The European Court of Auditors, an independent body based in Luxembourg, has issued a warning that the European Union's financial situation could worsen without new sources of revenue. The court estimates that if no agreement is reached on future funding, the EU’s total debt could rise to 739 billion euros by the end of 2025. The warning comes as the 27 EU member states negotiate the budget for the years 2028 to 2034. If they fail to agree on new revenue streams, the debt is expected to grow further, along with the budget deficit. The European Court of Auditors highlighted that the cost of interest on the non-repayable financial support provided through the NextGenerationEU recovery plan could reach 93 billion euros by the end of the 2028–2034 period. Pierre Moscovici, a former president of the French Court of Auditors and now a member of the European Court of Auditors, noted that EU debt has more than tripled in recent years and could approach 1,000 billion euros by 2027. This has raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of the EU’s financial commitments. The negotiations over the future budget have revealed traditional divisions between "frugal" countries like Germany, which favor fiscal restraint, and others like France, which support a more expansive approach to spending. These tensions are expected to be a key topic during a summit of EU leaders in mid-October in Brussels. To fund its new priorities, the European Commission has proposed increasing the EU’s own resources through measures such as a new tax on large corporations, environmental taxes, or increased levies on tobacco products. Ireland, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, is responsible for presenting proposals for the future budget before the European summit on October 15. The goal is to reach an agreement among all 27 member states by Christmas, ahead of a year marked by several important elections, including the French presidential election in 2027. However, achieving this timeline may prove difficult, especially with Spain’s announcement of early legislative elections scheduled for November 29.