Six EU countries demand that the bloc’s long-term budget be cut by hundreds of billions of euros — media
Kyiv • UNN
Germany and five other EU countries are demanding a substantial cut to the 2028–2034 budget. They also want to change spending priorities.
The leaders of six "frugal" states — net contributors to the EU budget — have sent a letter to Ireland, which holds the EU presidency, increasing pressure to reduce the overall size of the future compromise proposal. Euronews reports, UNN writes.
Details
The letter, dated September 28 and obtained by the publication, was another attempt by the frugal camp to cut the EU’s next long-term budget — the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Negotiations have entered a decisive stage, with the parties expecting to reach an agreement by the end of the year.
We are entering a decisive phase of the negotiations, during which we must determine the overall size of the MFF and decide which areas need to be financed as a priority
It was signed by German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker, and Prime Ministers Mette Frederiksen (Denmark), Rob Jetten (the Netherlands), Petteri Orpo (Finland), and Ulf Kristersson (Sweden).
The letter is addressed to Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, whose country currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union. Dublin is expected to present a new compromise draft text in the coming days ahead of the European Council summit on October 15–16.
In June, the Cypriot presidency proposed cutting the European Commission’s draft MFF for 2028–2034 by 2%, whose overall size amounts to almost €2 trillion. The six countries deemed this reduction insufficient to support it.
The frugal countries are also seeking to change the structure of budget spending. They want to redirect funds from traditional areas, such as cohesion policy and agriculture, to "modern" priorities.
The letter reiterates the message voiced by the six leaders in Berlin on August 27, when they called for cuts of "hundreds of billions of euros" without agreeing on an exact amount.
They also criticized the European Commission’s plan to increase staffing levels in EU institutions as "out of touch with the times," at a time when most government bodies are cutting staff numbers. Most member states share this view.