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Net contributor Britain's planned departure from the EU leaves the bloc's remaining 27 members with a "very challenging" budget hole to plug, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday. Policymakers will need to find between 12 and 15 billion euros ($15-19 billion) of savings or new cash to make up for Brexit, EU Budget Commissioner Guenther Oettinger has calculated - even as the bloc faces new challenges like deepening defence cooperation, securing its borders against illegal migration or beefing up development aid.
Speaking at a Berlin press conference with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Merkel acknowledged that not all EU members share Berlin's openness to paying more into Brussels' coffers after Brexit. "The Netherlands cannot accept an increase in their...
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