Hungary's Orban says proposed new budget will 'ruin the EU'

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".

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