Seventeen European Union countries, including Bulgaria, Italy, Spain and Poland, have declared themselves against cutting funds for agriculture and regional policy in the next seven-year budget. The position is set out in a letter to Irish Prime Minister Michaël Martin, whose country holds the presidency of the EU Council.
In the document, the governments insist on preserving the overall funding for cohesion policy and the Common Agricultural Policy. “We therefore believe that the overall funding for cohesion policy and the Common Agricultural Policy should be maintained in the next MFF“, says the letter, quoted by bTV Novinite.
The signatories are Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. The initiative is coordinated by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Romanian President Nikusor Dan. The two will host an informal meeting of these countries during the European Council meeting on 15 and 16 October in Brussels.
A clash for billions of euros
The European Commission proposed in July 2025 a multiannual financial framework of nearly 2 trillion euros for the period 2028-2034. According to the proposal, part of the funds for agriculture and regional development should be redirected to new priorities, including defense and competitiveness. The Commission presents the budget as more flexible and focused on investment in the regions, competitiveness and security.
The position of the 17 countries conflicts with that of another group of six countries, led by Germany. Earlier this week, they called for spending cuts of several hundred billion euros across the board, Politico reported, quoted by bTV Novinite.
The Friends of Cohesion group warns that further cuts to agriculture and cohesion policy "will only weaken the budget and risk undermining public support for the European project."
Dispute over new EU revenues
Among the controversial issues is the introduction of new pan-European tax sources, known as "own resources." The European Commission is proposing five such sources to finance the budget and repay debt under the post-pandemic recovery plan. The Commission's current explanation estimates the expected revenue at €58.5 billion per year, while the bTV publication estimates it at €66 billion per year.
In the letter, the 17 countries insist that the new revenue should be "real, fair, simple and non-regressive". They also want a deferral of payments on the debt accumulated after the COVID-19 pandemic, which is expected to amount to €25 billion per year. The countries also oppose budgetary adjustments that benefit richer countries.
The next step is for the Irish presidency to present a negotiating document, known as the "negobox". It will set the framework for talks between the leaders of the 27 EU countries. The governments aim to reach a political agreement by the end of the year, before elections in France, Poland and Italy complicate negotiations.
Sources: bTV Novinite, Politico