Germany and five fiscally hawkish EU members said the European Commission’s seven‑year €2tn budget proposal must be cut by several hundred billion euros to reflect ongoing fiscal consolidation. Chancellor MERZ met in Berlin with leaders of the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Finland and Sweden to coordinate positions and urged “balanced reductions” to the Commission’s plan, which still requires member‑state approval. EU leaders are aiming to finalise the 2028–34 budget by year‑end.

SoftBank is negotiating to acquire a majority stake in humanoid-robot developer 1X Technologies at an about $6 billion valuation, people familiar with the matter told The Information. 1X, backed by OpenAI, develops soft-bodied consumer robots for household chores; the investment would advance SoftBank’s robotics push and fund consumer roll-out. The 12-year-old start-up sought to raise $1 billion at a $10 billion valuation last autumn but reportedly secured less than half that target. OpenAI and 1X reportedly discussed a possible acquisition last year but talks collapsed.

Canada’s Prime Minister Carney will travel to Strasbourg on Sept. 16 (local time) to attend European Commission President Von der Leyen’s State of the European Union address and formally address the European Parliament.