Ireland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, on Saturday proposed a revised European budget for 2028-2034 that cuts about €140 billion from the European Commission’s original plan.
Dublin said the proposal was designed to bridge wide divisions among the bloc’s 27 member states and would reduce spending by 8%, or €141 billion, compared with the draft presented by Brussels last year.
The revised budget aims to revive stalled talks on EU financing, which have been held up by sharply conflicting national positions.
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Germany, backed by other northern and central European countries known as the “frugal” states, is calling for cuts worth several hundred billion euros compared with the Commission’s original proposal.
France, led by President Emmanuel Macron, has instead argued for an “ambitious” budget to support what it calls genuine European policies.
At the same time, 17 southern and eastern European countries in the group known as the “Friends of Cohesion” are demanding higher spending on agriculture and regional support.
Under the Irish compromise, the main savings would come from the Global Europe development aid programme, administrative spending and a new fund dedicated to competitiveness.
By contrast, funding for the EU’s traditional policies would largely be protected compared with the Commission’s proposal, with no reduction in allocations to member states for the Common Agricultural Policy or for social and territorial cohesion.
Ireland has also proposed an additional €55 billion in “own resources” to help finance the EU budget without increasing member states’ contributions by the same amount.
As suggested by the Commission, these revenues would come in part from taxes on electronic waste and large companies.
The Irish compromise will be discussed by EU heads of state and government at a summit in Brussels next week.
Leaders of the European institutions want to secure an agreement before Christmas to avoid the negotiations being disrupted by the many elections due in 2027, including the French presidential election, where the far right is currently leading in opinion polls.
