Macron urges EU budget deal by year-end as elections narrow room for agreement
Diplomats say the French president warned EU leaders that elections could make a deal harder in 2027. Leaders called for a timely agreement but set no firm deadline.
French President Emmanuel Macron urged EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, October 15, to agree the bloc’s 2028–2034 budget before the end of 2026, warning that elections across Europe would make a deal harder next year, according to diplomats cited by Reuters, POLITICO and AFP. The nearly €2 trillion plan will shape EU spending on priorities including agriculture, defence, competitiveness and migration.
Macron made the warning during a closed-door discussion. Four diplomats briefed on the conversation told POLITICO he said he would lack a political mandate to sign a deal close to France’s presidential election in April 2027. One diplomat described his view as leaving no political room for an agreement from January.
A northern European diplomat familiar with the talks told Reuters that waiting until 2027 would make agreement more difficult and could leave the EU unready for the budget’s 2028 start. An eastern European diplomat told Reuters that December was not a hard deadline, although talks should not extend far beyond the first months of 2027.
Why the EU budget timetable is contested
The seven-year budget needs unanimous approval from EU member states. Governments are divided over its size, and negotiations routinely pit countries that contribute more to the budget against those that receive more. POLITICO reported that leaders were discussing an Irish proposal to cut €159 billion, in current prices, from the European Commission’s nearly €2 trillion plan.
European Council President António Costa is pushing for a December agreement, according to POLITICO, while Reuters reported that a special summit is scheduled for late November. Some governments and EU officials consider a December deal unrealistic, POLITICO reported. It also quoted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni saying Italy would sign only when an agreement was right for the country.
After Thursday’s discussion, leaders called for a ‘timely agreement’ rather than adopting a hard year-end deadline, AFP reported. An EU official told AFP that all member states nevertheless supported reaching a deal before 2026 ends. The difference between that shared goal and a binding deadline leaves room for negotiations to continue if governments cannot bridge their differences this year.
Elections add pressure to the talks
France is due to elect a president in April and May 2027. Reuters reported that far-right leader Marine Le Pen has urged EU leaders to wait until after the French vote and pledged to cut France’s contribution to the budget. French officials pointed to elections in Poland, Slovakia, Italy, Greece and Finland as further reasons to settle the issue sooner, according to Reuters.
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Sources and context
- France's Macron warns EU leaders they need budget deal before year-end, say diplomatsReuters (republished by The Straits Times; Reuters credit at article end)
- Macron warns EU leaders they need to agree budget by end of yearPOLITICO Europe
- Macron warns urgent to strike EU budget deal before French vote runupAFP
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.