European ministers meet in Dublin on Thursday (3 September) to decide which parts of the EU’s next seven‑year budget should get more funding and which should be trimmed.
Two of parliament’s three lead negotiators on the file, who will be in the room, told EUobserver they remain unconvinced by the approach of some member states in the debate so far — and accused them of talking big while wanting a smaller purse.
“In principle, there is more common ground than divisions,” Siegfried Mureşan, a Romanian MEP for the conservative European People’s Party (EPP), told EUobserver. “There is broad agreement on strengthening competitiveness and security while protecting farmers and regions.”
Read moreEU budget talks move to Dublin with frugal states and cohesion camp still locked in stalemate
Mureşan’s complaint is simple: some capitals demand higher ambition in areas they favour, yet simultaneously push for deep cuts overall. To many voters that looks like political posturing rather than honest prioritising.
“The problem lies in the huge discrepancy between the words and actions of some member states in the Council. We cannot all agree that the EU needs to do more while calling for a weaker budget,” Mureşan said.
He did not name names, but the jibe was clearly aimed at the so‑called ‘frugal countries’ — a group often led by Germany and including the Netherlands and several Nordic states — who say they want more EU spending on defence and competitiveness while reportedly seeking to trim the overall budget by what German chancellor Friedrich Merz called “hundreds of billions.” To many, this is an inconsistent stance: favour stronger security but resist the resources that make it possible.
Defence or cohesion?
On the other side are the self‑styled ‘friends of cohesion’, including Spain and Italy, who insist on protecting farm subsidies and transfers to poorer regions from any cuts.
Asked where the balance should be struck between these competing demands, Mureşan argued the budget size proposed by the Cypriot presidency in June should not be pared back further.
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