IRELAND HAS PROPOSED €141 billion in cuts to the EU’s next long-term budget, falling short of demands from some member states. 

It comes as Ireland holds the EU’s rotating presidency, which will last until 31 December. 

Ireland has suggested cutting the bloc’s next proposed budget by €140 billion in an effort to overcome divisions and secure an agreement by the end of the year.

Speaking on the publication of the proposal, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the EU budget has “been the focus of significant engagements since we assumed our Presidency and has allowed us to hear and understand deeply the priorities and concerns of all Member States”. 

“I am confident that the proposal we put forward today is one which will act as a catalyst to move negotiations forward, and ensure that we have a timely agreement,” he added. 

 Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne described the proposal as a compromise that was ”intended to bridge the many differences between Member States”. 

Ireland said its new draft, based on 2025 prices, foresaw an overall cut on the earlier proposal of €141 billion, or 8% overall.

However, the proposal falls short of proposals from some EU countries, which called for cuts amounting to several hundred billion euro.

The European Commission’s initially proposed cuts of €1.7 trillion over the 2028-2034 period.

Germany has been spearheading calls for deep cuts to an earlier proposal of nearly two trillion euros by Brussels.

Austria, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands are also calling for cuts of several hundred billion euros.

Meanwhile, France, the second-biggest European economy and a net contributor to the budget, argues the continent needs sufficient means to match the rising challenges the 27-country bloc faces.

Leaders from the 27-nation bloc will meet in Brussels next week to discuss the plan as they seek to reach an agreement on the 2028-2034 budget by Christmas.

“I certainly hope that there will be a deal by Christmas,” Byrne said.

“Nobody’s going to get everything that they wanted in any proposal, but we think that there is something there for all the member states.”

However, concerns were expressed, with Sweden’s Europe minister Jessica Rosencrantz stating that “the overall volume must come down significantly” and noting the figures suggested are “wildly unaffordable”.

“A huge let-down for Irish farmers”

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) called the proposed budget “a huge let-down for Irish farmers”.

IFA president Francie Gorman has criticised the proposal, warning that a 22% cut to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget could result in a 24% reduction in payments to farmers.

The Irish Presidency’s revised proposal allocates €293 billion to the CAP, compared with the €500 billion Gorman says is needed to support farm resilience, food security and sustainability.

He described the proposal as a “huge let-down” for farmers and raised further concerns over plans to reduce the minimum payment per hectare from €130 to €90.

“Farmers will feel that the EU is turning its back on farming and that the Irish Government is not delivering for them,” he said. 

EU farming organisations are due to meet in Stockholm next week to discuss a response.

With additional reporting by AFP