🇪🇺🇩🇪 Europe’s biggest economy wants spending CUT, but Brussels is pushing back... EU Chief von der Leyen has warned EU governments against major reductions to the bloc’s next 7-year budget, arguing they could hit priorities like energy independence and competitiveness. "We are all feeling these higher costs, businesses are under high pressure, people struggle to pay their bills, and this could of course intensify as we head into the winter." Germany and several northern European countries are demanding savings worth hundreds of billions of euros. But 17 countries from southern and eastern Europe are pushing the other way, seeking to protect agricultural and regional funding. EU officials now expect an initial proposal could contain more than €100 billion in cuts. Europe’s next big battle isn’t just over how much Brussels spends, it’s over who ultimately pays for it. Writer: Samuel