EU leaders meeting in Brussels have agreed to produce a preliminary deal on the €2 trillion EU long-term budget for 2028–2034 by October, according to a draft statement published on Friday.
In a gathering on Thursday and Friday, the bloc entered a sensitive phase of the negotiations, trying to reach a common understanding on expenditure and revenues to fund the priorities of the next seven years.
There is a delicate balancing act to be struck among EU member states. While a group of net payers led by Germany and The Netherlands pushing to slash the bloc's total spend, southern and eastern European member states are concerned that funding for sectors such as agriculture will be sacrificed in favour of more defence spending.
In a press conference on Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa called on the bloc to reach an agreement, particularly on the financing aspect, by the end of the year.
The budget was proposed by the European Commission in July 2025. EU leaders have now asked the incoming Irish presidency, which will chair the discussions among member states from 1 July, to propose a new negotiating text in October, an EU official said – referring to a document covering expenditure and revenues, known as "own resources".
