The European Union leaders have instructed Ireland, which takes over the rotating EU presidency in July, to propose new sources of funding for the EU budget for 2028 to 2034 by October. The leaders discussed this during a meeting in Brussels.
The initial European Commission proposal called for a €2trn ($2.3trn) budget. However, the Cypriot presidency proposed a 2% cut, sparking discussions among leaders.
Among proposed revenue sources are an EU-wide tax on online gambling operators and large tech companies. Additional options include a tax on non-collected e-waste, a share of the tobacco excise duty and an annual lump-sum contribution from large corporations operating and selling in the EU, among others.
Ireland is now tasked with evaluating which of these options, or a mix of them, has the highest chance of unanimous support from all 27 EU countries by the next EU summit scheduled for October. Any new taxation framework requires unanimous approval from EU member states.
The Union regularly faces clashes between its richest and poorest members, as the former often pay more into the budget than they receive, while the latter receive more than they pay.
To alleviate tensions and ensure fairer contributions from net payers, EU leaders are seeking new revenue sources that will not come directly from national coffers.
EU governments are required to reach an agreement on the budget by the end of 2027. However, several member countries are facing elections next year. Therefore, a budget deal would be preferred by the end of this year to avoid being held hostage to election campaigning.
The EU budget provides financing for the bloc’s policies, including support for farmers, research and innovation, educational exchange programmes and regional development across its 27 member states.
Other developments in the EU gambling market include a new European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) framework, which is set to be gradually implemented starting on 10 July 2027
