To guarantee the EU's ability to act, European leaders must take money in their hands, Lucas Guttenberg argues in Die Zeit.
In the run-up to the EU budget negotiations, the only point where all member states agree is the difficulty of the upcoming talks. Apart from that, the amount of the overall budget, the distribution of funds and discounts for financially strong countries such as Germany are stil highly controversial. In an article published at Zeit Online, Lucas Guttenberg calls for a shift in priorities. "In the end, the question of discounts is secondary, the decisive factor for Europe's ability to act is the level of expenditure," the EU budget expert is quoted.