Half of EU budget should contribute to environmental goals – German NGOs

An alliance of German environmental NGOs has called on the European Parliament and the German government to ensure that the union’s future budget makes a strong contribution to reaching nature and climate targets.

In a joint position paper, organisations including the DNR, Germanwatch, WWF and Environmental Action Germany (DUH) said that at least half of EU spending should contribute to environmental targets. They also said the EU should introduce new revenues, including through levies in aviation aimed at business and first class tickets, as well as private jets. They called for strengthening existing programmes that fund environmental efforts, such as the LIFE programme.

In a press release, NGO umbrella organisation DNR called on the German government to introduce “constructive proposals” in the upcoming budget negotiations. A sustainable budget is “the only way to prevent the EU from falling behind in implementing the Green Deal, the energy transition and the protection of its natural resources,” it said.

In summer, the European Commission had presented its two-trillion-euro proposal for the EU’s budget from 2028 to 2034, with 35 percent of this sum dedicated to "programmes and activities on climate action and environmental objectives."

The EU’s own budget comes on top of national budgets and makes up only a very small share of total public spending across the union. The proposed budget would amount to 1.26 percent of the EU's gross national income on average between 2028 and 2034, the Commission has said.

As national budgets increasingly face cuts and priorities have shifted to defence and military spending, the EU budget’s role in helping fill climate investment gaps is growing, said the organisations.