Austria, the current president of the European Union, has urged the creation of a Europe tax to fund the 25-nation bloc.
While outlining his government's six-month programme, the Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel urged the European Commission to consider proposals for a direct financing system.
This would reduce the EU's reliance on contributions from national budgets, possibly by taxing short-term financial transactions and international air travel.
'The idea of a stronger own resources system, a self-financing system, is not popular everywhere, but it's my task as president in office to make necessary proposals even if they are unpopular,' Mr Schuessel said.
He added that José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, shared his view and urged him to incorporate the idea in a fundamental review of EU revenues and spending to be conducted in 2008.
