As the weeks wind down on getting a deal on the EU’s budget done, familiar challenges like taxes, debt repayments and national contributions have loomed over Ireland’s EU presidency but no one expected a Spanish pensioner to throw further fuel on the fire. The pressure that Ireland’s EU presidency is under has been defined by a need to get a deal on the long-term budget – the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) – agreed before the end of the year. Elections next year, namely the French presidential ballot, coupled with a weakened Friedrich Merz in Germany have set a tight timetable…

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