European affairs ministers are meeting in Brussels as discussions on the next seven year budget intensify under Ireland’s EU presidency.
Speaking as he arrived at the meeting, Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne said many member states were keen to safeguard CAP spending despite increasing pressure from net-contributor countries to shave hundreds of billions of euro off the budget.
He told reporters: “I can’t give any assurances to anybody at this time because we’re in the throes of the negotiations. Agriculture, of course, is a treaty-based policy, and all I can say is, from the bilateral meetings that I’m having, lots of member states prioritise agriculture, so there are lots of advocates coming into our meetings advocating for agriculture.
“I’m acutely conscious of all of the people and communities who are waiting on the [seven year budget negotiations] to conclude, and it’s not just farmers; it’s areas which depend on cohesion, it’s businesses as well, and universities, and indeed in our own country, the Peace Plus programme.”
The European Commission last year proposed a €1.9 trillion budget to run from 2028 to 2034.
However, so-called Frugal member states – Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria – have called for several hundred billion euro to be cut from the proposal.
Other member states are adamant that agriculture and cohesion spending should be safeguarded.
As it holds the rotating membership of the Council of the European Union, Ireland is negotiating the overall framework of the budget, including its size, its priorities and the contributions of member states.
The commission has pushed for a substantial budget given the range of responsibilities the EU has taken on, from managing migration, to defence and security, to boosting competitiveness, as well as research and erasmus programme spending.
The EU will also start repaying the post-Covid recovery loans from 2028, to the tune of between €24-€25 billion per year.
‘New Own Resources’
The Government is currently taking soundings from member states as to which new revenue streams the EU might avail of in order to offset any cuts or limitations in national contributions.
The so-called “New Own Resources” proposals from the commission include shifting levies to the EU budget which have been raised through the Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the carbon border tax.
Both schemes require heavy industries both within the EU and abroad to pay for the carbon they emit.
Other proposals include an annual contribution on corporations with a net turnover of over €100 million, monies raised from Tobacco Excise Duties and a tax on non-collected electrical and electronic waste.
These “New Own Resources” would raise €44 billion annually, according to the Commission. The European Parliament has called for new revenue streams to raise at least €60 billion annually.
Other floated ideas include taxing cryptocurrencies, a digital tax on big tech firms and a levy on gambling.
The Irish Government is engaging in intensive political and technical talks in order to forge consensus on New Own Resources. The new mechanisms risk hitting some countries harder than others as they may affect sensitive sectors, or they may pull revenue away from national coffers in favour of the EU budget.
“It’s crucial because we’re talking about member states saying they’re paying too much, and one way to bridge that gap is to have [New] Own Resources,” Minister Byrne said.
“The problem is that ‘own resources’ have to have unanimous support, and they have to obviously deliver the money. So, we’re in the throes of working out whether each of them has political support, and indeed what money they would raise.
“There’s a lot of technical work going on in our finance ministry, working in conjunction with the commission, but also on the political side we are trying to work out exactly where everybody stands and what changes could possibly be made to any of those own resource proposals that will make them palatable to member states.”
The Government is working on a draft budget proposal known as a “Negotiating Box” ahead of a summit of EU leaders in mid October.
At that point, the negotiations on the seven year budget – known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) – will go to EU leader level, and will be led by the European Council President Antonio Costa.
The Government regards securing agreement on the EU budget by the end of the Irish presidency as vital.
Far-right surge
Next year a string of national elections in France, Spain, Poland and Italy are expected to return hard-right parties to power. The far-right Rassemblement National in France, led by Marine Le Pen, has said it will halve France’s contribution to the EU budget.
The MFF also requires more than 20 pieces of legislation to be enacted in 2027 if funds are to start flowing to recipients – farmers, universities, regional communities – from 2028.
Mr Byrne downplayed the risk to the negotiations of the twin regional electoral setbacks on Sunday for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“At the end of the day, we need 27 prime ministers agreeing to this,” he said. “The magic of the negotiations that we’re trying to effect here is to make sure we have a package where everybody can win, the European Union wins, and therefore the people of Europe win.
“[Elections] are an internal matter in Germany, and it’ll be Chancellor Merz who will be negotiating on behalf of Germany, and we know their stated position.”
EU and Philippines hail ‘breakthrough’ in trade deal talks
The EU and the Philippines today welcomed a “breakthrough” in talks on a long-awaited trade deal, aiming to conclude the accord in the next few months.
It is the latest major trade move by Brussels in a push to diversify its partnerships as Europe faces challenges from the United States and China.
Brussels and Manila began negotiations for a free trade agreement in 2016 but they stalled just a year later, before resuming again in March 2024.
Now, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic and Philippine trade secretary Cristina Roque said the two parties “reached substantial agreement on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), marking a significant milestone for both sides”.
They made the joint announcement after a video call, saying it set “the deal on a clear path towards its formal conclusion in the coming months.”
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said she looked forward to visiting the Philippines in 2027 to sign the free trade agreement after speaking with President Ferdinand Marcos yesterday.
Brussels and the Philippines agreed to cut tariffs covering more than 97% of bilateral trade, which was worth €17.6 billion in goods last year and €10.3bn in services in 2024.
The EU’s most popular industrial exports to the Philippines are machinery and appliances, transport equipment, medicines and medical appliances.
And the most popular agrifood exports to the Philippines include meat products, such as pork and poultry, as well as dairy products and spirits.
“This agreement sends a clear signal that the EU is reinforcing its engagement with the Indo-Pacific,” Mr Sefcovic said.
He added that negotiations with Thailand were at the “most advanced stage” among the EU’s talks with other countries.
“We are making strides with Thailand and engaging intensively with Malaysia.”
