Portugal sets red lines on EU budget funding plans

Portugal has set red lines on new EU own resources to finance the bloc’s budget, saying it cannot accept measures that would take revenue away from the Portuguese state budget, while remaining open to negotiating the proposals. The position matters for upcoming talks on the EU’s next long-term budget and how it will be funded.

Speaking at a conference in parliament on the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework and own resources, Secretary of State for European Affairs Inês Domingos said Portugal was willing to examine all options on the table, but that “not all own resources are the best for us” and that the government would need to assess the details. She said the “exact details of the proposals are not yet on the table” and that the outcome would depend on negotiations.

Domingos said Portugal would look closely at more concrete proposals, including ideas linked to cryptoassets and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, an EU levy on the embedded emissions of certain imported goods. She did not refer directly to any specific tax in her remarks, but said the government was “available and open to negotiate all own resources”.

On common borrowing, Domingos said Portugal supports extending the grace period on debt issued to finance Next Generation EU and is also in favour of new joint debt issuance to fund common goods, as well as defence industry projects or emergency responses. She also said that Portugal’s alignment with the so-called Friends of Cohesion group does not mean it opposes other priorities, adding that the country has shown flexibility in defending cohesion policy, agriculture and stronger competitiveness.

Originally published at Eco.pt