Montenegro and 16 Other EU Leaders Draw a Line Against Deeper Cuts to Farm and Cohesion Money in the 2028 to 2034 Budget

Luís Montenegro and the leaders of 16 other European Union countries have told the Irish presidency of the Council of the EU that farm subsidies and regional development money must not be cut any further in the bloc's next long-term budget, which will run from 2028 to 2034. In a joint letter released on Friday, the so-called "friends of cohesion" warned that deeper cuts would "weaken" the EU budget and "could put at risk public support for the European project".

The signatories are the heads of state or government of Portugal, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

What the letter asks for

"This is not the moment for Europe to reduce its ambition," the leaders write. Cohesion policy and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) "are long-standing policies, but their objectives remain as relevant as ever. They promote convergence between member states and regions, strengthen the single market and support rural areas and less developed regions."

The letter accepts that the Union faces "a changing strategic environment" and that the next budget must help it respond, but not "to the detriment of policies enshrined in the treaties". It notes that the European Commission's initial proposal already reduces both policies, and concludes that "the overall funding of cohesion policy and the CAP must be preserved in the next Multiannual Financial Framework".

New EU priorities should be paid for with "adequate additional resources", the leaders argue. They say they are ready to "work constructively on the revenue side", provided any new own resources (taxes or levies that flow directly to the EU budget) are "fair, simple and not regressive". They also suggest "limited European debt instruments, targeted at clearly identified strategic priorities", and a "more gradual repayment" of NextGenerationEU, the borrowing that financed the national recovery plans.

Finally, the 17 attack the rebates that some of the largest net contributors receive on their payments into the budget. Those corrections were meant to fix an excessive burden on certain countries, the letter says, but "the circumstances that originally justified them have changed radically".

The other side of the table

The letter is a direct answer to one sent on Tuesday by Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland and Sweden, the biggest net contributors, which called for cuts of "hundreds of billions of euros" in the next budget. Ireland, which holds the rotating Council presidency, is expected to present its "negobox", the negotiating framework for the budget, next week.

Leaders will then take up the budget at the European Council on 15 and 16 October, chaired by António Costa, the former Portuguese Prime Minister, who wants the framework agreed by the end of the year.

Why it matters in Portugal

Few countries depend more on these two policies. Cohesion money pays for a large share of public investment in Portugal, from roads and hospitals to training schemes, and CAP payments support farm incomes across the interior. The Commission's proposal merges both into single national plans and, as the letter points out, already gives them less money than in the current period.

The letter also shows where Portugal stands on the revenue question. Last month the government kept every proposed new EU tax on the table, and the call for "fair, simple and not regressive" own resources is consistent with that position.

The timing is sensitive at home too. Portugal formally declared its recovery plan complete this week, ending the period in which NextGenerationEU grants supplemented regular EU funds. From 2028, the size of the cohesion and farm envelopes will decide how much European money reaches Portuguese projects at all.