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Reactions to the new EU budget proposal by the European Commission
Here are some reactions on the European Commission proposal of a budget for the EU for 2028-2034, which was made Wednesday. The proposed budget is 2 trillion euros ($2.31 trillion). The proposal places new emphasis on competitiveness, defence and economic development while also aiming to reform rules surrounding farm and economic subsidy. A new EU budget agreement requires the support of all 27 countries, as well as the European Parliament. The SWEDISH GOVERNMENT - A STATEMENT "We cannot accept that EU funds are given to countries who do not respect democratic values and basic democratic principles" "We will not solve the EU's issues with a larger budget and increased EU contribution, but rather by using current resources more intelligently and placing money where it's really needed." HUNGARIAN PREMIER MINISTER VIKTOR ORBAN "Brussels proposal is a pro Ukrainian budget. Its aim is obvious: to send money from the European people to Ukraine. The Brussels plan, which is not even a good basis for negotiations, should be withdrawn in favor of a new proposal, which would serve the European people and European farmers, rather than the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy or Ukraine. DUTCH MINISTER OF FINANCE EELCO HEENE The proposed budget is excessive. "We should not focus on the EU spending more money, but instead on how to spend existing funds better." "This will require tough decisions. The Netherlands' financial contribution to the EU has already been significant. "We want to see a better net payment position. As far as Netherlands is concerned, there are no new instruments on the table for joint debt." BENJAMIN HADAD, MINISTER OF EUROPE FOR FRANCE "I welcome the ambitious new multiannual framework that was presented by the European Commission today" "I will be in Brussels this Friday to defend my priorities: rearmament for the European continent, support of our competitiveness, our technological sovereignty, income of our farmers and creation of our own resource." ANTONIO COSTEA, PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL "I am pleased that the European Commission has presented the proposal for the EU long-term Budget. This will enable the Council to begin working." Budget is more than just numbers. It is a decision about the future. We must approach this discussion with an open-mindedness and a spirit of collective responsibility. SIEGFRIED MURESAN, CARLA TAVARES, SANDRA GOMEZ-LOPEZ AND DANUSE NERUDOVA ARE THE LEAD MEMBERS IN EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT This draft budget leaves insufficient funds for important priorities, including competitiveness and cohesion. It also fails to provide adequate funding for agriculture, defence, climate adaption, and other investments necessary for an economy that is sustainable for everyone. The Parliament is ready to use its full powers to ensure that the long-term budget for the Union matches its ambitions and challenges. LINDA KALCHER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PAN-EUROPEAN THINK TANK STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVES ON CLIMATE BUDGET "The inclusion a 35% mainstreaming climate in the new Budget shows that the Commission is serious about supporting the decarbonisation efforts throughout the continent... It is crucial to achieve the 90% climate goal by 2040. "It is a waste of time to not exclude fossil fuels from the budget." FAUSTINE BAS DEFOSSEZ, POLICY DIRECTOR AT EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENTAL BUREAU "A budget for the long term based on a short-term mindset is a grave mistake. A dead planet is not conducive to competitiveness, prosperity or security. It's not just about repealing LIFE and merging it into a catch-all account - this is about dismantling Europe’s only dedicated instrument for nature and climate change." ANOUK POUYMARTIN, HEAD, POLICY, BirdLife Europe "This is a crushing blow to the European citizens. The proposed budget for the long-term EU does not offer a clear solution to our climate and nature crisis. The EU budget is losing biodiversity funding and prioritisation. NGO EUROPEAN Network on Debt and Development (EURODAD). "The restructuring budget puts at risk EU's central roles in combating poverty, responding global crises and supporting those who live in the Global South. The Commission proposes to combine existing external action tools into one called Global Europe. This increases the risk of funding being diverted for short-term gains in politics, instead of used to combat poverty and inequality." COPA-COGECA ORGANISATIONS, REPRESENTING THE NATIONAL COOPERATIVES AND FARMERS ASSOCIATIONS Can the Commission's unprecedented budget cuts, the dissolution and loss of community, as well as its disengagement from the historic agricultural policy be seen in any other way than a signal of abandonment and indifference to agriculture and rural communities, or a lack of strategic priority? How can the Mercosur agreement affect the "Does the European Commission still expect to be heard by the agricultural sector and have their trust in years to come?" ARNAUD ROUSSEAU HEADS FRANCE'S LARGEST FARMING UNION, FNSEA "Madame president, your budget proposal and CAP are nothing but a provocation to the agricultural community. Rethink your approach. "There will be no rise of Europe's power if food rearmament is not undertaken." Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Kate Abnett. Editing by Frances Kerry and Aidan Lewis.
