Stephen Cadogan: Farmers cheer as von der Leyen’s EU budget faces collapse

All EU national capitals, as well as the European Parliament, must agree on the plan before it is approved; therefore, last week's proposal must go down as a failed dry run, and a very bad start to the two-year budget process for Ursula von der Leyen. File photo: AP/Omar Havana

The rejection by close political allies of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's budget plan for 2028-2034 leaves her on a slippery slope. Farmers would be happy to see her go after she turned her back on agriculture in her wartime EU budget plan for 2028-2034.

Her own country, Germany, the EU's largest member state and biggest funding contributor, was one of the first to shoot down her commission's €2 trillion long-term budget proposal, which seems focused on tackling overseas competition and Russian aggression, but leaves the long-established Common Agriculture Policy in the lurch.