France (see details) Says Google Fines Should Cut EU Countries' Budget Payments
Benjamin Haddad, France’s minister for Europe, has proposed that billions of euros in Google fines be used to reduce what member states contribute to the EU budget.
In an interview with Franceinfo, Haddad stated: "This is a new revenue source for the European Union, worth €4.6 billion, that should automatically lower the contributions of all member states."
He did not specify which penalty this figure refers to; the largest recent fine was €4.125 billion for Android, confirmed by the EU's highest court in July 2026 after an eight-year legal battle. With interest, that fine amounts to around €4.7 billion. Across almost two decades of competition cases, Brussels has now fined Google a total of €10.38 billion.
This money, under current rules, is already included in the EU’s general budget and reduces national contributions. France wants a formal guarantee of this treatment.
Member states are currently negotiating the 2028-2034 budget, with summits planned for October, November, and December to reach an agreement by year's end. They remain divided on both the budget size and its intended purposes. The Commission’s draft proposal sets the seven-year budget at approximately €2 trillion, equivalent to 1.26% of the bloc’s gross national income.
Haddad’s push comes as Google challenges the EU on another front. On Monday, the company asked an EU court to overturn orders to share search data and open Android to rival AI assistants.