European leaders from the “frugal” coalition of fiscally conservative countries have called for a fundamental overhaul of the EU’s common budget, to shift funding towards defence, economic competitiveness and border control, in a letter to Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

The letter from German chancellor Friedrich Merz and several other national leaders, seen by The Irish Times, said several hundred billion euros needed to be cut from a proposed €1.9 trillion budget, to secure the backing of their governments. 

The next European budget needed to be “realistic” and take greater account of member states that paid the most into the common pot, the leaders wrote. 

The September 28th letter sent to Martin was signed by Merz and the leaders of the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Finland and Sweden.

Negotiations on the size and focus of the EU’s next seven-year budget have intensified as politicians and officials push to land a deal by the end of this year. 

The Irish Government, which holds the rotating Council of the EU presidency, is drafting a compromise proposal that seeks to balance competing budget demands. 

Some EU member states want a larger budget and are seeking to protect traditional funding for Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies and regional development, while other capitals want a leaner plan which focuses on new priorities such as defence, migration, and a fund to boost Europe’s lagging economy. 

The budget hawks argue it is difficult to justify spending more at European level while national expenditure is being tightened. 

“Our six countries alone finance almost 40 per cent of all member states’ contributions. While net contributors as a whole are in the minority, they shoulder around three quarters of the total financing burden,” the letter from the leaders said. 

The frugal camp said the union’s budget should also be restructured so that more funding is put towards “common investment in security and defence, competitiveness, innovation and the fight against irregular migration”.

The next EU budget, known as the multiannual financial framework (MFF), will run from 2028 to 2034.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, had proposed an expanded €1.9 trillion package. Brussels officials laid out that early draft in the expectation that some ambition would be trimmed back by governments reluctant to increase national contributions.

In the recent letter, Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen, Dutch prime minister Rob Jetten, Austrian chancellor Christian Stocker and Finnish and Swedish prime ministers Petteri Orpo and Ulf Kristersson, along with Merz, said borrowing money as an EU bloc to fill the gap was not the answer. 

The fiscally conservative countries said the commission’s initial budget proposal was “simply not realistic”. 

The group said they accepted the next EU budget would be larger than the current €1.2 trillion one, which was agreed during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“Any such increase during a period of domestic fiscal consolidation is already a significant commitment. It shows how seriously we take the need for a stronger Europe,” Merz and the other leaders wrote. 

The Irish Government will table a compromise budget outline, known as a “negotiating box”, in the next fortnight. The debate will then be negotiated by the 27 leaders.

“The proposal to be put forward by the Irish presidency carries particular responsibility. If the Irish negotiating box is to serve as the basis for further discussions, it must set out an overall volume that can realistically be financed by those who carry the main financial burden,” the letter to Martin said. 

The correspondence was copied to António Costa, European Council president, who chairs the summits of EU leaders, where the budget showdown will ultimately play out.

https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2026/09/29/eu-budget-frugal-states-demand-hundreds-of-billions-be-cut-from-spending/

PLEASE VISIT:

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

         RABID ATHEIST.

         WELCOME TO THIS INSANE WORLD….