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Reactions to the new EU budget proposal by the European Commission
Here are some reactions on the European Commission proposal of a budget for 2028-2034 for 2 trillion euros ($2.31 trillion). The proposal places new emphasis on competitiveness, defence and economic development while also aiming to reform rules surrounding farm and economic subsidy. A new EU budget agreement requires the support of all 27 countries, as well as the European Parliament. The SWEDISH GOVERNMENT - A STATEMENT "We cannot accept that EU funds are given to countries who do not respect democratic values and basic democratic principles" "We will not solve the EU problems by increasing EU contributions and budgets, but rather using existing resources more intelligently and placing money where it's really needed." DUTCH MINISTER OF FINANCE EELCO HEENE The proposed budget is excessive. "We should not focus on the EU spending more money, but instead on how to spend existing funds better." "This is a time for tough decisions." The Netherlands' financial contribution to the EU has already been significant. "We want to see a better net payment position. As far as Netherlands is concerned, there are no new instruments on the table for joint debt." BENJAMIN HAADAD, MINISTER OF EUROPE FOR FRANCE "I welcome the ambitious new multi-annual financial framework that was presented by the European Commission today" "I will be in Brussels this Friday to defend my priorities: rearmament for the European continent, support of our competitiveness, our technological sovereignty, income of our farmers and creation of our own resource." ANTONIO COSTEA, PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL "I am pleased that the European Commission has presented its proposal for the EU's long-term budget. This will enable the Council to begin working." Budget is more than just numbers. It is a decision about the future. We must approach this discussion with an open-mindedness and spirit of responsibility. SIEGFRIED MURESAN, CARLA TAVARES, SANDRA GOMEZ-LOPEZ AND DANUSE NERUDOVA ARE THE LEAD MEMBERS IN EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT This draft budget leaves insufficient funds for important priorities, including competitiveness and cohesion. It also fails to provide adequate funding for agriculture, defence, climate change adaptation, and other investments necessary for an economy that is sustainable for everyone. The Parliament is ready to use its full powers to ensure that the long-term budget for the Union matches its ambitions and challenges. LINDA KALCHER - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PAN EUROPEAN THINK TANK STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVES FOR CLIMATE BUDGET: "The inclusion in the budget of a climate mainstreaming of 35% shows that the Commission remains serious about its support for decarbonisation efforts on the continent... It is crucial to achieve the 90% climate goal by 2040. "It is a waste of time to not exclude fossil fuels from the budget." NGO EUROPEAN Network on Debt and Development (EURODAD). "The restructuring budget puts at risk EU's central roles in combating poverty, responding global crises and supporting those who live in the Global South. The Commission proposes to combine existing external action tools into a single Global Europe. This increases the risk of funding being diverted for short-term gains in politics, instead of used to combat poverty and inequality." ARNAUD ROUSSEAU HEADS FRANCE'S LARGEST FARMING UNION, FNSEA "Madame president, your budget proposal and CAP are nothing but a provocation to the agricultural community. Rethink your approach. "There will be no rise of Europe's power if food rearmament is not undertaken." (Reporting and editing by Frances Kerry, Charlotte Van Campenhout Kate Abnett Simon Johnson Anita Komuves Sybille De La Hamaide)
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Report: Vegetation losses from Greek wildfires raised soil temperatures sharply
According to research released by the Athens National Observatory on Wednesday, soil temperatures around Athens have risen in some areas by up to 10 degrees Celsius after large fires destroyed vegetation. Meteo, a unit of the state-supervised institute for research, analyzed high-resolution data from satellites that could record ground surface temperatures in great detail. This tool shows the impact of disasters such as forest fires on a microclimate. The summers in Greece are becoming increasingly hotter and drier, as the winds change rapidly. This leads to more destructive wildfires which are difficult to control. In August last year, Greece experienced its hottest summer ever. A woman was killed and 10,000 acres of land burned in a wildfire which spread from a nearby forest to the northern suburbs of Athens. Meteo stated that a comparison of two hot periods, July 2024 before the devastating fires which ravaged the village Varnavas, and June 20,25, revealed temperature differences in many areas of up to 1-2C. This can be attributed in part to the natural variations of weather conditions. The report said that the loss of vegetation had a strong effect on the surface heating. The report stated that the loss of vegetation was a major factor in surface heating. Meteo stated that even though the measurements are for the soil surface temperature, it's reasonable to expect similar, if smaller, differences in the air temperature near the ground surface. According to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, the global surface temperature in May was 1.4C warmer than the pre-industrial period between 1850-1900. Scientists believe that the burning of fossil fuels is the primary cause of climate changes. (Reporting and editing by Aidan Lewis; Daria SitoSucic)
