Germany will take a frugal position in negotiations on the EU’s long-term budget plan in a bid to limit spending from 2021, according to a document seen by POLITICO.

The plans reveal Berlin will back spending no higher than 1 percent of the EU27’s gross national income over the upcoming seven-year period — significantly below the amount proposed by the European Commission.

That aligns with the position of countries including the Netherlands and Sweden, which are advocating for a smaller budget after the United Kingdom leaves the bloc.

Brexit is a major factor in Berlin’s position, according to the document, which was presented to the Finnish presidency of the Council of the EU to prepare for upcoming negotiations between EU leaders.

“We will conduct the MFF negotiations on the basis of 1% of the EU27 GNI,” the German government wrote. “Losing the UK as one of the largest net contributors to the MFF means that even with this limit, contributions of the remaining Member States will increase significantly.”

“The circumstances of the negotiations are really difficult” — Michael Roth, German minister of state for Europe

Germany has not said publicly what level of spending it planned to support.

“The circumstances of the negotiations are really difficult,” Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth said in July. Germany’s share of EU budget contributions “will rise tremendously ... But we are ready to take more, also financial, responsibility for the success of the European Union,” he said, while noting their position would remain “realistic.”

The 1 percent figure would see significant reduction from the Commission’s budget blueprint — a move that, if enacted, would worsen the political fight over how to split spending between programs ranging from regional funds to agriculture to research, as well as raising questions over how new objectives such as a “European Green Deal” would be financed.

The Commission’s plan would spend €1.135 billion in commitments — equivalent to 1.11 percent of the EU27’s GNI, while the European Parliament has advocated for a budget of 1.3 percent.

Equivalent spending for the last budget period stood at 1.03 percent of GNI across all 28 EU countries. It is estimated that if the EU budget remains at that level, the growth of the German economy combined with the U.K.’s departure could see Berlin on the hook to pay around €10 billion more each year than at present.

A spokesperson for the German Permanent Representation to the EU declined to comment, stating that “as a matter of principle we don’t comment on alleged leaks.”

In the document — Germany’s response to a series of questions posed by the Finnish presidency to every country to help it broker a deal later this fall — Berlin also made the case for safeguarding money flowing to poorer German regions.

“Cohesion funding for German regions needs to be balanced and in line with the general principle that changes should not be disproportionate, which is unfortunately not the case in the Commission's current proposal, in particular for the German transition regions in the Eastern Länder,” the government told the Finnish presidency. Officials are concerned that under the current plan, those regions would lose out as struggling southern economies see a boost in allocations.

Germany also made clear it does not want budget rebates to disappear after the U.K. leaves the bloc. It is one of a handful of countries alongside Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark that also benefits from a reduction in contributions.

“The German net contribution will drastically deteriorate in the next MFF, mainly due to Brexit, changes in our GNI share, and the reduction in our cohesion envelope,” the government wrote, indicating it expects to become an even larger net contributor beyond 2021.

“This is only acceptable if fair burden sharing is guaranteed. For this, permanent corrections for excessive contributions are indispensable,” the government wrote.

“The climate target should amount to at least 25% with an effective methodology for tracking climate spending" — German government document

The Commission and countries such as France without a rebate argue these corrections should be phased out once the U.K. departs.

However, Berlin noted it does not see any need for the creation of new financial resources for the EU budget — known as own resources — which the Commission argues would reduce the amount that countries need to contribute.

The document also shows climate-related spending targets are important for Berlin.

“The climate target should amount to at least 25% with an effective methodology for tracking climate spending; the MFF as a whole should contribute to the implementation of the Paris Agreement effectively,” the government wrote.

For the Horizon Europe research program, this target should be at least 35 percent, and within external aid funding, “40% of its overall financial envelope should contribute to climate objectives,” the government wrote.

Under the Common Agricultural Policy, the climate target should be at least 40 percent and “effective guardrails at EU-level should be introduced ... e.g. minimum quota for eco-schemes,” Germany said.