tuesday after Nvidia unveiled a $100 billion partnership with OpenAI to build massive Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems requiring millions of processors.
Georgia’s Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili delivered two sharply contrasting messages to Europe on the same day — accusing the European Union of interfering in domestic politics, while voicing optimism about resetting relations with France.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
On Tuesday, NATO denounced Russia for breaching Estonian airspace last week, warning it would employ “all necessary military and non-military tools” in its defence against what it described as “a pattern of increasingly irresponsible behaviour” by Moscow.
Russia has launched a series of attacks on Ukraine's railways since the summer, using long-range drones to target key points, but the network is still functioning, the state railway CEO of Ukrzaliznytsia told Reuters.
Danish police said on Tuesday that drones that shut the country's main airport a day earlier appeared to have been flown by "a capable operator" seeking to demonstrate certain abilities, adding that no suspects had been identified.
French international football player Ousmane Dembélé of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) said that despite not having a personal goal of winning the Ballon d’Or, he could not hold back tears when he spoke about his family after being named the world’s best player on Monday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will seek more support from allies when he addresses the United Nations and meets Donald Trump this week, but behind the scenes Kyiv is quietly preparing for a new phase of the war in which it relies more on itself.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment