€1,000bn EU budget talks set to resume

Ireland is battling to ensure as big a slice of EU funds as possible as EU leaders gather in Brussels to finalise a seven-year budget of close to €1,000bn.

Irish farmers, who account for about 85% of what the country receives, will also be in Brussels and will meet with Taoiseach Enda Kenny before the meeting to ensure he understands their demands.

They say Ireland should get funding worth a potential €11bn to the economy over the seven-year period. However, in real terms, the amount going to farming will decrease every year over the lifetime of the budget, but for the next few years, Ireland will continue to receive more than it pays in.

Mr Kenny is also under pressure from politicians and citizens from the Border, Midland, and Western region that are facing a halving of their receipts because the growth years of 2007-09 are being taken into account, rather than the poor years experienced since.

According to MEP Jim Higgins, the region is set to lose more than 43% of the funds they qualified for in the past. He said using data from 2007 for the basis of funding levels was illogical.

“It provides no reflection of the devastating effects the economic crisis has had on the region,” he said.

The leaders will take up where they left off in November, when they gave up on an attempt to reach agreement. The document setting out a draft agreement will be handed to their experts to study at 3pm.

An hour later, the leaders will be briefed on what the latest proposal will mean for them in terms of their national contribution to the EU’s budget, and what they can expect to receive back.

Herman Van Rompuy, who will chair the meeting and put together the latest proposal, will hope that they will accept his latest cut of about 10% off the commission’s proposal, bringing the ceiling for EU spending to around €930bn.

Van Rompuy has said there will be no further cuts than those proposed in November to research, innovation, and education. But he has insisted on a cut in real terms in the overall budget compared to that for 2007-13.

The talks are expected to last until the early hours of Friday morning and, if agreement is reached, then the Irish presidency will take over and hope to get agreement of the European Parliament. This, however, will not be easy as they need an absolute majority of MEPs to approve it. A vote is expected in April or May.