Irish EU presidency to present draft budget for 2028–2034 — RMF24

The Irish presidency of the European Union will present a new proposal for the EU budget for 2028–2034 on Saturday. The document is intended as an attempt to reach a compromise among the 27 member states, although the Irish side acknowledges that its provisions will not satisfy all participants in the negotiations, RMF24 reports.

Dispute over spending

According to Ireland's Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne, the Irish presidency hopes to find a solution in which every country can see certain benefits. At the same time, member states' positions on future spending differ significantly.

A group of countries led by Germany insists on a significant reduction in the future budget — even by hundreds of billions of euros. These states seek to reduce traditional spending and direct more funds toward defence, security and competitiveness. Meanwhile, 17 countries, including Poland, oppose cuts to funding for cohesion policy and agriculture.

Poland expects to receive around €123 billion from the new budget, primarily for cohesion policy and the agricultural sector.

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New sources of revenue

A separate part of the negotiations is the search for new sources of financing for the EU budget. The Irish presidency has set three conditions for such revenue: it must be substantial, require unanimous approval by member states, and be ready for introduction as early as 2028.

Poland does not agree to the use of revenue from the ETS emissions trading system as a source of funds for the EU budget. A letter from countries supporting cohesion policy also stresses that new taxes and levies must be fair and non-regressive, meaning they should not place a greater burden on poorer states than on wealthier ones.

The Irish presidency aims to reach an agreement among EU leaders on the entire budget by the end of the year.