Ursula von der Leyen emphasizes the need for own resources for the EU to support the budget without increasing national contributions.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated that the EU needs its own taxes to increase its revenues, allowing it to make debt payments and continue funding farmers and regional development without relying on additional contributions from member states. The EU must reach an agreement on the long-term budget for 2028-2034 by the end of 2027, with the hope of finalizing negotiations by the end of 2026. The discussions will be tense, especially between countries like Germany, which want to reduce national contributions, and the European Parliament, which proposes a budget of over 2 trillion euros. A complicated aspect of these negotiations is the repayment of the 390 billion euros in debt contracted for the Covid-19 recovery package. Von der Leyen emphasized that "own resources are indispensable" to avoid increasing national contributions or reducing spending capacity. The Commission has proposed measures to increase own resources, including taxes on imported goods with high carbon emissions and on unrecycled electronic waste. The European Parliament has also called for taxes on online gambling and technology companies. Although tax proposals have been rejected in the past, national leaders have urged the Commission to explore these new taxes. Current resources include customs duties and a tax on unrecycled plastic waste.