Costa Pushes EU Tax Plans to Fund Next Seven-Year Budget

European Council President António Costa is visiting Berlin, Warsaw, and Madrid to build consensus on new revenue sources for the EU's next long-term budget. The negotiations reflect wider pressure on EU capitals to find sustainable funding mechanisms as the bloc prepares its post-2027 financial framework.

Byte's take

The EU's budget problem is simple: it needs money it doesn't want to admit collecting. Costa is touring capitals to sell new taxes—carbon levies, digital duties—that would fund the bloc's next seven-year budget without asking member states to dig deeper into their own treasuries.