Robert Abela sets out Malta's red lines for upcoming EU budget talks

Prime Minister Robert Abela has set out Malta's red lines for the upcoming EU budget negotiations.

In a discussion with European Council president António Costa, who visited Malta to advance talks on the union's budget framework for 2028-2034, Abela said Malta will reject new taxation at the European level while demanding fairer treatment for island economies in the bloc's next spending plan.

"Malta cannot support the introduction of taxation at a European level," Abela said. "We will engage constructively on fair and proportionate financing options, but any solution must respect the balance on which the union is built."

President of the European Council António Costa visited Malta on Thursday morning as part of his Tour Des Capitales 

Costa arrived at Castille on Thursday morning and was greeted by members of Malta’s Armed Forces, who played both the European Union anthem and the Maltese anthem.

Costa, along with Prime Minister Robert Abela, inspected the Guard of Honour, after which they headed inside Castille, where Costa signed the guest book.

Their tete-a-tete, a private conversation between two, began shortly after, where journalists heard the opening minutes before the two leaders continued their working brunch.

Costa stressed that Europe faces a fundamentally different geopolitical environment from when the last budget was negotiated in 2020. "This new reality calls for a new approach to our budget with a new structure and a new way of allocating our resources," he said.

Abela also insisted that cohesion policy, the EU's main tool for reducing regional disparities, must be preserved alongside funding for new priorities.

"Europe will not become stronger by weakening the instruments that help member states reduce disparities, build capacity and expand opportunity," he said. "It is also a condition for a stronger and more resilient union."

The next budget, Costa said, must fund defence, competitiveness, security and strategy whilst maintaining support for regional and agricultural policies. Costa stressed that regional and agricultural policies are vital. "They pull our regions upwards and support growth and jobs locally," he said.

Costa stressed the need for uninterrupted funding. "We need to ensure that funding keeps flowing without interruption for our farmers, our fishermen, for our students, researchers, for our businesses," he said.

Like national budgets, the European Union budget must deliver on its priorities within the limits of finite resources. "Most of it is financed through member states' national contributions which we need to keep within reasonable limits," Costa said. However, new European revenue sources are necessary. "We need new European revenues to reduce the pressure on national budgets," he said. "This will be a key component of an overall agreement."

Abela said that for smaller and island member states like Malta, maritime, inflation, digital, and energy factors affect full participation in the single market. "It is not acceptable that people and businesses in Malta should face higher costs or reduced choice simply because they live and operate from an island member state."

Costa emphasised the importance of engaging with individual member states. "It is very important for me to engage directly with all European leaders regularly, including in their own country, and to listen and to understand all national perspectives," he said. "This will help the European Council to achieve unity."

Costa insisted member states must agree on the budget framework by the end of 2026, with legislation prepared in 2027 and implementation beginning in 2028. "Agree in 2026, legislate and prepare in 2027, deliver in 2028," he said.

Costa is undertaking the "Tour des Capitales", a series of meetings with EU leaders from 25 August to 17 September. 

The tour aims to hear directly from member states about their priorities. During his visit to Malta, Costa will focus on defence, competitiveness, EU enlargement, support for Ukraine, and the EU's next long-term budget for 2028 to 2034.

On the same day, Costa shall also travel to Madrid to meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and to Lisbon to meet Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. 

Earlier on 9 September, he met Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin. In the first two weeks of the tour, Costa visited 13 countries, including Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Czechia, Luxembourg, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus and Slovenia.