The Irish Presidency of the Council is moving forward with a cut of approximately €159 billion, or 8%, from the Commission’s initial proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2034, as set forth in the new “negotiating box” circulated today among member states and made public.
The cut is approximately four times that of the Cypriot “negobox” presented by the Cypriot Presidency last June, which reduced the Commission’s proposal by approximately 2%, corresponding to €37 billion at current prices. Compared to the Cypriot text, the new proposal includes further cuts of €122 billion.
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Parliamentary elections in the West Bank are postponed
The total amount of commitments stands at €1.825 trillion at current prices, compared to €1.985 trillion in the Commission’s proposal and €1.948 trillion in the Cypriot text. In contrast to the Cypriot proposal, which distributed the burden roughly equally (about 4%) between competitiveness and external action and left the National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs) for agricultural policy and cohesion virtually untouched, the Irish text focuses the cuts on three areas: competitiveness, with cuts of €75 billion (−12.8%); “Global Europe” with cuts of €37 billion (−17.4%), and administrative expenses with cuts of €10 billion (−8.8%). The NRPPs are reduced by approximately €28 billion (3%), while the EU Facility cushion—which allowed the Commission to address unforeseen crises during the seven-year period—is eliminated.
The negotiating framework, as stated by Irish Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne, who presented the revised negotiating framework for the MFF, “is the result of intensive consultations with Member States and EU institutions over the past three months.”
He noted that “it builds on the work of the Cypriot and Danish presidencies.” As he emphasized, the Irish Presidency approached the process as an “honest broker,” seeking to bridge the differences between member states and bring the EU closer to resolving the “fiscal dilemma.” This effort to bridge the gap is taking place between the “frugal” countries—led by Germany—which are calling for cuts of hundreds of billions, and the 17 “Friends of Cohesion,” who oppose cuts to traditional EU policies.
The puzzle of how to finance the new priorities in the areas of competitiveness, research, innovation, security, and defense—without neglecting core policies and taking into account the budgetary capacities of each Member State, as Mr. Bern acknowledges—is no easy task.
“We know that a proposal at this stage of the process will never satisfy all the demands of all sides and that we still have a long way to go,” he emphasized, adding that the framework is intended to serve as “a catalyst to accelerate the process toward its completion, with the interests of European citizens in mind.”
“We hope that the negotiating framework will focus discussions on the areas where further compromises are needed,” he concluded.
Regarding own resources, the Irish Presidency did not make any significant changes to the package of five new own resources proposed by the Commission last year—which is estimated to generate €55 billion annually—but instead proposed however, technical adjustments, such as the phased implementation of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) levy for the poorest countries and an increase in the contribution from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The tax package proposed by the European Parliament—covering digital giants, online gambling, and cryptocurrencies—was rejected by the Irish presidency.
“We have made two significant changes. First, we propose increasing the call rate for the new own resource based on the CBAM from 75% to 90%. This reflects our assessment of the best way to strengthen the proposed package of measures, in line with the preferences of the member states,” said the Irish minister, noting that he had taken into account the clear concerns of many member states most affected by the ETS.
“We propose a phased implementation approach. Over the course of the seven-year cycle, this approach will address Member States’ concerns regarding the retroactive effects of the proposal,” he emphasized. “Our goal is for this adjustment to strengthen the case for an own-resource mechanism derived from the ETS that will be acceptable to all Member States,” he noted.
The text includes a clause for revising the MFF in the event of Cyprus’s reunification. To support the Turkish Cypriot community, €438 million at current prices is allocated, an amount unchanged from the Commission’s proposal.
The Permanent Representatives of the 27 member states will discuss the text tomorrow, Sunday morning, at their meeting, and will prepare the ground for the leaders’ discussion at the Summit on Thursday and Friday, October 15–16.
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Source: CNA
