Talks resume on EU budget as CAP funds appear safe

Leaders settled in for a long night of negotiations on the €1,000bn seven-year EU budget last night, but the early signs suggested that Ireland’s share of agriculture payments was safe.

Ireland gets most of the EU funding it receives under the Common Agriculture Policy. European Parliament president, Martin Schulz, said it would not suffer any further cuts.

Simon Coveney, minister for agriculture, who accompanied Enda Kenny to the summit in Brussels last night, was upbeat about Ireland’s chances of keeping its share from CAP that makes up 45% of the EU spend.