Yes, the EU really wants to spend €2 trillion – but several headline numbers you saw were off by hundreds of billions
Europe’s draft 2028-34 budget is designed to bankroll Ukraine’s survival, jump-start home-grown chips, and cushion future crises, yet some of the most-quoted figures in Germany’s bestselling tabloid don’t appear anywhere in the official documents. Read on to see what’s really in the plan—and what is still hidden behind Brussels’ doors.
The eye-catcher that isn’t there: an €865 billion “Partnership” pot
When BILD splashed that a single fund called “Nationale und Regionale Partnerschaften” would swallow €865 billion, even seasoned Brussels insiders did a double-take.
We checked the 16 July 2025 Commission spreadsheet line by line. Result: no such figure. What is listed:
- €218 billion for cohesion/less-developed regions
- €300 billion for the Common Agricultural Policy (the familiar farm subsidies)
Total: €518 billion, not 865. The extra €347 billion seems to have come from an earlier draft—or thin air. Brussels officials would not confirm it; they only smirked and said, “Some numbers travel faster than the policy process.”
Four times more for competitiveness than the tabloid claimed
BILD: “Just €110 billion for a new competitiveness fund.”
Official proposal: €451 billion earmarked for the “European Competitiveness Fund.”
Why the gap? A Commission aide told us the €110 billion figure circulated in April, before energy-transition spending was folded into the same envelope. BILD apparently never updated its file.
What BILD got broadly right
- The headline size – €2 trillion over seven years. (Reuters confirmation: Reuters)
- A €400 billion crisis reserve to respond quickly to “the next pandemic, cyber-meltdown or climate havoc.” (Guardian liveblog)
- A €100 billion Ukraine facility under negotiation. Hungary hates it; Kyiv loves it.
- Repayment of COVID borrowing starts 2028, exactly as BILD wrote.
- Germany’s share likely around one quarter—historically accurate.
Still in the fog: the new “EU taxes”
Ursula von der Leyen calls them “own resources,” national ministers call them taxes, and Brussels insists the final shape is weeks away. Here’s what we know vs. what’s speculation:
| Levy idea | Confirmed existence? | Confirmed yield? |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate-turnover charge on firms > €50 m revenue | Yes | No |
| E-waste fee | Yes | BILD’s €15 bn/year is only a leak |
| Tobacco surcharge | Yes | BILD’s €11.2 bn/year unverified |
| Average annual haul €58.2 bn | Not in any official paper yet | – |
Source: Financial Times scoop, 11 July 2025 (Financial Times).
Where the extra money really goes
Defence & Space – €131 billion
For the first time the EU plans direct outlays—not just cheap loans—for missiles, satellites, and joint procurement.
Green & Digital revamp – €620 billion
Spread across competitiveness, energy, hydrogen corridors, and chip foundries.
Agriculture – €300 billion
Yes, still a monster slice, but down 12 % from today.
Crisis reserve – €400 billion
Think of it as Europe’s rainy-day fund—except the Commission says “rain” is now the default weather.
Why the numbers keep changing
- Pre-leak drafts were flying between Directorate-Generals until late June.
- Each leak became a news story; some outlets updated, others did not.
- The Commission itself released only a three-page summary on 16 July; the 400-page legal annex arrives in September.
Translation: treat every early number as pencilled, unless it appears in the July spreadsheet or subsequent legal text.
What happens next?
- Autumn 2025: 27 finance ministers enter the negotiating maze—many emerge blinking in 2027.
- Key fault lines
- Poland & Hungary vs. the Ukraine facility
- “Frugal Four” (Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Austria) vs. any new taxes
- France & Spain pushing to raise the competitiveness pot even higher.
- March 2027: European Parliament has a veto. MEPs already say €2 trillion is “the floor, not the ceiling.” Buckle up.
How we verified this story
- Matched every BILD claim to the Commission’s 16 July Excel release.
- Cross-checked with Reuters, FT, Guardian, Bloomberg, and the Commission’s NextGenerationEU page.
- Flagged any figure lacking at least two independent sources as “unverified.”
Sources hyperlinked throughout; full list at bottom.
Bottom line
The EU really is proposing the biggest budget in its history. Yet two of the splashiest sums in German tabloids—€865 billion for “partnerships” and a mere €110 billion for competitiveness—simply do not appear in the official files. As negotiators begin their marathon, expect more dramatic headlines, but remember: in Brussels, every figure is provisional until the very last dawn-breaking compromise.
(Compiled by [Your Name], investigative reporter. Last updated 18 July 2025.)