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·
3w ago

EU Budget Standoff After Irish Presidency Cuts Commission Plan by €159 Billion

The compromise exposes a sharp split over whether to protect traditional farm and regional funds or to prioritise new competitiveness, defence and external spending, raising doubt that leaders can clinch a deal by year-end.

EU-Fahnen wehen vor dem Gebäude EU-Kommission in Brüssel.
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Einsparungen in dreistelliger Milliardenhöhe: Diesen Haushaltsvorschlag hat die irische EU-Ratspräsidentschaft vorgelegt. Im Vergleich zum Haushaltsentwurf der EU-Kommission mit einem Gesamtvolumen von knapp zwei Billionen Euro für die Jahre 2028 bis 2034 sieht die Regierung in Dublin Sparpotenzial in Höhe von rund 140 Milliarden Euro oder acht Prozent.

Overview

  • The Irish EU Council presidency unveiled the compromise on Saturday, trimming the European Commission’s 2028–2034 proposal from about €1.985 trillion to roughly €1.826 trillion in current prices.
  • German Chancellor Friedrich Merz immediately rejected the plan as unacceptable, and other net-payer states including the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria say the cut is far smaller than the 'several hundred billion' they sought.
  • The proposal shields direct farm payments and cohesion money while shifting the largest reductions onto new priorities such as competitiveness, research, defence and external action.
  • The presidency expects part of the higher spending to be covered by five new EU own resources — ETS auction revenue, a CBAM share, an e-waste levy, a tobacco-tax share and a levy on large firms — but agreement on those taxes and on the pace of pandemic-debt repayment remains unresolved.
  • The plan will be debated at the upcoming EU summit in Brussels and then steered by European Council President António Costa, with the European Parliament as a later hurdle, making a timely year-end agreement doubtful and keeping national contributions and future spending uncertain for citizens and regions.