Costa’s budget tour ends in Berlin’s rebuke
Germany accuses Council president of losing touch with reality
cohesion
Costa begins EU budget tour with Slovakia’s Fico, one of Brussels’ most difficult partners
The planned EU-wide Competitiveness Fund, which would distribute money without national quotas, risks channelling funds only to the richest western states
Cyprus Presidency proposes 2% cut to EU’s 2028–2034 budget package
Nicosia has rebalanced the proposal in response to concerns raised by the “frugal” countries pushing for tighter spending control
Cohesion funds: Italy’s real bottleneck is administrative capacity, not rules
Without a stronger administrative backbone, Italy risks once again falling short in turning EU resources into tangible outcomes
Fragmented Romania: the administrative trap that keeps the countryside poor
How Romania’s outdated 1968 administrative structure fuels poverty pockets, wastes European money, and feeds disillusionment with the EU
EU’s €1.98 trillion budget proposal faces fierce criticism from political groups
The Commission’s push for national plans and new priorities like defence (€131 billion) has sparked backlash
