Five EU leaders: Europe must spend better, not just more

Mette Frederiksen is prime minister of Denmark. Friedrich Merz is chancellor of Germany. Rob Jetten is prime minister of the Netherlands. Christian Stocker is chancellor of Austria. Petteri Orpo is prime minister of Finland.

In a more dangerous and uncertain world, a strong Europe must be ready to make bold choices. In a world of real fiscal constraints, Europe cannot fund new priorities by simply adding them to old ones. We must make choices.

Europe’s next long-term budget is about much more than money. It’s about political priorities. The next Multiannual Financial Framework will determine how Europe spends its common resources well into the next decade.

Budgets are where political priorities become real. Speeches, declarations and summit conclusions matter, but ultimately it is the allocation of money that reveals what governments are genuinely prepared to prioritize. Europe needs to become more competitive, more sovereign and better able to defend itself. There is no other choice.

Our budget must reflect that new reality.

The status quo of the current MFF cannot be the starting point. It is too focused on subsidies and transfers allocated largely in advance, leaving too little room for what Europe urgently needs: common investment in security and defense, competitiveness, innovation, and the fight against irregular migration. The next MFF will be the test of whether Europe has understood the message of Mario Draghi’s landmark report on European competitiveness. It will show whether our promises of more common European investment are real — or just rhetoric.