France proposes using Google fines to cut EU contributions

France’s Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad has proposed that €4.6 billion in fines imposed on Google be used to reduce every European Union member state’s contributions to the bloc’s budget. The proposal has not been established as agreed EU policy, and Haddad did not specify which penalties make up the figure or how it was calculated. Haddad presented the idea as a potential source of EU revenue in a Franceinfo TV interview on Tuesday, September 29. He said the proceeds should automatically lower national contributions. The reporting on the proposal traces the statement to that interview; it does not establish that EU institutions have accepted the plan. The proposal comes as governments negotiate the EU’s 2028-2034 budget. The European Commission has proposed a seven-year budget of about €2 trillion, equivalent to 1.26% of the bloc’s gross national income. Member states remain divided over the budget’s overall size and spending priorities, and summits are scheduled for October, November and December as governments seek an agreement before the end of the year. Reports put the total in EU fines imposed on Google for anticompetitive practices at €10.