Ireland's EU budget cause for 'serious concern'
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has criticized Ireland's draft proposal for the long-term EU budget, specifically citing a 17% cut to international development and foreign policy funding. Kallas warned that these cuts would undermine the EU's ability to respond to global crises and maintain security.
Why it matters
The dispute highlights internal EU tensions regarding fiscal priorities and the bloc's role in global stability amidst ongoing geopolitical conflicts.
The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has told MEPs that Ireland’s draft proposal for the long-term EU budget is a cause for "serious concern" due to the cuts it envisages to the EU’s foreign and international development budget.
In a letter seen by RTÉ News, Ms Kallas wrote that the Irish Government’s proposed 17% cut to the global Europe heading in the budget would have "major consequences" for the EU and its partner countries "in terms of resilience, security, stability, prosperity, competitiveness and migration".
Under the Irish EU Presidency, Dublin was tasked with putting forward a so-called negotiating box as a basis for talks between member states on the size and scope of the long term budget, which will run from 2028-2034.
The Government tabled its draft budget on 10 October , ahead of last week’s EU summit, where the seven-year budget was discussed by 27 leaders.
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