The key facts

  • In the summer, the European Commission presented a draft budget for 2028–2034 worth nearly 2 trillion euros
  • Ireland proposed cutting it by 140 billion euros, Germany demands significant reductions
  • France proposes new Europe-wide levies on digital services, crypto assets and online gambling

The parties failed to reach agreement

The European Union summit ended without an agreement on the budget. According to DW, citing the AFP agency, heated debates took place at the meeting. In the summer, the European Commission presented a draft budget for 2028–2034 worth nearly 2 trillion euros. Ireland, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council, proposed cutting it by 140 billion euros — primarily through spending on competitiveness development, scientific research, defense and foreign policy.

Positions of the austerity advocates and France

The camp of austerity advocates, besides Germany, includes Austria, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, even before the negotiations began, called for substantially cutting the budget proposed by the European Commission and spoke out against additional funds for agriculture and the policy of reducing economic and social disparities between regions. France, on the contrary, proposes increasing the budget without raising member states' contributions — through the introduction of new Europe-wide levies, including on digital services, crypto assets and online gambling.

The timeline for agreement remains in question

Many EU countries want the budget approved by the end of 2026. They are concerned that after the 2027 elections, political forces skeptical of European integration may come to power in a number of countries, which would complicate reaching an agreement. However, Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker did not rule out that the negotiations could drag on into next year.