EU leaders want to cut nearly €160bn from the next seven-year budget, but the borrowing barely moves: joint issuance still lands near €800bn, about 44% of the total, up from 41% under the Commission p

What happened: The Irish EU presidency proposed cutting nearly €160bn from the next seven-year EU budget versus the Commission's proposal, while keeping all three of the Commission's borrowing programmes outside normal budget limits. Key numbers: Cuts of €75bn to competitiveness, Why it matters: The budget shrinks but borrowing hardly changes, and the plan is dismissed by one diplomat as "not even close to a landing zone." Frugal Six states want deep cuts and oppose new common borrowing, while sixteen Friends of Cohesion countries back an approach closer to the Commission and Parliament.

EU leaders weigh deep budget cuts as joint borrowing becomes standard practice.

EU leaders weigh deep budget cuts as joint borrowing becomes standard practice. — impact context not separately stored; see What changed.