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Canada announces new tariffs on imported steel in order to protect domestic industry
Mark Carney, Canada's Prime Minister, said on Wednesday that Canada would introduce a tariff-rate quota to protect its domestic steel industry. The quota will be for countries with whom it has free trade agreement, but not the United States. Canada will also implement an additional 25% tariff on all steel imports from non-U.S. nations that contain steel melted and pour in China by the end of July. Carney's response is in response to complaints made by the domestic steel industry. The industry had complained that other countries divert steel to Canada, making the Canadian industry uncompetitive because of U.S. Tariffs. The Canadian steel industry asked the government for tougher antidumping measures in order to protect its domestic industry. U.S. president Donald Trump raised import duties on aluminum and steel to 50%, up from 25% in the beginning of this month. Canada is the largest supplier of steel to the United States. Carney said that domestic steel companies will be given priority in government procurement, and he introduced a C$1billion fund to assist steel companies in advancing projects in industries like defence. Carney stated on Wednesday that the measures would make Canadian steel producers more competitive, by protecting them from trade diversion due to a rapidly changing global steel environment. (Divyarajagopal in Toronto and Ryan Patrick Jones; Editing by Caroline Stauffer).
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Tin shipments to Myanmar's Wa State are expected to resume soon, according to a tin company.
The International Tin Association announced on Wednesday that tin shipments from Myanmar’s Wa State will resume within the next few months, after an almost two-year ban. The speculation by traders that mining will resume this week has affected tin's price, which reached a low of three weeks on Wednesday. Metal, which is mainly used in soldering electronics and semiconductors fell by 1.6% on the London Metal Exchange to $32,775 per metric ton at 1505 GMT. This was the lowest since June 25. Myanmar is the third largest tin producer in the world and China's top supplier. Wa State accounts for 70% of Myanmar tin exports. A large part of Wa State is controlled by the United Wa State Army (a militia affiliated with Myanmar's Wa ethnic minority). In August 2023, it suspended all mining activities in the areas that it controls to protect its mineral resources. According to Ye Myo Hein of the Southeast Asia Peace Institute, despite a long-standing truce with Myanmar's military leaders, UWSA still maintains between 30,000-35,000 personnel with modern weapons sourced primarily from China. Tom Langston is a senior market intelligence analyst with the ITA. He said: "After limited progress over the past few months, the increased licensing fees created a stumbling-block. We now understand that several operators have secured three-year permits at Man Maw." In the next few months, it is expected that shipments from the autonomous area will resume. "However, there are still uncertainties regarding the strict controls over equipment and personnel movement," he said. The LME's rising inventories of tin are also a factor. (Reporting by Eric Onstad Editing by Frances Kerry) (Reporting and editing by Frances Kerry.)
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South Africa's Kganyago insists Africa's G20 Agenda despite tariffs, Bessent's absence
Lesetja Kganyago, the South African Reserve Bank Governor, said that a "African Agenda" including climate changes and cross-border payments systems is still to be discussed by G20 Finance Chiefs despite fears that tariffs will overshadow this gathering. The U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent missed the G20 Finance Meeting in Durban. This was his second consecutive absence and raised questions about G20's ability to address pressing global challenges. The African agenda was also promoted by Ramaphosa, who used the first G20 presidency of Africa to push for the African agenda. Kganyago said that the African issues had been raised, and all of us were talking about them, as deputies, other officials and others continued to discuss before the official two-day summit began on Thursday. Kganyago stressed the need for a coordinated African payment system to facilitate trade on the continent. This move could be scrutinized by U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on BRICS countries for promoting 'anti-American' policies. This includes advocating payments in local currency instead of relying solely on the dollar system. Kganyago stated, "As African Central Banks, we have decided to enable the flow of payments across border," he said. We are not doing this to bypass anyone, but because it will help trade on the continent. G20 was originally formed to deal with global economic crises. It has now evolved into an important platform for policy coordination. Trump's 10% baseline tariff on all U.S. imported goods, as well as punitive rates targeted at specific countries and products have created significant policy uncertainties. While delegates claimed that tariffs are the most important theme for the global economy, Kganyago stated that G20 members will not respond to these threats in a coordinated manner. Instead, he stressed the importance of tailoring strategies to individual countries' economies. This was especially important during the COVID epidemic. Michael Kaplan will represent the Department at the meeting. Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda Mtambo and Colleen Gumbi, Writing by Kopano Goko, Editing by Alie Williams
