Tough standoff over the future budgetary framework: 'frugal ' states demand a new proposal from the European Council
*Germany, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Austria oppose both the euro2 trillion budget (the European Commission 's proposal for the 2028-2034 period) and the euro2.2 trillion budget proposed by the European Parliament *An Irish proposal presented at the European Council meeting on Thursday and Friday was rejected, even though it amounted to euro1.8 trillion in nominal terms *Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stated: 'A 60% increase in Sweden 's contribution to the EU budget is unacceptable' *Austrian official Christian Stocker remarked: 'We are looking at a 49% increase in the EU budget; it is simply too much' *European Council President Antonio Costa has been tasked with preparing a new version in the coming weeks