Austrian Chancellor Kurz urges EU to shrink its executive branch to 18 members

The European Union should cut management costs and shrink its executive branch, the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday as Vienna prepares to take over the rotating presidency of the bloc next month. Austria is one country that has opposed a bigger EU budget. The EU wants agreement on a 2021-2027 spending package before European parliament elections next May. Brussels should set “a good example and cut administrative costs,” Kurz said. He suggested that the EU’s executive Commission should be cut from 28 to 18 members, “based on a fair rotation principle,” to make the body more effective.