17 European Union countries stated that agricultural and regional development subsidies should not be cut in the next seven-year budget framework. Estonia is one of these countries.
They sent a letter to Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin. In the letter, they stated that agricultural and regional development subsidies should remain unchanged. The letter was also joined by Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
The budget framework will be discussed next week. This creates tensions with six countries led by Germany. Germany and other wealthier countries want to reduce the budget.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Romanian President Nicușor Dan coordinated the initiative. They are organizing an informal meeting of countries on October 15th and 16th.
The EU budget framework funds agriculture and development aid. The agreement is complicated because 27 countries are involved. The European Commission proposed a budget of two trillion euros for the years 2028–2034.
Poorer countries said that reducing agricultural and regional subsidies would weaken the budget and could alienate public support for the EU.
EU governments are trying to reach an agreement before the end of the year. This is important because elections will take place in France, Poland, and Italy.
One key issue is the introduction of new taxes. The EU Commission proposed five new taxes that would raise 66 billion euros annually. France supports the tax package, but some countries are against it.
The 17 countries said in the letter that new taxes should be fair and simple. They also want to delay the repayment of post-pandemic debts.