France Seeks to Harness Google Fines for EU Budget Relief
France is pushing for European Union fines against Google to be used as revenue to reduce national contributions to the EU budget. The proposal, made by Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad, aims to treat Google's penalties as EU revenue and use it to lower national payments into the common budget.
The proposal comes as governments negotiate the bloc's next seven-year financial framework, with negotiations intensifying over the 2028-34 Multiannual Financial Framework. The European Commission has proposed expenditure of almost €2 trillion for this period.
Haddad referred to about €4.6 billion in revenue associated with Google penalties and interest. France is seeking to ensure that these proceeds are reflected directly in the sums demanded from national budgets.
Google has accumulated substantial EU penalties through both competition law and the Digital Markets Act, including a recent fine of €890 million under the DMA in July.