To: Finance Ministers of EU Member States
Economy Ministers of EU Member States
Brussels, Thursday 8 January 2026
Dear Ministers of Economy and Finance,
As you prepare to discuss the Council Decision on new EU own resources in the ECOFIN Council, we urge you to reach a swift agreement. The EU’s budget must evolve and increase in order to meet the scale of today’s unprecedented threats - and future opportunities. Whilst imperfect, the Commission’s proposal sets out a pathway for a budget that is the bare minimum for responding to today’s challenges, at home and abroad. Failing to agree on new own-resources that match that level of ambition would make it impossible to mount a credible EU response.
We recognise the concerns about the impact of the proposals on the table on national revenue, and the pressure on Member states that are net contributors at a time of tight budgets. However, we urge you to go beyond narrow arithmetic. Our collective prosperity depends on a Union of 27.
A strong single market, one that protects consumers, the environment, and fair competition, is vital at times when global trade is being used to blackmail Europe. As is a strong ‘Global Europe’ that invests in tackling global challenges that risk undermining ours and our partners’ stability and prosperity. Our dependency on raw materials, energy, defence and digital technology is being weaponised to obtain the dismantling of carefully negotiated social, taxation and environmental rules. Only a united EU can defend our social and environmental standards and strengthen Member States’ respective leverage.
In these times of geopolitical tensions, governments must show renewed commitment to solidarity and cohesion between EU countries and regions, without which the Union risks fragmentation and decline.
We therefore support the three genuinely new EU own resources proposed, i.e. the tax on non-collected e-waste, the tax on tobacco and tobacco-related products and the Corporate Resource for Europe (CORE). We are aware that the latter is generating resistance, and we would have preferred more progressive proposals in the first place, which we already shared with you in June. However, in a constructive approach and aware of the urgency of the situation, we recognise the following advantages of the CORE: a) its design is extremely simple and there are no additional reporting obligations on companies; b) it minimizes the risk of tax avoidance because based on turnover and not profits; c) it does not prevent governments from adopting profit taxes at a later stage, for example on fossil fuel industries; d) the fee is so low that it cannot harm the competitiveness of companies; e) it only applies to large companies, who immensely profit from the single market – often to the detriment of small local businesses.
The other proposals on the table include a transfer of 30% of the revenues generated from existing ETS 1 from national to the EU budget. This funding stream is currently allocated to the energy transition, including support to lower- and middle-income households. A transfer to the EU budget would mean a reduction of the funding available to Member States for the energy transition. We urge you to replace this proposal with another revenue source that is progressive and reflects the polluter pays principle, as slowing down the energy transition would perpetuate our dependence on imported and expensive fossil fuels, harming Europe’s economy and dependent households, and aggravating dangerous climate change.
The plastics levy under the previous MFF allowed for the generation of needed resources, but did not contribute to a reduction of the production and consumption of plastic overall. The own-resource proposals on e-waste and plastic must therefore be complemented by ambitious circularity measures (recycle, but before that reduce and reuse) under the Circular Economy Act expected in 2026.
A delayed agreement on the Own Resources Decision would result in a further shrinking of the EU budget, and a grimmer perspective for our common future in Europe and the role of the EU globally. At the same time, we continue to urge you to consider additional sources of funding, in line with the principles of tax progressivity and environmental sustainability.
We thank you for your attention and, aware that building consensus is more difficult than refusing compromises, count on your determination.
Yours sincerely,
- Kasia Lemanska, Head of EU office, Aidsfonds
- Chiara Martinelli, Director, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe
- Katy Wiese, Policy Manager for Economic Transition and Gender Equality, European Environmental Bureau
- Thomas Desdouits, Sustainable Fiscal Policy Officer, European Youth Forum
- Caroline Whyte, Ecological Economist, Feasta (Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability)
- Valentina Barbagallo, EU Representative, Global Citizen
- Kuba Gogolewski, Programme Director, Mission Possible
- Sebastian Mang, EU Policy Programme Lead, New Economics Foundation
- Emily Wigens, EU Director, The ONE Campaign
- Cristina Fernandez Duran, Head of Oxfam EU Office
- Eloise Todd, Executive Director & Founder, Rani (Resilience Action Network International)
- Vanessa López, Executive Director, Salud por Derecho
- Aline Maigret, Head of Policy, Zero Waste Europe
