According to a proposal, Berlin wants more of the EU’s multinational budget to be tied to respect for core Brussels’ policies and values, such as migration and the rule of law.
The report said Berlin pushed the plan at a preparatory meeting of senior officials earlier this week, according to two people at the talks in Brussels.
Under the proposal, seen by the Financial Times, the EU’s “structural and investment” funds would support governments that “have assumed responsibility for taking in and integrating beneficiaries of international protection of migrants with a right to stay”.
This approach would reportedly cut the focus on a country’s wealth and possibly move some funds to richer nations in northern and western Europe which host migrants.
Germany took in one million migrants in 2015.
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Budget talks will begin at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels this week, with the future of the regional funds set to be one of the hot topics.
But the question of how far the EU should reduce spending by in the wake of Brexit, which will deprive the bloc of the UK’s financial contribution, could complicate negotiations.
This initiative comes amid growing concern in a number of EU capitals that the Polish and Hungarian governments are disregarding the bloc’s usual stance on independence of the judiciary and other institutions.
Traditionally, there has been a heavy focus on infrastructure projects as well as education and training for EU nationals, so the new plan would be a big departure from that.
Germany’s draft coalition deal between Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU and the centre-left Social Democratic party commits the country to increasing its contribution following the UK exit from the EU.
In a podcast on February 17, Mrs Merkel spoke of linking more regional funds to the way the bloc handles migrants, and added “solidarity cannot be a one-way street”.
EU diplomats said the reallocated money could be spent on house building in areas where an increase of migrants had led to accommodation shortages, as well as language classes and skills training for migrants.