By Saim Saeed | Updated on Jun 11, 2026 at 05:36 PM
European Union leaders are set to discuss a smaller long-term budget when they meet next week, as richer countries balk at footing the bill for most of the bloc’s enlarged spending plan.
More than €30 billion ($34.6 billion) in cuts, or 2% of the proposed budget, were made, mostly to the EU’s humanitarian aid and development programs and to the so-called European Competitiveness Fund, which includes research, defense and infrastructure programs. Small cuts were also made to EU’s agriculture and fisheries program.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, proposed the seven-year, €2 trillion ($2.3 trillion) budget last year, arguing that the war in Ukraine and Europe’s urgent need to boost its industries against global competitors called for ambitious spending.
But richer countries, which contribute more to the budget than they receive in EU funds, panned the proposal, and have called for lower spending.
Read more: Richer European Countries Question Multi-Trillion Budget Talks
Cyprus, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency and made the changes, hopes the amendments will advance the discussions, which leaders look to conclude by the end of the year.
“We believe this is a balanced text that reflects the position of all member states,” said Marilena Raouna, the Cypriot deputy minister for European affairs, as she presented the amended plan. Raouna said she wanted the plan would form the basis of renewed negotiations over the coming months.
But the changes are unlikely to placate the bloc given the division between richer countries like the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden, and those that depend on EU largesse to fund agricultural and development initiatives.
Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen immediately criticized the amended numbers, calling them “unaffordable, unbalanced, and with the wrong focus.” He added that “the overall volume remains far too high at a time when fiscal space is limited across Europe and difficult choices are unavoidable.”
EU leaders will meet in Brussels next week to discuss the amended spending plan.