The Frugal Four was the nickname of an informal cooperation among like-minded fiscally conservative European countries, including

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. It partly evolved as a successor of the New Hanseatic League that was set up to make up for the loss of the like-minded

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in the European political arena after

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

. However, it was never founded as a transnational organisation like similar cooperations of countries in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

with shared interests. Along with like-minded

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the ''Frugal Four'' advocated for EU budget rebates and tight fiscal policies in the eurozone governed by the Stability and Growth Pact, and generally advocated against a large distributive European budget and collective EU debt. They were, however, not Eurosceptic. The ''Frugal Four'' experienced widespread media coverage throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. On 3 June 2025, the alliance was disbanded with the departure of Denmark from the group to focus the nation's priorities on European defence..

Position

In an

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by Austria's former chancellor Sebastian Kurz published in the

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, he described the goals of the ''Frugal Four'' as a focus on budget contribution to the EU remaining stable, namely at a maximum of 1 per cent of the EU's

gross national income The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total amount of factor incomes earned by the residents of a country. It is equal to gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes received from ...

, as well as devoting at least 25 per cent of it to fighting

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. Furthermore, the ''Frugal Four'' wish for spending conditions that are tied to supporting the effective implementation of EU-wide policy objectives and the upholding of the rule of law. These positions came as a response to those countries within the bloc that see a need for higher contributions to the EU's budget after Brexit. The ''Frugal Four'' also disagrees with the idea of Eurobonds, a tool for joint bonds within the eurozone, as well as taking mutualised debts within the EU. As a consequence, the group stands opposed to the idea of corona bonds as well.

Frugal Four heads of government in 2025

2025 Christian Stocker (54362633314) (cropped).jpg,

Christian Stocker,
Chancellor Mette Frederiksen Kööpenhaminassa 4.5.2022 (52049397038) (cropped).jpg,

Mette Frederiksen,

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Dick Schoof EUWB Summit (cropped).jpg,

Dick Schoof,

Ulf Kristersson on 29 June 2023.jpg,

Ulf Kristersson,

COVID-19 pandemic and member change

During a summit of EU leaders on 26 March 2020, Germany and the ''Frugal Four'' rejected a joint European recovery initiative. Germany was widely considered to be as fiscally conservative as the ''Frugal Four'', hence the context in which the coalition of states was also sometimes referred to as the "Frugal Five". This changed in May 2020 the latest when Germany joined

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

's call for a €500 billion recovery fund for the EU. This new measure to tackle the pandemic and its consequences would lead to shared borrowing with other EU member countries, a position that Germany tried to avoid until that point. Later the original group's demands were supported by

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Although the ''Frugal Four'' in a non-paper vetoed any deal “leading to debt mutualisation”,Non-paper EU support for efficient and sustainable COVID-19 recovery
Retrieved 15 January 2021. they eventually accepted the joint European Next Generation EU fund on the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

in July 2020.Special European Council, 17-21 July 2020 - Main results
Retrieved 15 January 2021.

References

{{COVID-19 pandemic Bottom-up regional groups within the European Union Foreign relations of Austria Foreign relations of Denmark Foreign relations of the Netherlands Foreign relations of Sweden International organizations based in Europe Intergovernmental organizations * Political responses to the COVID-19 pandemic International responses to the COVID-19 pandemic Fiscal federalism Consequences of Brexit