EU budget talks stall as member states clash over funding priorities
European affairs ministers met in Brussels and left the next seven-year EU budget negotiations deadlocked, with a final deal still expected only by December.
European affairs ministers gathered in Brussels for another session on the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework, but negotiations remain mired in a stalemate that could push a final agreement to December. The Commission’s €2 trillion proposal, unveiled in July 2025, seeks more money for competitiveness, security and defence while trimming agriculture and regional aid, prompting a split among member states. The 17-nation “Friends of Cohesion” defend traditional funding, whereas Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and Denmark - the “modernisers” - demand several hundred billion euros in cuts and prioritize defence.
Ireland, currently chairing the talks, will deliver a compromise text on own resources in October, ahead of a European Council meeting in mid-October. Both European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa stress the need for new revenue sources to fund strategic sectors, while the European Parliament pushes for a 10 % budget increase and wants Recovery Plan loans kept outside the regular budget.
Why it matters
The outcome will shape EU spending on defence, AI and agriculture for the next seven years.
How this story developed
- Sep 3 EU ministers clash over budget cuts as frugal states demand higher ambition
- Sep 4 EU leaders will hear Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech, where climate policy is expected to feature after a scorching summer.
- Sep 6 Von der Leyen will address climate issues in her September 16 State of the Union speech.
- Sep 7 Trump’s latest comments added a new criticism of Spain’s immigration handling since his earlier “ruined country” statement.
- Sep 7 EU officials and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are preparing a new partnership that would deepen cooperation in commerce, security, space research and critical minerals. Ursula von der Leyen is expected to announce the initiative in her upcoming European Parliament speech, with a summit slated for Canada in October. The talks aim to create a tightly linked alliance that can balance the influence of the United States and China. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has urged the formation of new alliances to counter perceived threats, without directly naming Canada as a US state.
- Sep 12 The German chancellor’s meeting brought frugal leaders together and featured Draghi’s call for higher borrowing, adding a new dimension to the budget dispute.
- Sep 13 Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to Strasbourg to speak to the European Parliament after the commission president’s address.
- Sep 14 In response to the July 30 surge of about 80,000 irregular migrants into Ceuta, the European Commission is preparing stricter migration measures that could be unveiled in the upcoming State of the Union address.
- Sep 14 Ursula von der Leyen delivered her State of the Union speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, outlining the bloc’s priorities for the coming year.
- Sep 16 The speech is expected to address AI, climate change, summer wildfires, Russia's war in Ukraine, Middle‑East conflicts, international trade tensions, and online child protection, and she will present a draft law to limit
- Sep 16 Czarnek’s proposal to withdraw Poland from the EU ETS was filed in the Sejm.
- Sep 17 Ursula von der Leyen invited Canada to become the EU’s first associate member.
- Sep 18 Negotiations remain deadlocked as frugal states and cohesion allies continue to clash over budget priorities.
- Sep 20 The Commission is now expected to bring the emergency asylum suspension idea to the State of Union address.
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