Seventeen EU States Urge Preservation of Agriculture and Cohesion Funding in Next Multiannual Budget

A coalition of 17 EU governments—led by Italy, Spain and Poland—has issued a joint letter to Irish President Micheál Martin warning against cuts to agriculture and regional cohesion payouts in the forthcoming seven‑year Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The signatories, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and others, argue that reducing the €900 billion earmarked for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and cohesion policy would weaken public support for the EU. The letter comes amid a rival camp of six countries, headed by Germany, pushing for multi‑hundred‑billion‑euro cuts across the board. The 17‑nation group will meet informally on the sidelines of the next European Council on Oct. 15‑16 to coordinate their stance. They also call for fair, non‑regressive own‑resource levies, a delay of post‑COVID debt repayments, and oppose wealth‑based rebates. The debate will shape the budget that the Commission proposes for 2028‑2034, a key agenda item before national elections in France, Poland and Italy.