EU to Hold Talks Over EUR160 Billion Budget Cut in Belgium

MT Newswires · 2d ago
01:55 AM EDT, 10/11/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The European Union leaders are set to hold a meeting in Brussels regarding Ireland's proposed budget cut for the bloc, Bloomberg News reported on Oct. 10. The proposal, which plans to decrease the European Union's budget for the next seven years by 160 billion euros from 2 trillion euros proposed in 2025, includes Common Agricultural Policy money and cohesion fund protection for less affluent member states, among others. Ireland's Europe Minister Thomas Byrne said that the proposal paves the way for the next stage of the discussions. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, however, added that the scale of the new proposal "does not provide a basis for an agreement." The European Council President Antonio Costa is calling for a deal to be materialized by December.