"A comprehensive increase in the EU budget is unacceptable at a time when all member states are making considerable efforts to consolidate their national budgets," said Stefan Kornelius, spokesperson for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government in Berlin late Wednesday. "We will therefore not be able to accept the Commission's proposal."

Good morning. Germany said no to the European Commission’s €2 trillion budget proposal. Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz will sign a new treaty in London. And about 1,000 people join the waitlist every night for fried chicken.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil rejected the European Commission's long-term EU budget proposal on Thursday, arguing that the proposed measures would not fly in the current economic climate. On Wednesday,