Bid to cut EU staff pay risks budget deal

A powerful group of EU countries is pushing to cut civil servants’ salaries by up to 60% over 10 to 15 years, threatening to totally derail Ireland’s attempts to get agreement on the €960bn budget next month.

The seven-year budget is perhaps the single biggest job Ireland has in its six-month role representing member states but failure to achieve it could leave many EU projects without funds next year.

The row is expected to ignite on Wednesday when EU leaders meet in Brussels for a summit, but many civil servants will be on strike over the proposal.