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[Germany and Spain clash over EU's 2028-2034 long-term budget, with budget size and debt repayment becoming the focus] (1) According to a report by the Spanish newspaper El Español on the 18th, Germany and Spain clashed publicly over the EU's 2028-2034 long-term budget. The two sides had significant differences on issues such as the budget size and debt repayment arrangements after the pandemic, adding further uncertainty to the next round of EU budget negotiations. (2) German Chancellor Merz, along with the leaders of Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, and Finland, published an article on Politico, demanding that the European Commission's proposed budget of approximately 2 trillion euros be reduced by "hundreds of billions of euros," arguing that new spending should not be continuously increased and taxpayers should foot the bill. (3) The European Commission's proposed budget for 2028-2034 is approximately 2 trillion euros, equivalent to 1.26% of the EU's gross national income, a nominal increase of about 60% compared to the 2021-2027 budget. The leaders of the five countries believe that this increase is "unrealistic." (4) The five countries advocate that while reducing the overall size, more funds should be used for areas such as competitiveness, defense, security, and combating illegal immigration. (5) Spain advocates for expanding the next round of budget. Spanish Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, Quilpo, published an article on Politico proposing to increase the budget to the equivalent of 2% of the EU's gross national income to address economic and other needs. (6) The source of budget funding has become a point of contention. Quilpo proposed adjusting the repayment arrangements for the post-pandemic "recovery fund" debt, extending the repayment period for some debts, which would release approximately 70 billion euros. (7) The German business daily Handelsblatt reported that Germany, Denmark, Austria, and three other countries explicitly opposed postponing post-pandemic debt repayments and also opposed resolving budget funding issues through joint borrowing. Merz and others stated that the joint debt incurred during the pandemic has already placed a burden of nearly 170 billion euros on the next multi-year fiscal framework, so postponing the repayment of some debts cannot fundamentally solve the budget financing problem. (8) However, Politico reported that the European Commission and an increasing number of member states, including Italy, France, Portugal, and Poland, are beginning to support Spain's idea. Since the EU's multi-year fiscal framework requires the unanimous consent of all 27 member states, the differences between net contributors like Germany and countries like Spain that want to expand the budget will become one of the important factors affecting subsequent negotiations.