The proposal now being presented to EU member states ahead of next week's summit in Brussels totals 1,622 billion euros, compared with 1,763 billion in the proposal presented by the European Commission last summer.
"We have listened carefully to all member states. We believe there is something here for everyone," Ireland's EU Minister Thomas Byrne said at a press conference in Brussels.
In Ireland's proposal, funding for agricultural and regional support has been reduced to a total of 914 billion - 32 billion less than in the European Commission's proposal.
Funding for "competitiveness, prosperity and security" will be cut by 67 billion. Funding for, among other things, support for neighboring countries and aid will be reduced by 33 billion, while administrative costs will be cut by 9 billion.
On the revenue side, Ireland is sticking with the new EU taxes proposed by the Commission, including taxes on tobacco, large companies and electronic waste.
Sweden wants cuts
Sweden, together with Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland, has called for significantly larger cuts of "several hundred" billion euros.
EU Minister Jessica Rosencrantz (M) is not satisfied.
"Still unreasonable. Sweden will push for further cuts. The EU needs a better budget, not a bigger one," Rosencrantz wrote in a text message to TT.
Sweden is also demanding that the rebates some EU countries, including Sweden, have previously received on their budget contributions be maintained. The European Commission has proposed removing the rebates, while Ireland's proposal says only that they should be "abolished OR maintained".
At the same time, a large number of other EU countries are pushing for the budget to increase or at least remain at the level proposed by the Commission.
Requires unanimity
The EU's long-term budget will run from 2028 to 2034 and requires unanimous approval by member states. The aim is to reach an agreement by the end of this year, to avoid negotiations getting bogged down in the many election campaigns taking place in key EU countries such as France, Italy and Poland in 2027.
After Ireland's attempt, work on the budget is now being taken over by EU Council President António Costa.
Ireland's EU Minister made clear that he does not expect his compromise proposal to be the one everyone agrees on.
"This is not the end result. We still have some way to go, but this is a catalyst to get the negotiations moving," Byrne said in Brussels.
As the country holding the presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, Ireland has proposed a long-term budget of 1,622 billion euros (compared with 1,763.1 billion in the European Commission's original proposal from last summer).
The money is distributed across four main areas:
914.2 billion (946.4 in the original proposal) for "economic, social and territorial cohesion", covering everything from agricultural and regional support to migration management and repayment of the joint COVID loan.
455.6 billion (522.2 in the original proposal) for "competitiveness, prosperity and security" - which also includes defense, research and student exchanges, among other things.
156.9 billion (190 in the original proposal) for “global Europe”, including assistance and support for neighboring regions and countries on their way to joining the EU.
95.3 billion (104.4 in the original proposal) for "administration and other", such as salaries.
Source: European Commission/EU Council of Ministers.
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