European Union leaders have agreed on the need for reforms to revive Europe's struggling economy but left an EU summit with diverging views on the role of public funding, DPA reports.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reiterated his opposition to financing reforms through joint debt instruments such as eurobonds at the close of the gathering on Thursday.
"I made it very clear that, even if there are other opinions on the matter, I cannot agree to financing European Union projects through eurobonds," Merz said after the meeting at Alden Biesen Castle in Belgium.
He noted that Germany's Federal Constitutional Court has set clear limits on joint borrowing and stressed: "We have to make do with the money we have."
The summit was convened to find common ground on how to respond to growing global competition from the United States and China and to address internal challenges such as high energy prices, excessive bureaucracy and complex rules that hamper growth in the 27-member bloc.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed support for taking on joint debt.
"Innovation requires more financing, matter of fact. You can like it or not, but it's a matter of fact," Macron said.
He urged fellow leaders to calmly consider raising money on capital markets for shared priorities.
Merz said that financing would be discussed in the coming weeks and months, calling it "a very difficult undertaking."
Reducing barriers and boosting investment
Despite disagreements over funding, EU leaders agreed to push for reducing persistent trade barriers within the bloc to improve the investment environment and foster growth.
Experts say the fragmentation of national rules costs the EU more than external tariffs.
But efforts to streamline national rules for businesses and financial markets have proven difficult.
As a result, the bloc is considering introducing an additional set of EU-wide corporate rules for companies operating across multiple member states.
