EU governments resist year-end deadline for next budget deal

EU governments are backing away from a goal of agreeing the bloc’s next seven-year budget by year-end, according to a draft summit statement seen by Politico, ERR reports.

European Council President António Costa had hoped leaders would reach agreement on the multiannual financial framework (MFF) at a December summit. A deal by then would settle the 2028-2034 budget before elections in France, Italy and Poland in 2027, which could complicate negotiations.

Some governments, including France and Italy, are reluctant to commit to the deadline because they fear time pressure would weaken their negotiating positions, Politico reported, citing two EU diplomats. They urged Costa’s team to remove a reference to a final agreement by year-end from the summit conclusions.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told parliament on Wednesday that Italy would not sign an agreement that was not in its interests simply to meet a deadline. She said the country would sign only when the deal was right for Italy. Possible early elections in Spain on November 29 are also seen as a potential obstacle to a year-end agreement.

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels for a two-day summit beginning Thursday. They are due to discuss an Irish budget proposal that would cut 159 billion euros from the European Commission’s preliminary plan, which totals nearly 2 trillion euros. Other topics include energy prices, enlargement, Ukraine and migration.

A revised draft of the summit conclusions, completed on Tuesday evening, calls for an agreement to be reached in a timely manner. It says a deal by year-end would allow EU funding to begin flowing as soon as the next budget takes effect in 2028. The same wording appeared in conclusions adopted at a European Council summit in June.

The draft also condemns US President Donald Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel. EU leaders are also expected to express regret over US sanctions against the International Criminal Court and pledge to work with Washington to have those measures lifted.