In BrusselsReport.eu, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI), as part of the EPICENTER network, argued that the EU’s 2028–2034 budget could be cut to around €1.54 trillion while directing more resources towards competitiveness. LFMI expert Edas Matulaitis argued that new priorities such as competitiveness, security and defence do not automatically require a larger budget, and that the real question is which tasks genuinely need EU-level action. Drawing on EPICENTER’s alternative model, which keeps the core budget close to the historical benchmark of around 1% of GNI and comes to roughly €223 billion less than the Commission’s €1.763 trillion proposal, the article also calls for dropping the proposed Corporate Resource for Europe (CORE), rejecting a contribution based on tobacco excise revenues, and assessing other new revenue sources against their impact on competitiveness.