“No area can be exempt,” an official in Berlin said ahead of the visit, arguing that net contributor states – those who put more into the Brussels coffers than they get out – already finance roughly three quarters of the EU budget.
Germany's Merz demands sweeping EU budget cuts
https://www.euractiv.com/news/germanys-merz-demands-sweeping-eu-budget-cuts/
15 Comments
SW42@lemmy.world · 46 pts · 29d
cambelin61@feddit.org · 28 pts · 28d
He really is a local politician from Sauerland disguised as chancelor.
Melchior@feddit.org · 24 pts · 28d
Calling for cuts all over the place, just shows that you have no idea where you can actually save money specifically. Obviously an organization as large as the EU has some waste, but if he actually knew his stuff, then he would make specific proposals. This is just dumb.
There are areas, where giving the EU more money would be a good idea. The military comes to mind.
Ooops@feddit.org · 18 pts · 28d
He doesn't need to save money in the first place. His government took on a historic amount of debt to invest in infrastructure and economy to get revenues up... then wasted it all on tax cuts and subsidies for their rich buddies instead to then cry about the need to demolish social systems to save money.
Melchior@feddit.org · 4 pts · 28d
Yes he does. Namely by not wasting it on his rich buddies.
Jumi@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 28d
Corpo whore
poVoq@slrpnk.net · 0 pts · 28d
I hate to agree with Merz, but what he really says is not that there should be cuts, but rather that the hugely increased new budget proposal is not in line with the current economic situation and should be revised to something more similar in size to the current budget.
HaiZhung@feddit.org · 2 pts · 28d
Cutting spending by government will cool down the economy even more.
Someone’s spending is another one’s income.
Who else is supposed to spend if companies are downsizing, private households are cutting spending, and government is cutting spending?
I feel like the world collectively forgot Keynes‘ economics theory. The whole austerity cycle is madness.
geissi@feddit.org · 4 pts · 28d
Neoliberalism has been the name of the game since the 80s.
Politicians have no idea about economics and their advisors are sponsored by corporation that prioritize short term shareholder value above all else.
poVoq@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 28d
It's more efficient if the member states invest then when the funds get stuck in the bureaucracy of the EU Commission.
kossa@feddit.org · 2 pts · 28d
Yeah, that debate was basically settled already in 1936ff by Keynes
Kind of a telltale sign that conservatives still don't get the message almost 100 years later.
Pip@feddit.org · -7 pts · 28d
He's right, eventually the budget will need to be financed differently than it is today. France also isn't financed by its regions' contributions, same goes for Poland and Germany.
Hapankaali@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 28d
Merz isn't calling for the EU to have the right to directly tax its citizens.
Pip@feddit.org · 1 pts · 28d
He's certainly pushing the EU to find other sources of income! I hope it works
Hapankaali@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 28d
No, he's saying that the EU budget should be lowered, and that poorer EU nations should contribute a larger share of the budget.