With the bloc racing to strike a deal on its budget before elections next year in France, Spain and Italy that risk turning the chance of agreement from difficult to nye-on impossible, the next four months are critical for the EU’s stability, Costa’s legacy and whether leaders like Merz and Stocker can prove to their voters that Brussels isn’t wasting their money.
The leaders meeting in Berlin don’t just want the size of the budget to shrink by hundreds of billions of euros, they also want shift the way it is spent away from areas such as agriculture toward defense and security. And they want to impose conditions to stop governments getting cash if they breach democratic standards.
The discussion is unlikely to result in the publication of any precise numbers but instead produce a united front for the negotiations to come, three people familiar with the preparations said. Ireland, which is shepherding the budget process as part of its role at the helm of the six-month presidency of the Council of the EU, is to put forward fresh compromise numbers in October ahead of a summit of EU leaders later in the month.
“The general priorities of the [budget] proposal are worthy of support and in line with Finland’s objectives,” Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in a statement. “However, the overall level of the proposed framework is too high.”
Some countries, such as Spain, believe the Commission shouldn’t reduce the size of the proposed budget and are resisting moves to direct expenditure away from agriculture.
Getting closer?
Costa, who has already visited Bratislava, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius, believes governments aren’t as far apart as their public statements suggest, according to a senior EU official familiar with the negotiations, who like others mentioned this article were granted anonymity because the talks are at such a sensitive stage.
While leaders are defending domestic red lines they do all seem to be committed to reaching a deal by the end of the year, the official said.