The EU bloc’s debt grew 23% last year, from €601 billion in 2024 to €739 billion in 2025. Now its chief auditor, president of the European Court of Auditors Tony Murphy, told Rapporteur that Europe’s budget situation is a “pressure cooker,” with EU debt potentially rising €261 billion more by the end of 2027, reaching €1 trillion ($1.12 trillion) by that time. He emphasized that “it’s real money that has to be paid back.”

Assumedly, this is not counting the EU’s recent €90 billion ($100 billion) loan to Ukraine—and while that might be real money, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico wasn’t making news when he said that that loan is something Ukraine would “never pay back.” Hence, it will only increase the “pressure cooker” effect.