Asked by POLITICO whether this proposed cut was identical to the €400 billion in budget reductions that a German document suggested at the end of last month, Merz declined to go into detail, referring to ongoing negotiations.
Merz also lashed out at a Commission plan to increase the number of EU staffers, a move that Brussels says is necessary to deal with the increased work load caused by the current geopolitical crises.
“It is unacceptable that 2,500 new positions are now to be created for the European institutions. We will not accept that,” the chancellor said, arguing that Germany was reducing its government staff by 8 percent by 2029.
Under its presidency of the Council of the European Union, Ireland will have to put forward a new budget proposal before a summit of EU leaders in October.
Martin will face the herculean task of squaring Merz’s push for cuts with conflicting pressure from countries supporting a bigger budget, such as Italy, Spain and Poland.
The previous Cyprus Council Presidency’s 2 percent cut from the Commission’s proposal in June was deemed insufficient by Germany and its northern European allies.