High-level EU talks on draft budget
Senior European Commission experts scrutinised the main details of the spending cuts for next year to ensure it was in line with troika and EU demands to reduce the country’s deficit and ahead of the troika’s next visit to Dublin later this month.
The Government is ensuring details will not leak out this year, as it did for the past two years from Berlin, by introducing the budget on the 15th of the month — the date on which the draft would normally have to go to the European Commission.
Previously, the budget would not be finalised until late November, when the commission makes its recommendations on the budgets for all the eurozone members.
However, as Ireland is in a bailout programme, the Government was not obliged to submit the draft as the troika is still in the driving seat until the country exits the bailout in mid-December.
With the commission taking a tough line and urging the Government to make the full €3.1bn cut in 2014, the Department of Finance was anxious to get approval for cuts, tax increases, and the bottom line. EU sources said Irish officials were conducting “an informal sounding- out” with officials attached to the economics department, headed by commissioner Olli Rehn.
Last week another troika partner, the IMF, said the important issue was that a total of €5.1bn be taken out of state spending over the two years to 2015, with the bigger share coming out in 2014.
Refusing to confirm there had been individual meetings, a spokesperson for Mr Rehn said: “It is normal that there are close contacts between commission staff and national finance ministries on budgetary matters.
“The commission’s opinions will indicate whether we consider the draft budget plan would put the country on track towards meeting its budgetary targets under the Stability and Growth Pact.
“The commission opinion, published in mid-November, is intended to offer an independent and European perspective.”
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