German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, one of the key participants in the negotiations since his country contributes about a quarter of the EU’s total budget, wrote that “we are still very far from an agreement” and that the new amount “is not a basis for an agreement”. He added that the EU budget must be affordable for those who bear the main burden of financing it.
The head of the European Commission, in turn, rejected Berlin’s calls for major savings, saying they would undermine Europe-wide priorities. Germany leads a group of six “frugal” countries — Germany, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, and Austria — which account for about 40% of the EU’s total budget. In their view, Ireland’s proposal still leaves the budget too large compared with the current one.
Swedish Minister for EU Affairs Jessica Rosencrantz called the negotiating document on X “a too expensive increase”, and Austrian Minister for EU Affairs Claudia Bauer said the new draft is still very far from Austria’s “yes”. On the other hand, 17 countries of the “friends of cohesion”, that is, the EU’s southern and eastern members, oppose cuts to agriculture and regional payments, which they consider politically sensitive. In the Irish version, these items were left untouched, and the cuts were shifted to competitiveness, defense, and development aid.
Irish Minister for EU Affairs Thomas Byrne, who is leading the negotiations, called the document a balanced compromise and said it should help bridge differences between the states. Italian Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida called it an excellent starting point after the money for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was restored, but said it was still not enough, while Polish Minister for EU Affairs Ignacy Niemczycki welcomed the fact that his country still receives the largest amount of funds, although he added that changing the overall size of the budget does not match the EU’s ambitions.
The issue will go to the EU leaders at the summit next Thursday and Friday, while governments are trying to reach an agreement by the end of the year before elections in France, Italy, and Poland in 2027 complicate the talks. Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen warned that “at this pace” there will be no agreement by the end of the year.
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