The budget commissioner warned against hollowing out the budget in the hope that this would reduce the taxpayer burden
The budget discussions are heating up as Ireland seeks to steer EU capitals towards an agreement on the next Multiannual Financial Framework before the end of the year. As outlined by Nicoletta Ionta, Dublin has its work cut out to bridge deep divisions between EU members with different budget demands.
The European Commission is equally aware of the time imperative, with major elections coming in 2027 that could upset any hard-earned balance that has not been finalised. Piotr Serafin, the EU budget commissioner, warned that cuts to his proposed seven-year budget would limit the EU’s ability to spend on new priorities and ultimately force capitals to boost national spending.
“As the discussions on our proposal progress, we need to be mindful of the link between having a frugal budget and having a modern budget,” he said on Thursday. “The truth is that a more frugal EU budget may not necessarily be modern. Because the risk is that those new aspects of modernity will be the first ones to be chopped.”
Already Cyprus had proposed a 2% cut last month to the EU executive’s proposed €1.76 trillion proposal. Serafin warned against hollowing out the budget in the hope that this would reduce the taxpayer burden. Quite the opposite, he suggested: “Spending together is not only more effective, it is also cheaper.”
