Brussels, June 16, 2026 – The Europe Today: Austrian Minister for European Affairs Claudia Bauer on Tuesday called for more substantial reductions to the European Union’s proposed long-term budget, arguing that the current plans do not adequately address the concerns of member states that contribute more to the bloc’s finances than they receive.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of EU ministers for European affairs in Brussels, Bauer said Austria could not support the proposed budget cuts put forward by the EU Council presidency, describing the suggested 2% reduction as insufficient.
“For Austria, this is absolutely not an acceptable outcome,” Bauer told reporters, characterizing the proposed cut as “just a drop in the bucket.”
The meeting marked the first discussion among EU ministers on specific figures for the bloc’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the 2028–2034 period. The European Commission proposed a €2 trillion ($2.3 trillion) budget last year, while the current Council presidency has suggested trimming the figure by approximately 2%.
Bauer emphasized that Austria is part of a broad alliance of net contributor countries that collectively provide around two-thirds of the EU budget. She stressed the need for what she described as “fair burden-sharing” among member states.
The Austrian minister also pointed to her country’s ongoing fiscal challenges, noting that Austria recently presented a two-year national budget featuring a clear fiscal consolidation strategy. She argued that the EU should apply the same fiscal discipline to its long-term budget as it expects from member states.
Austria was placed under the EU’s excessive deficit procedure in 2025 after its public deficit exceeded the Maastricht Treaty threshold of 3% of gross domestic product (GDP). According to official figures, Austria’s budget deficit stood at 4.7% of GDP in 2024 before declining to 4.2% in 2025.
Bauer reiterated Austria’s commitment to responsible financial management and called on EU institutions to ensure that future budget negotiations reflect the fiscal realities facing member states while maintaining the bloc’s key priorities and objectives.
