World · Europe · 1 hr ago
Ireland proposes cutting EU's 2028-2034 budget by €141 billion
Ireland, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, has proposed cutting the bloc’s budget for 2028-2034 by about €140 billion.
The new draft is 8% smaller than the earlier proposal and is based on 2025 prices.
The EU’s 27 member states are negotiating how much to spend over those seven years.
Germany and several other countries want much deeper cuts, while France says the bloc needs enough money to meet rising challenges.
European Parliament lawmakers have said Ireland’s proposed cuts go too far, and Germany’s chancellor said the draft is not a basis for agreement.
EU leaders are due to discuss the plan in Brussels this week as they seek a deal by Christmas.
Ireland says the revised budget would still be much larger than the bloc’s previous budget, worth around €1.2 trillion.
Ireland has proposed reducing the EU’s 2028-2034 budget plan by about €140 billion, with a later account specifying a €141 billion cut.
The draft is intended to help bridge divisions among member states and reach an agreement by the end of the year.
Germany and several other countries want deeper cuts, while France argues the EU needs enough funding to meet growing challenges.
European Parliament lawmakers say the proposed cuts go too far, and Germany’s chancellor said the draft is not a basis for agreement.
EU leaders are scheduled to discuss the plan in Brussels as they seek a deal by Christmas.
- Who
- Ireland, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, proposed the reduction.
- What
- A draft cuts the proposed 2028-2034 EU budget by about €140 billion; another account gives the cut as €141 billion, or 8 percent.
- When
- The proposal was reported on October 10; EU leaders were scheduled to discuss it that week.
- Where
- Brussels, where EU leaders were scheduled to meet.
- Why
- Ireland said the draft was an effort to bridge divisions and reach an agreement on the budget.
Germany and other advocates of deeper cuts
France and European Parliament lawmakers
Budget size
Germany and other advocates of deeper cuts
Germany and Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden want cuts of several hundred billion euros.
France and European Parliament lawmakers
France argues the EU needs sufficient resources to meet its rising challenges.
Ireland's draft
Germany and other advocates of deeper cuts
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the draft was not a basis for agreement.
France and European Parliament lawmakers
European Parliament lawmakers said the proposed cuts went too far and the draft could not be the starting point for an agreement.
Nobody's going to get everything that they wanted in any proposal, but we think that there is something there for all of the member states
We are still far from an agreement. The size of the new proposal is not a basis for agreement
Ireland proposed cutting the EU’s next budget plan by about €140 billion.
EU leaders were scheduled to meet in Brussels to discuss the budget plan.
EU leaders aimed to reach an agreement on the 2028-2034 budget.
- Proposed cut
- About €140 billion; the later account specifies €141 billion
- Cut in draft
- 8 percent overall, using 2025 prices
- Budget period
- 2028-2034
- Earlier EU budget
- Around €1.2 trillion
- Proposed agreement deadline
- By Christmas
Sources
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