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.

"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."

Prepared for months and largely kept secret from von der Leyen’s team of commissioners, the draft 2028-2034 budget plan prompted rare internal pushback that forced significant concessions in the hours before publication.