EU Watchdog Warns Debt Could Reach €1 Trillion by 2027
The watchdog said repayments on past borrowing would take 8% of a proposed €2 trillion budget as member states clash over spending priorities.
- The European Court warned on Thursday that overall debt could reach €1 trillion by 2027 as the bloc secures long-term support for Ukraine and continues raising loans under the post-Covid recovery plan.
- Negotiations over the next seven-year Multiannual Financial Framework intensify as frugal Governments push for smaller budgets while 17 states resist attempts to slash agriculture and cohesion spending.
- ECA President Tony Murphy warned that mixing policy areas like agriculture, cohesion, and defence in one budget creates administrative complexity, stating "Ambitious budgets demand equally ambitious safeguards."
- Murphy said repayments to cover past borrowing will consume 8 per cent of the proposed €2 trillion budget, while the error rate in accounts rose to 3.8% in 2025 compared to 3.6% in 2024.
- Ireland faces a 24% reduction in ringfenced CAP funds under the draft, prompting the Government to begin "analysing" options to top up financing from other potential allocations within the new architecture.
20 Articles
20 Articles
The European Union is increasingly borrowing, and repayment will continue to burden Member States' budgets for decades to come.
EU debt could reach €1 trillion next year, watchdog warns
The EU’s budget watchdog has warned that its total debt could exceed €1 trillion by as early as next year. The union’s bloc is continuing to raise loans through post-Covid recovery plans, as well as securing long-term support for Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion. In its spending report for 2025, the European […]
EU debt could hit €1 trillion by 2027, auditors warn
EU auditors said 3.8% of the bloc's spending last year breached funding rules, warning that borrowing could hit €1 trillion by 2027 and that the next long-term budget risks repeating the flaws of the COVID-era recovery fund, as the Commission defended its controls.
The European Union's common debt is growing rapidly, and its financing is becoming more expensive. At the end of 2027, the EU debt could reach one trillion euros (roughly 24.5 trillion crowns), the European Court of Auditors warned on Thursday. Its growth is mainly due to programs and measures to support economies after the Covid pandemic.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources lean Left, 43% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
