Ahern blames Britain for EU budget setback

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday blamed the British Government for the failure to reach an EU budgetary agreement at the European Council meeting last week.

In an uncharacteristically blunt attack on Tony Blair’s government, Mr Ahern said Britain had given a ‘dishonest’ presentation in its demand for fundamental change of the Common Agricultural Policy in return for reductions in its annual rebate of €5.1 billion.

Mr Ahern said the Irish position on the CAP was diametrically opposed to the British one.

“I will not fudge on that. I agree with Mr Blair on many issues and we get on very well but I disagree with him totally on this.

“He does not accept the position that the rebate should be changed and argues that any negotiations on the rebate should be effectively funded out of totally changing the CAP.”

Mr Ahern was scathing of Mr Blair’s demands which he said went further than a modification of CAP and amounted to “a fundamental redraft of the entire budgetary position of the Union”.

He claimed that Mr Blair’s position was not so implacable a month ago.

“I do not believe it will be the position in six months’ time,” he added.

The unusual stridency of his criticism of Mr Blair underlined the bitter divisions that emerged from the meeting.

Mr Ahern said: “It is unfair to express the view, as was done in recent days, that the CAP is old-fashioned, negative for Europe or an organisation for backwoodsmen or that reforms have not taken place. I said at this weekend’s meeting that this is a dishonest way to present the issue.”

He asked why Britain had led a campaign to limit the scope of the EU budget to 1% (of member states’ income) while at the same time arguing the EU did not have enough resources.

Fine Gael Enda Kenny was also critical of the British position, describing it as “simply outrageous”.

Turning to the second big issue of the Council meeting, the crisis over the new Constitutional Treaty, Mr Ahern said he could not say when the Irish referendum to ratify it will be held.

He said a “call will be made” by all EU states during the Austrian presidency in 2006. He said the decision on timing will be contingent on how France and the Netherlands tackle the problems caused by their referendum defeats. Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the setbacks on the constitution and the budget were a “double whammy”.