Nothing tests a club member’s loyalty like a rise in membership fees. That is the prospect facing Ireland in the next few weeks as the European Union debates the size of its next budget. With the UK leaving the EU, and some of its newest members in varying degrees of conflict with Brussels, the tussle over the budget could hardly come at a more sensitive European moment. The EU budget and the battle for a slice of it come around every few years: the one now being debated concerns spending priorities for the years 2021 to 2027. The European Commission earlier this month published its plans for that seven-year stretch, and has purposed a budget of €1,279 billion to spend on its various programmes.

Source: The Times May 16, 2018 22:52 UTC