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Venture Global signs a 20-year contract with Eni to supply LNG
Venture Global and Eni announced on Wednesday that they will provide 2 million metric tonnes of liquefied gas per year to the Italian energy group Eni. Eni has signed its first long-term LNG contract with the United States. In April, Giorgia Melons told Donald Trump that Rome would boost imports of U.S. LNG to improve relations between North America and Italy. In a separate deal, Venture Global announced last month that it would provide an additional 0.75 millions metric tons of LNG per year to Germany's SEFE Energy GmbH. Negotiations are currently underway between the European Union and Washington to reduce 30% of its tariffs on exports to North America. Eni's spokesperson said that they would not comment on ongoing tariff negotiations between the EU, the U.S., and their American partners. They called the agreement of Wednesday "highly beneficial" to both Eni and its American partner. Eni announced that the gas will come from Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass 2 Project, currently under development in Louisiana. The energy giant said that a part of the volume will be used to diversify Europe's gas supply. Eni stated that the deal will support the group's ambitious plans to grow their LNG portfolio to around 20 million tons of contracted volume per annum by 2030 and expand its trading business. Italian utility Edison buys LNG as well from the United States. (Katha Kalia contributed additional reporting from Bengaluru, Sahal Muhammed and Kirby Donovan edited the article)
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The US manufacturing sector gains in June
The U.S. factory output edged up slightly in June, as a decline of motor vehicle production was offset by gains elsewhere. Manufacturing remains constrained due to tariffs on imported goods. The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that manufacturing output increased by 0.1% in June after a 0.3% rise in May which was upwardly revised. The Federal Reserve said that economists polled had predicted production to remain unchanged following a 0.1% increase in May. In June, the production at factories increased by 0.8% compared to last year. The second quarter saw a growth of 2.1% on an annualized basis, after a 3.7% expansion in the quarter January-March. The aggressive tariffs of President Donald Trump, including a 50 percent duty on steel and aluminium as well as 25 percent tax on motor vehicles, continue to overshadow the manufacturing sector, which represents 10.2% in the U.S. Trump announced last week that increased duties will be in effect for imports of a variety of countries including Mexico, Japan and Canada, as well the European Union. Trump has defended these duties, saying they are necessary to revive the U.S. industry base that had been in decline for a long time. However, economists have said this cannot be achieved within a short amount of time. They cite high production costs and labor costs among other challenges. The output of motor vehicles and parts fell 2.6% in June after a 4.6% increase in May. The production of miscellaneous transport equipment and aerospace rose by 1.6%, while primary metals output increased by 3.1%. Production of durable goods was unchanged. The nondurable manufacturing production rose by 0.3%. This was boosted by an increase of 2.9% in the production petroleum and coal products. The mining output dropped by 0.3% in August after a 0.1% increase the previous month. Utilities production increased by 2.8%, as the heatwave across the country drove up demand for air conditioners. This followed a drop of 2.5% in May. After being flat for two months in a row, the overall industrial production increased by 0.3%. On a yearly basis, industrial output increased by 0.7%. The second quarter saw a slowdown from the 4.3% growth rate of the first. The capacity utilization rate for the industrial sector has increased from 77.5% to 77.6% in May. This is 2.0 percentage points lower than the average for 1972-2024. The manufacturing sector's operating rate increased to 76.9% in June from 76.8 percent in May. This is 1.3% below the long-term average. Lucia Mutikani, Lucia Mutikani and Mark Porter (Reporting)
The Canadian oil sands became one of the lowest-cost plays in North America
The use of giant shovels, driverless vehicles and a robot that looks like a dog have helped Canada's Oil Sands companies, including Imperial Oil and Suncor, become some North America's low-cost oil producers. This has been achieved despite the fact that U.S. Shale costs rose due to the highest inflation rates in decades. Canada's oil sands sector is in a strong position as the global oil market enters a downward spiral due to economic uncertainty caused by U.S. Tariffs and OPEC+ pumping out more barrels. International oil majors such as BP, Chevron, and Total sold their oil sands interests after the 2014-15 oil price crash. The Canadian operations were viewed as one of their most expensive and, therefore, less profitable projects around the world. They allocated their capital towards cheaper oil production and preferred U.S. shales for their quicker drilling times and higher returns.
