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Ireland, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, suggested Saturday cutting the bloc’s next proposed budget by €140 billion ($155 billion), according to a new draft aimed at helping member states reach a deal.
EU countries have been wrangling over the size of the next budget, with Germany leading calls to scale back an earlier European Commission proposal of nearly €2 trillion.
Leaders from the 27-member bloc will meet in Brussels next week to discuss the plan as they seek to reach an agreement on the 2028-2034 budget before the end of the year.
Europe remains deeply divided over the spending plan.
Germany is leading a group that includes Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden, which want cuts of several hundred billion euros.
France, the EU’s second-largest economy and a net contributor to the budget, argues that the bloc needs sufficient funding to respond to rising challenges.
The EU wants to seal the budget deal by Christmas, fearing that delays could push talks into an election year marked by concerns over potential eurosceptic gains in France and elsewhere.
The new Irish draft, based on 2025 prices, recommends the deepest cuts in international aid, reducing that area by 17%.
The most sensitive sectors, including agriculture and regional development funds, would be least affected, with reductions of only 3%.
Proposed spending to bolster Europe’s economic competitiveness would be cut by about 13%.
The envelope for EU administration would be reduced by 12%.
Despite the proposed cuts, the new budget would still far exceed the EU’s previous long-term budget, which was worth around €1.2 trillion.
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