Negotiations over the EU budget: EPP leader Manfred Weber opposes Merz

EPP leader Manfred Weber (CSU) and the other group leaders of the center parties in the European Parliament vehemently reject a new compromise proposal in the struggle for the new long-term EU budget because they consider the cuts to be far excessive. “We would like to express our extreme dismay at the revised version of the negotiating framework,” write the leaders of the conservative EPP, the social democratic S&D, the liberal Renew and the Greens in a joint statement.

Weber is embarking on a confrontational course with Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU). He also rejects the new proposal as unacceptable. However, he considers the cuts compared to the first proposal from the EU Commission under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen to be far too small.

In the struggle for the next long-term EU budget, the current Irish EU Council Presidency presented a new compromise on Saturday. The concept envisages cutting the budget for the years 2028 to 2034 by around 159 billion euros compared to the EU Commission's original proposal. Instead of just under 1.985 trillion euros, the so-called multi-year financial framework should amount to 1.826 trillion euros.

Distribution of savings causes criticism

We regret the significant cuts in the long-term EU budget proposed by the Irish Council Presidency, says the statement published today by the above-mentioned groups. It endangers "the Union's ability to respond permanently to the challenges ahead and to assert Europe's role in an increasingly turbulent world." The proposal cannot form a basis for the European Parliament's approval of the next long-term EU budget.

The parliamentary group leaders also criticize the distribution of the savings. According to the Irish proposal, particularly large cuts are to be made in competitiveness, research, defense and foreign and development policy. This weakens Europe's competitiveness and security and reduces its global influence, warn Weber and his counterparts. The federal government also criticizes the cuts in these areas.

Net contributors are demanding significantly more cuts

Germany and other important net contributor countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria had called for the draft budget to be cut by several hundred billion euros. They belong to the group of states that ultimately pays more into the EU budget than they get out.

The EPP, which includes members of the CDU and CSU, the social democratic S&D, the liberal Renew, and the Greens together have 454 of the 720 seats in the European Parliament.

But the EU Commission also regrets the “significant reduction” in the overall volume, as a spokesman for the authority in Brussels announced. There is a risk that extensive cuts will undermine the jointly agreed key priorities, which is why we are not at all happy about it. "We need a budget that reflects Europe's ambitions and enables us to implement them."