Cyprus, the current holder of the presidency of the Council of the EU, has tabled a proposal for the bloc’s upcoming long-term budget cycle, marking the next chapter of the toughest fight in Brussels for years.
The Cypriot proposal on Thursday stands at € 1,73 trillion in payments appropriations. It foresees a cut of around 2% – a €32.8 billion reduction – in comparison to the European Commission’s €1.76 trillion proposal for the 2028-2034 spending cycle from last July.
Cuts largely target competitiveness and the EU’s external action cash pots, with around €28 billion or 3.9% each.
While the ‘Fund’, which merges traditional policies such as agriculture and cohesion policy, is set for only minor cuts.
The Cypriot plan is a win for the “Friends of Cohesion” alliance, largely southern and eastern net recipient member countries, but also Spain and Italy, which have pushed to shield the agriculture and regional development funding from cuts.
