The authorities of six European Union (EU) countries have issued an ultimatum on the EU’s new long-term budget, the Financial Times (FT) reports, citing their joint statement.

“German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and five other EU leaders have threatened to withhold agreement on the bloc’s next seven-year budget unless ‘hundreds of billions’ of euros in spending cuts are secured,” the FT states.

According to its information, in addition to Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, and Finland have made similar demands. They want to direct resources to military industry and innovative companies, reducing funding for the agricultural sector and the EU’s relatively poor regions. The authorities of these countries explain this by the new economic and security challenges.

EU countries must agree on the final version of the budget for 2028-2034 by the end of the year. Its draft is due to be submitted in fall by Ireland, which holds the rotating EU presidency in the second half of 2026.

The respective talks are getting complicated by major disagreements between EU members over the amount of spending and the targeted distribution of shared funds.

The EU budget sets out the bloc’s spending over a seven-year period. Its approval requires the agreement of all member states and the passing by the European Parliament, after which national authorities need time to prepare the law and programs for the new phase in 2028.