In the letter, the countries requested that nearly 900 billion euros allocated to agriculture and regional development be preserved in the draft EU budget for the period 2028-2034. This move sparked tensions between these 17 countries and the opposing group of six countries led by Germany, which are calling for hundreds of billions of euros in cuts to the EU budget.
The letter stated: “We believe that the total funding for the Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must be preserved within the next Long-Term Financial Framework (MFF).” The MFF funds a wide range of EU programmes, from farmer subsidies to development aid.
In 2025, the European Commission (EC) proposed a budget of nearly €2 trillion for the period 2028-2034, while also directing hundreds of billions of euros from agriculture and cohesion policies to new priorities such as defense and competitiveness.
The group of 17 countries warned that cuts in spending on agriculture and regional development could weaken the EU budget and public support for the bloc's joint projects. To broaden fiscal space, the countries also called for a postponement of the common debt repayment in the post-Covid-19 era, an estimated €25 billion per year, and opposed budget cuts for wealthier member states.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Romanian President Nicușor Dan are jointly launching this initiative and will chair an informal meeting of the aforementioned countries on the sidelines of the next European Council summit (October 15 and 16).
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/17-nuoc-phan-doi-eu-cat-giam-ngan-sach-post874720.html
