Seventeen EU leaders urge Irish presidency to protect farm and cohesion funding in next EU budget

Seventeen European Union leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Romanian President Nicușor Dan, have sent a letter to Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who holds the EU Council presidency, urging him to protect funding for agriculture and regional development in the next long-term EU budget. The leaders argue that the Common Agricultural Policy and Cohesion Policy must not face further cuts, despite new priorities like security and competitiveness. They also call for new revenue sources and oppose the current system of rebates. The letter was signed by leaders from Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Greece, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, and the Greek Cypriot administration.