Talks on the EU’s next seven-year budget are intensifying, but member states and the European Parliament remain split over what to fund, how much to spend – and how to split the bill.EU leaders will hold their first formal discussion on Friday (19 June), after the Cypriot presidency tabled the first so-called “negobox”, a draft document setting out possible spending compromises.
Talks are being rushed to get ahead of next year’s election cycle and secure a deal before a possible change in the French presidency, with presidential hopeful Jordan Bardella having vowed to cut France’s EU contribution by half.
But passing the EU budget is not easy.
It requires joint approval from MEPs and EU member states, and unanimity among EU countries. A senior EU official said “it’s safe to say” that positions are still “not fully convergent.”
“No one around the table is happy,” said commissioner Piotr Serafin at the meeting in Luxembourg with ministers on Tuesday (16 June). “The [EU] Commission also isn’t happy because we felt that our proposal was the right one.”
