European Union leaders agreed the framework of a new long-term budget after 15 hours of through-the-night negotiation, laying the ground for 960 billion euros of spending on agriculture, aid and scientific research in the years ahead. The agreement, which EU officials said would only be finalised later, strikes a tight balance between the demands of northern European countries such as Britain and the Netherlands that wanted a belt-tightening budget, and countries in the south and east such as France and Poland that wanted spending on farming subsidies and much-needed infrastructure.
“We feel pretty confident that we have the framework for a deal,” said one EU official speaking on condition of anonymity moments after leaders agreed the outlines. “The deal is not completely finalised, but we feel sure it will be done today.” Several diplomats and other senior officials from a number of EU member states confirmed the framework agreement.
The officials said around 12 billion euros would be cut from the last budget proposal, made at a summit in November when agreement eluded leaders, bringing the headline ceiling for spending down to 960 billion over the full 2014-2020 plan.
