As Brussels stares down a fierce battle over its next long-term budget, Emmanuel Macron is pushing for a radical solution: make Silicon Valley and foreign polluters foot the bill. It’s a politically explosive idea, but the alternative — squeezing member states — is far more dangerous for the European project.
Quest for self-sufficiency
Emmanuel Macron has formally tasked his administration with drafting new mechanisms for collecting EU-wide taxes from foreign corporations. The goal is as ambitious as it is controversial: to directly fund the European Union’s next €2 trillion budget, set to run from 2028 to 2034, without requiring a single extra euro from national treasuries.
The logic emanating from Paris is straightforward. France wants Brussels to generate its own revenue by levying pan-European charges on American technology behemoths and foreign environmental polluters, rather than relying on increased contributions from already strained national governments.
Agricultural angst and the spectre of Le Pen
Macron’s motivations are not purely ideological; they are rooted in domestic political survival. Unlike Germany and the Netherlands, which are pushing for a slimmed-down EU budget, France is vehemently opposed to cuts. This is largely because the budget provides lavish subsidies to France’s politically potent agricultural sector.
If a deal on new taxes cannot be reached, Paris would be forced to transfer significantly more of its own funds to Brussels. Such an outcome would hand a devastating political weapon to Marine Le Pen’s nationally oriented National Rally. With the party already leading in the polls ahead of the April 2027 presidential election, a spike in France’s EU contribution could prove to be the perfect ammunition for a Eurosceptic campaign.
Breaking the deadlock
This French initiative follows a protracted stalemate. Member states failed to agree on a package of new revenue streams proposed by the European Commission last July. In a bid to break the impasse, the European Parliament proposed new levies in May targeting cryptocurrency firms, digital giants, and online gambling operators — ideas that France and Spain have tentatively welcomed.
According to two EU diplomats, Paris is also discreetly testing the waters for stricter climate obligations targeting foreign airlines, a move that would align with the bloc’s green ambitions while extracting revenue from outside players. Following a meeting last week, Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pledged to “make progress on creating new own resources,” including a digital levy.
A hostile coalition
Despite the momentum, tax remains the most toxic subject in EU politics, and a breakthrough is unlikely until the final hour. A blocking coalition led by Germany and other fiscally conservative governments remains steadfastly opposed to new levies, fearing they could trigger retaliatory trade measures from the United States. The clock is ticking, with European Council President António Costa hoping to secure a broad political agreement on the budget at a summit in December 2026.
The technocracy trap
The proposal was quickly met with criticism from Eurosceptic voices. Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, a prominent French sovereigntist, took to X to articulate the fury of the anti-EU right. “Having ruined France, Macron wants to invent new European taxes to continue fleecing the French!” he wrote. “After the surge in debt, taxes, and electricity bills—an EU tax is next. France must not endlessly fund an out-of-touch technocracy that harms us.”
His accusation goes to the heart of Macron’s dilemma. By seeking to tax anonymous foreign entities instead of citizens, the French president is trying to prove that the EU can be protective rather than extractive. If he fails, the voices calling to wrest back control from Brussels will only grow louder.
