‘We don’t want Macron’s budget’ German MEP says French leader’s plan will FRACTURE the EU

Reinhard Bütikofer, spokesman for the German Green Party in the EU, said the French president’s plans ostracise member states who do not use the Euro.

Last month Mr Macron proposed a shared budget for the 19 eurozone countries as well as a finance minister, budget and parliament for the currency.

The French leader had been seen as the man to bring France and Germany closer together during at time of instability in the EU due to Brexit.

However, German officials have said they are still waiting for concrete ideas from Paris about strengthening the union and they are losing patience with Emmanuel Macron, whose approval ratings have plummeted at home and across the EU.

Mr Bütikofer is the latest to speak out against the Frenchman’s proposals, saying he agreed the EU needs a larger budget but said it should not be limited to the eurozone.

He said EU countries outside the eurozone need to contribute to ensure bloc-wide benefits.

The German MEP, who specialises in defence and foreign affairs, today, said: “We do not want Macron’s Eurozone budget. 

“Macron is right that much more money will have to be spent on joint investment in the future.

“But this is to happen within the EU budget. 

“Investments in the Community must also be open to countries that are not members of the Eurozone.”

He went further and criticised the EU’s plans to invest further into both the public and private sectors, saying the proposed £281billion fund was not enough “by far”.

The MEP, added: “We could now raise the EU budget to up to 1.24 per cent of EU-wide economic output without having to change EU treaties.”

By increasing the EU budget by that much – 0.29 per cent – member countries would need to hand over an extra £35.8bn which would mean an overall budget of £156.5bn.

Additional reporting by Monika Pallenberg