Funding Europe
means lower bills 🤯

While more and more European families are struggling to make ends meet, and after a summer with record breaking heatwaves and forest fires, people want Europe to step up and not step away from responsibility.

No country can face this alone, and Europe’s leaders know it.

But that is not what European leaders are doing. They are again arguing in Brussels on who picks up the bill. Instead of looking where all the money is, big corporations and billionaires, they are proposing to kill successful European projects that benefit us all.

Cutting Europe doesn’t make problems disappear. It just makes them harder to solve.

Wildfires don’t stop at borders. Neither do floods, pollution, cyberattacks or disinformation. When we pool our resources, we protect people in ways that no government can do alone. That is the promise we want the EU to defend.

A Europe that invests in sun and wind to bring down energy bills for all of us.

A Europe that invests in restoring nature to protect us from fires and floods.

A Europe that invests in civil society to stand up to autocrats.

Yet, European leaders want to cut 10% of Europe’s budget in the current negotiations for the EU’s long-term budget (the Multiannual Financial Framework or MFF)

There is another way: make polluters and Big Tech pay

If you want to know where all the money went, look for the people with all the money.

Fossil fuel companies make record profits because of the high energy prices. They should pay a windfall tax on their excessive profits. We demand the European Commission introduces a strong windfall profits tax – at least 50%, based on the average profits of recent years.

Ultra-rich tech bros owning digital giants are raking in record breaking profits, undermining democracy and free speech, all with the support from US President Donald Trump. With a Digital Services Tax, the European Union would be able to raise more than 37.5 billion euro per year. That’s around one fifth of the annual budget.

We say no to cuts. We say yes to a strong, green and fair Europe.

Terry Reintke 🇩🇪
Nicolae Ștefănuță 🇷🇴

Co-Presidents – The Greens/EFA in the European Parliament

Rasmus Andresen 🇩🇪
Ufuk Kâhya 🇳🇱
Tilly Metz 🇱🇺
Thomas Waitz 🇦🇹

Members of the European Parliament – The Greens/EFA

What’s concretely at stake

The proposal substantially reduces the possible budget to finance the continuation of LIFE activities. LIFE is a longstanding EU program delivering on climate change, biodiversity and environmental protection. 

The proposal cuts the EU Civil Protection Mechanism by 35%. This is a disgrace after more than 35,000 people died in this summer’s heat and hectares of forests were burnt to ashes. You cannot fight the climate crisis by cutting the means to fight it.

Global aid would be cut by almost 16%. After Trump, this is the second biggest cut in aid worldwide. Cutting in the world will backfire in the longer run. 

Our democracies are at risk. Cuts to independent journalism, research, culture, NGOs and justice mean a Europe that falls behind and is less able to resist disinformation and defend the rule of law. 

Support our call 👇

We will not accept a proposal that will weaken Europe. 

Add your name and tell Europe’s leaders: don’t give up on our shared future.