Open Brussels-Berlin conflict: Merz rejects Ireland’s EU budget draft

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has categorically rejected the European Union’s new budget draft for 2028-2034, presented by the Irish presidency of the EU Council. The proposal envisages cuts of around 140 billion euros – roughly 8% less than the European Commission’s initial plan, which stood at around 2 trillion euros – but for Berlin this is not enough.

“The amount envisaged in the new proposal does not constitute a basis for an agreement. That is not enough. The budget must be reduced even further,” declared Merz.

The main point of contention remains the size of spending. Germany, together with the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria – countries that pay more into EU coffers than they receive from it – are calling for a more moderate budget, insisting that taxpayers not be burdened with new financial burdens.

The disagreement also extends to the reallocation of funds. The Irish draft aims to implement cuts precisely in the sectors Germany seeks to strengthen: competitiveness, scientific research and defense. At the same time, the structure of funds for agriculture, regional development, migration and internal security would remain almost unchanged – a scheme that does not suit the German chancellor at all.

Merz emphasizes that the European budget needs a deep overhaul and a shift of funds toward the continent’s essential priorities, such as competitiveness, science and defense.

“The EU budget must be affordable for those who bear the main burden of funding. Modernizing the European budget is a shared task of all member states alike.”

The European Parliament has also expressed its rejection of the draft, but from a standpoint completely opposite to that of the net-payer countries.

According to Parliament’s negotiators, an 8% cut would leave the Union without the necessary tools to respond to the challenges of the future, precisely at a time when increased investments in security, defense and the economy are needed.

Negotiation files resume at the meeting of heads of state and government in Brussels. Whether a solution will be found by the end of the year remains an open question, given the opposing positions among member countries and the unstable political situations in several Union states.