Thomas Byrne, Ireland's minister for EU affairs and defence presenting the budget proposal at a press conference in Brussels. Photo credits: European Union

A negotiation game plan by the Irish presidency of the Council of the EU foresees a 9.6% cut to the budget of the next Horizon Europe, a €16.8 billion drop from the €175 billion the European Commission proposed in July 2025.

The Irish plan introduces an 11% cut to the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), a new programme that is meant to fund industrial innovation and strategic autonomy, and a 4% cut to Erasmus+, the EU’s academic exchange programme. The Euratom nuclear research programme could also see a 10.6% cut. 

The figures, presented here in current prices, will serve as a basis for upcoming trilateral negotiations between the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament on the next multiannual budget of the EU. 

The European Parliament has already hit out at the Council’s budget proposal and threatened to vote against it. 

Horizon Europe rapporteurs Christian Ehler from the European People’s Party and René Repasi from the Socialists & Democrats said in a joint statement released on October 10 that the consent of an absolute majority in Parliament is needed for an agreement on the next EU budget. “Every vote will count to get to this majority and cutting [Horizon Europe] will cost votes,” the two MEPs said. 

It’s not the first time the Council has proposed a cut to the next multiannual budget of the EU. Earlier this year, the Cypriot presidency of the Council presented budget figures that saw Horizon Europe and the ECF hit with a 4% cut relative to proposals from the Commission. 

The Irish presidency cuts go much further but the German government has said that the figures presented on October 10 are still not a good basis for a negotiation. In a statement published on October 10, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said “the EU budget must be affordable for those who bear the brunt of financing it.”

Germany has the backing of a group of rich member states that are also net payers into the EU budget. These countries call for a smaller EU budget that acknowledges national fiscal woes. In the opposite camp, 17 member states led by Italy and Romania are in favour of a bigger EU budget that prioritises funding for cohesion and agriculture. 

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Lost growth

MEPs argue that the cuts proposed by the Irish presidency will diminish the EU’s ability to leverage investments in research and innovation to boost economic growth and productivity. At least in theory, European leaders know the EU needs to close the innovation gap with the US and China but they are not willing to put their money where their mouth is. “The diagnosis is settled. What is missing is the will to pay for the cure,” said Ehler and Repasi in their joint statement. 

They have both reiterated the call to secure at least €200 billion in current prices for Horizon Europe. Otherwise, they say Europe will fall behind in crucial technological and scientific races in fields such as quantum, artificial intelligence, advanced materials, biotech and photonics. 

“All of these are not only about competitiveness and improving the lives of our people, but about our safety and security. At the same time, industrial strength, the ability to produce clean energy, to develop the medicines of tomorrow, to secure our own supply chains — none of this happens without sustained public investment in research,” they said.

It’s unclear how the EU will find the money needed to get Horizon Europe up to the €200 billion demanded by MEPs and the research and innovation sector. 

The Parliament’s chief budget negotiator Siegfried Mureșan has already warned that the push for €200 billion programme is at risk unless member states agree to let the EU raise its own taxes. “We think that generating new European resources will be essential for us being able to adopt a budget that is sufficient for research and innovation,” he told a conference organised by EU research lobbies in Brussels on September 9.

This table shows how the Irish negotiation box compares with the Commission proposal in current prices and in 2025 prices