According to industry insiders, and an analysis of recent U.S. company earnings and Canadian company earnings, since then, new technologies and cost-cutting initiatives have led to meaningful improvements in the industry's competiveness, making oil sands one of the cheapest producers. U.S. oil companies have responded to the drop in oil prices by reducing rigs and capital expenditures as well as laying off employees. However, Canadian oil sands companies, due to their position of strength, have not made any changes to production or investment plans. As part of an effort to boost the Canadian economy, some politicians have called for a new pipeline to transport crude oil from Alberta to Pacific coast.
Cenovus CEO Jon McKenzie stated in an earlier interview that the lower crude oil prices have had little impact on Canada's oil sector. He said that the industry has grown more resilient over time. Two four-legged robots, each named Spot due to their canine-like appearance, prowl Imperial’s 45-year old Cold Lake facility in Alberta. They perform routine equipment inspections and maintainence such as heat exchanger optimizing and oil/water interface monitoring. Spots allow Imperial to save CDN$30 ($22) million a year and free up workers for other tasks. Exxon's Imperial and Suncor, a competitor of Imperial, have both switched to autonomous vehicles to transport ore from oil sands. Imperial said that the switch had increased oil production productivity at its Kearl oil-sands mine in Alberta by 20% since 2023. Suncor's Fort Hills operation, north of Fort McMurray in Alberta, operates a truck weighing 900 tonnes, which is, according to the company, the largest hydraulic mining shovel in the world. Suncor CEO Rich Kruger stated that the shovel’s larger bucket and stronger digging force result in faster ore loading, and less spillage.
Oil sands companies have also improved equipment reliability and performance. Imperial, for instance, has cut costs associated with turnarounds - an industry term for costly maintenance periods that require temporary shutdown of production - by CDN$100m annually at Kearl since 2021. The company aims to increase the interval between turnarounds to 48 months. Suncor attributes efforts such as standardizing maintenance across mines, and improving site water management to get more output out of existing assets to its US$7 reduction per barrel in the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), break-even price by 2024. The company now expects to achieve this at $42.90. According to Bank of Montreal, Canada's five largest oil sands firms can achieve break-even and maintain dividends at WTI prices of between $43.10-$40.85.
This means that oil sands companies have reduced their costs by about $10 per barrel over the past seven years. According to BMO, oil sands averaged $51.80/bbl from 2017 to 2019.
A recent Dallas Federal Reserve study of more than 100 oil and gas firms in Texas, New Mexico, and Louisiana found, on the other hand, that shale producers require an average WTI oil price per barrel of $65 to drill profitably. In 2017-2019 the break-even price for U.S. oil shale producers was between $50 and $52 a barrel.
High Start-up Costs but Long Lifespan
The nature of the extraction is a major reason why the oil sands sector has become so competitive. In some places, the process of extracting the oily sands in Alberta is more like mining than oil drilling.
Companies operate huge mines to remove huge quantities of sand, clay, and oil from the area where the oil is close to the surface. Steam is used to loosen deposits underground and then a drilling method is used when the oil deposit is deep. Oil sands mining has high initial costs, but can be operated for many decades at very low rates of production decline. Canadian Natural Resources had, by the year 2024, proved and probable reserves of 20.1 billion barrels equivalent oil in its portfolio. This gave its oil sands upgrading and mining assets a lifespan of 43 more years. The Horizon oil sands mining operation has been in production since 2009.
Shale oil, on the other hand, has low startup costs. The oil production from these wells begins to decrease within a few months. After years of drilling, the top shale field has been exhausted. Drillers have moved onto secondary areas and are drilling more wells in order to get the same amount of output. This has pushed up prices.
Canadian oil sands firms have also reduced their debt over the last five years. This has allowed them to redirect profits from improving balance sheets towards dividends and share buybacks.
Bank of Montreal reports that oil sands companies Canadian Natural Resources (CNR), Suncor, Cenovus Imperial Oil, MEG Energy and Cenovus have a combined net debt of C$33.9billion, excluding any lease obligations, after they paid down almost C$22billion in debts between 2021-2024.
Kevin Burkett, Portfolio Manager at Vancouver-based Burkett Asset Management, says that Canadian oil sands producers offer increasing returns for investors looking to profit from the energy sector.
Burkett, whose portfolio includes Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus, said that Canada's oil-sands are "not geopolitically dangerous" and have "some very attractive characteristics in terms of productivity and cost."
(source: Reuters)