sk flag go to the original language article
This article has been translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The news agency is not responsible for the content of the translated article. The original was published by TASR.

P. Serafin in Bratislava: Negotiations on the draft budget for 2028 – 2034 will not be easy

by AI | 02.Dec 2025 | Europe in brief AI

European Commissioner for the Budget Piotr Serafin stated during his visit to Bratislava that the negotiations on the EU budget for the years 2028–2034 will not be easy.

European Commissioner for the Budget Piotr Serafin stated that the negotiations on the EU budget for 2028–2034 will be complicated. PHOTO: TASR

Bratislava – The negotiations on the proposal for the European Union’s long-term budget for 2028 – 2034 will not be easy. The Union must adapt the budget to new situations, such as the loss of competitiveness compared to the USA or China. At the same time, several states are proposing cuts to the budget, while it is not yet clear which areas might be affected by reduced funding. EU Commissioner for Budget Piotr Serafin stated this on Tuesday during his visit to Slovakia, TASR reports.

“We are all aware that the European Union is losing the competitive battle with the USA and China. The EU budget will not solve all these problems, but it must contribute more to investments in the technologies of the future,” said the Commissioner. Another priority of the budget, according to him, is security and defense.

Piotr Serafin pointed to a decline in investment in countries bordering Russia, which is also a reason why there is a need to invest in the Union’s defense industry. Moreover, an increase in spending on the defense industry in the member states would, in his view, support innovation in Europe and have a positive impact on European employment. Money for defense will thus support competitiveness and economic prosperity, the Commissioner underlined.

Serafin pointed out the importance of own resources of financing

He further pointed out the importance of own resources of financing. He stated that there are currently several member states in the EU that are going through a period of fiscal consolidation. Therefore, according to him, it is probably not to be expected that they would be ready to increase their contributions to the Union’s budget. For this reason as well, he sees potential in finding new ways of financing the European budget. He speaks, for example, about imposing tariffs on cheap goods imported mainly from China.

The Commissioner also followed up on Tuesday’s meeting with the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico (Smer-SD). “It did not surprise me that for Slovakia the priority policies are cohesion policy and the common agricultural policy. They are still part of the next EU budget. Slovakia can still use cohesion policy to support the country’s economic development until 2034, which I consider good news,” Serafin stated. (2 December)