Seventeen EU members reject further budget cuts ahead of summit talks
Seventeen European Union countries opposed any additional reductions to the EU budget, especially regional aid and farm subsidies, in a meeting held before the summit.
At a pre-summit gathering, Greece's Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cyprus's Nikos Christodoulides joined representatives from sixteen other EU states to voice opposition to further budget cuts. Italy and Romania organized the meeting to forge a unified stance before the 27-member budget discussion later in the day. The group warned that the upcoming seven-year EU budget has already been trimmed significantly under the Irish presidency of the Council. All participants rejected any new cuts to regional assistance and agricultural payments.
Why it matters
The opposition could shape the EU's multi-year budget, affecting regional development and agricultural support across member states.
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