EU budget deadlock: Austere states demand new compromise proposal

EU leaders failed to make progress on the 2028-2034 budget on October 15, with austerity-minded northern states demanding a new compromise proposal. The talks remain deadlocked over spending levels. The six austere countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, maintain their hard line on budget cuts. They rejected the Irish Presidency's proposal of €1.825 trillion, as did the seventeen "Friends of Cohesion" states led by Romania and Italy, who want robust funding for agriculture and regions. EU President Antonio Costa must now present a new proposal before November 26. France and Poland, facing elections next year, want the deal finalized by Christmas. The cohesion group has threatened to delay NGEU loan repayments and challenge the austerity states' budget rebates from the 1980s.