Dear EU Finance Ministers,
As you prepare to meet in Luxembourg on 20 June, we urge you to consider a matter of growing importance: the urgent need to establish new, fair, and sustainable resources for the European Union.
The European Union is entering a new phase, with evolving priorities that require a stronger financial foundation. From driving the just green transition and enhancing social inclusion to advancing cohesion and industrial policy while fulfilling international cooperation with partners, these ambitions cannot be achieved without additional resources. A significant portion of the EU’s resources is also needed to repay the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which was instrumental in supporting Europe’s recovery amidst multiple crises. Looking ahead, the EU must retain the capacity to respond to new challenges and abide by its human rights commitments, including through common borrowing to finance European and global public goods. Ensuring that such debt is backed by genuine own resources is not only a question of fiscal prudence, but it is also essential to build a stronger and more resilient Union.
Attempting to meet these objectives by reshuffling existing funds or imposing austerity is neither viable nor politically acceptable. The EU is committed to ambitious climate, biodiversity, and social targets, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and cohesion policy, all of which demand sustained public investment. At the same time, European citizens are unlikely to support measures involving painful spending cuts or an increased tax burden on the working and middle class.
We firmly oppose the current trend of diverting funds away from social, green, development, or humanitarian programmes to meet increased defence spending requirements or arbitrary debt-to-GDP ratios. The potential to raise sufficient resources already exists - if mobilised fairly.
As representatives of civil society organisations and trade unions, we stress that any new revenue measures must be grounded in human rights principles as well as the principle of fairness and the “polluter pays” principle. Those with greater financial capacity, and those who have contributed most to the climate crisis, should shoulder the greatest share of the burden.
We welcome the Polish Presidency’s efforts to revive the debate on new own resources for the EU budget and express strong support for the following options:
- Taxing extreme wealth: A progressive wealth tax of up to 5% on Europe’s multimillionaires and billionaires could generate approximately €286.5 billion annually.
- Fossil fuel profit contribution: The EU’s solidarity contribution on energy companies and equivalent national measures have generated more than €26 billion in two years, while a global polluter profit tax on fossil fuel companies could have raised up to US$400 billion globally in 2024.
- A levy on aviation: A frequent flyer levy could raise an estimated €63.6 billion per year.
- A financial sector taxation: Depending on estimates, a Financial Transaction Tax could, for example, represent an additional resource of between €17 and €43 billion a year for the European Union.
Beyond generating much-needed revenue and staying true to the Treaty of the European Union and the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union, these taxes would help reduce inequality and environmentally harmful practices. They would also help restore trust in politicians, which is increasingly under strain, as growing numbers of young people, workers, and marginalised populations struggle to make ends meet, while the middle and working classes bear a higher tax burden than the wealthiest individuals. Moreover, the cost of climate inaction is increasingly weighing on public budgets and on the most vulnerable and threatens the economy and tomorrow’s society.
Even if implemented at the national level, coordination across the EU could greatly limit tax avoidance opportunities and aggressive tax planning. Revenues should be directed toward national budgets, repay the Next Generation EU debt, and finance the next EU budget, including increased support for partner countries.
Now is the time for bold, forward-looking decisions. There is growing political and economic momentum behind a stronger EU budget funded through progressive EU resources.
You, as European Ministers, have both the opportunity and the responsibility to build consensus about ambitious tax reforms to finance the economic transformation we urgently need in a continent that warms up twice as fast as any other in the world, and to meet our international commitments for sustainable development and climate finance. The financial cost of inaction would be immense and would fall on young people and future generations.
Yours sincerely,
- Nicolò Wojewoda, Europe Regional Director, 350.org
- Javier Garcia de la Oliva, Regional Head Europe and Americas, ActionAid International
- Arnault Vercherin, EU Advocacy Officer, Aidsfonds
- Nuno Barroso, Governing Board President, APIT Portugal
- Maria Ron Balsera, Executive Director, Center for Economic and Social Rights, CESR
- Chiara Martinelli, Director, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe
- Dana Mareková, Coordinator, Climate Coalition Slovakia
- Tanya Cox, Director, CONCORD Europe
- Heidegger, Deputy Secretary General, European Environmental Bureau
- Kuba Gogolewski, Project Coordinator, Fundacja RTON
- David Ryfisch, Head of the Future-Proof Finance Division, Germanwatch
- Valentina Barbagallo, EU Representative, Global Citizen
- Eef Wuyts, External Relations Director, International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network
- Danny Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive, New Economics Foundation
- Cristina Fernandez-Duran, Head of Oxfam EU Office, Oxfam
- Elose Todd, Executive Director and Founder, Pandemic Action Network
- Rebecca Gowland, Executive Director, Patriotic Millionaires International
- Jan Willem Goudriaan, General Secretary, The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU)
- Emily Wigens, EU Director, The ONE Campaign
- Willy Bergogné, Director, Save the Children Europe
- Jonas Sonnenschein, Deputy Director, Umanotera, Slovenia