Germany Faces Modest Cuts in EU Budget Talks

The rotating EU Council presidency of Cyprus presented a compromise on the long‑term EU budget for 2028‑2034, proposing a modest overall reduction of about two percent – roughly €32.8 billion – from the Commission's €1.76 trillion draft. The cuts would mainly affect the internal market (€20 billion) and foreign‑policy spending (€7.5 billion), while funds for agriculture, regional development and the EU’s competitiveness and defence programmes would be largely preserved.

Germany, the EU’s biggest net contributor, rejected the original Commission proposal and insists on protecting defence and competitiveness funds. Dutch finance minister Eelco Heinen described the Cypriot draft as “unacceptable” and financially unviable. Negotiations are set to continue ahead of a summit of EU heads of state in Brussels later this week.