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Ireland seeks 'golden mean' for new EU budget
🇬🇷 Greece /Economy & Trade

Ireland seeks 'golden mean' for new EU budget

From Kathimerini · () Greek

Translated from Greek, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Ireland's presidency of the EU Council is tasked with bridging deep divisions among member states on the bloc's next budget (2028-2034).
  • Key disagreements involve the budget's size, new priorities, and funding methods, with some countries pushing for new own resources while others, like Germany, are cautious.
  • The Irish presidency aims to act as an "honest broker" to forge a negotiating framework by the October European Council, facing challenges in finding a mutually agreeable funding solution.

Ireland's presidency of the EU Council faces the complex challenge of navigating negotiations for the bloc's next seven-year budget (2028-2034). Deep disagreements among member states over spending levels, new priorities, and crucially, funding mechanisms, have created a difficult political landscape.

We are still in the phase of cataloging the positions of the member states.

— Thomas ByrneIrish Minister for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, describing the current stage of EU budget negotiations.

Some nations, such as France, advocate for new "own resources" to bolster the EU budget. However, net contributors like Germany remain hesitant about introducing new European taxes. Ireland's Minister for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, described his presidency's role as an "honest broker" aiming to establish a preliminary negotiating framework by the October European Council. The presidency is examining proposals from the European Commission and Parliament regarding new own resources, but is avoiding specific endorsements like a digital tax.

"We are still in the phase of cataloging the positions of the member states," Byrne stated, announcing intensive bilateral contacts with European capitals to identify areas of convergence. He acknowledged the difficulty of finding a solution that generates substantial revenue, can be implemented by 2028, and secures unanimous approval from all member states, including national parliaments where required. "We would like to find a resource that magically produces a lot of money, but we haven't found it yet," he admitted.

We would like to find a resource that magically produces a lot of money, but we haven't found it yet.

— Thomas ByrneIrish Minister for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, highlighting the difficulty in finding a new EU funding source.

Byrne also expressed caution regarding proposals for new common European borrowing, such as those put forward by Spain. He noted a lack of shifts in the positions of member states, particularly the fiscally conservative northern countries. Simultaneously, the Irish presidency is working to maintain momentum in the EU's enlargement policy. Following intergovernmental conferences with Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, and Montenegro, Byrne characterized the process as "more real than ever" for candidate countries. He expressed hope that Montenegro's accession negotiations could conclude by year-end, provided technical preparations are completed on time. For Ukraine and Moldova, the presidency aims to open all negotiating chapters by the end of next year.

more real than ever

— Thomas ByrneIrish Minister for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, describing the EU enlargement process for candidate countries.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Kathimerini in Greek. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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