EU budget talks are at risk due to the election defeat suffered by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party, The Financial Times reported, noting that the chancellor’s authority in the EU has been "shaken."

A source told the newspaper that Merz "has big problems, and this obviously has an impact" on what EU leaders can agree on. The bloc also faces a choice between "a very weak German chancellor or a completely new German chancellor," with "no good option" in either case.