LONDON, April 23. /TASS/. EU leaders will discuss, among other things, the sharp rise in energy prices against the backdrop of almost complete depletion of budgetary capacity of member states during an informal summit in Cyprus, the Financial Times (FT) newspaper wrote.
Europe relies heavily on fossil fuel imports, while this crisis marks the third in the last six years for the already battered EU economy, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis of 2022, according to the publication. This means that member states have very few budgetary resources left to mitigate the impact of the current problems, the paper said.
The crisis is also complicating negotiations on the EU’s common budget for 2028-2034 scheduled for Friday, according to the newspaper. Diplomats warn that the longer the energy and economic crisis continues, the more difficult it will be to convince European capitals to contribute to the larger budget as national governments fear for the health of their own public finances.