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BRUSSELS (AP) \u2014 The European Union needs a new budget that would allow it to respond to crises like Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine<\/a> or climate change<\/a>, fund railways and energy grids, and protect farmers\u2019 livelihoods, the EU chief said Wednesday while unveiling her proposal totaling 2 trillion euros ($2.3 trillion).<\/p>\n European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen<\/a>, who heads the EU\u2019s executive branch, said that under her budget plan, spending on defense and space would increase five-fold, while investment in migration and border management would triple.<\/p>\n The proposal kicks off two years of wrangling between the 27 member states which fund most of the budget and the European Parliament. The spending package \u2014 which runs from 2028 to 2034 \u2014 is seen as a statement about Europe\u2019s ambitions in the world.<\/p>\n Von der Leyen described her plan for the budget \u2013 known as the Multiannual Financial Framework \u2013 as \u201cthe most ambitious ever proposed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is more strategic, more flexible, more transparent, and we are investing more in our capacity to respond and more in our independence,\u201d she told reporters in Brussels.<\/p>\n But in an early sign of the troubles ahead, von der Leyen conceded that even within her own team of policy commissioners \u2014 which worked through the night to finalize the proposal \u2013 \u201cnot everyone was satisfied with the amount.\u201d<\/p>\n EU lawmakers who will chaperone the commission\u2019s proposal through parliament over the next year and 2027, and who were briefed on it, said that the budget math doesn’t “add up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHowever you try to package this, what we have is a real-terms investment and spending freeze,\u201d they said in a statement. \u201cIt is the status quo, which the Commission has always insisted is not an option.\u201d<\/p>\n Part of the numbers confusion is due to von der Leyen’s insistence that national contributions to the budget will not increase. Extra funds would be found through \u201ca step change\u201d in the way the commission raises its own money, she said.<\/p>\n The EU as a bloc is not allowed to levy its own taxes, but it does earn revenue from things like customs duties and value added tax. The plan now is to get money through the carbon emissions trading system and a new tobacco duty, among other measures.<\/p>\n At the same time, the EU must also pay off billions of euros in debt incurred by measures introduced to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to help revive economies after the pandemic<\/a>.<\/p>\n As for security, von der Leyen said 100 billion euros ($116 billion) should be set aside to help Ukraine rebuild from the ravages of the war, now in its fourth year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are suggesting 100 billion euros … to support recovery, resilience, and of course their path to the EU membership,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Outside the commission headquarters, as von der Leyen\u2019s team debated the plan, around 200 farmers gathered and threw boots at the building.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody is talking about security for Europe. Everybody is talking about a stronger Europe. Well ,let me tell you, you can\u2019t get stronger with an empty stomach,\u201d said Lode Ceyssens, head of the Belgian farmers trade union Boerenbond.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Associated Press journalist Sylvain Plazy in Brussels contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n