Agence Europe published Ireland’s position paper on the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework.
In this document dated the month of June, Ireland made maintaining the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Common Fisheries Policy as autonomous programmes within the budget its main priority. The leaked draft national and regional partnership plans (see EUROPE 13680/1) revealed that the European Commission has no intention of going down this route.
Competitiveness, developing the EU’s security and defence capabilities, support for Ukraine, maintaining humanitarian aid, strengthening the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation and sustainable transition will be the priorities defended by Ireland during the budget negotiations.
Ireland stands out by pointing out that competitiveness will not be achieved without “a skilled and agile workforce” and the defence of “social equity”. For this reason, the Member State called on the EU to “continue to support the Union’s Skills Agenda” with dedicated funding for social programmes (combating poverty, professional integration of disadvantaged groups, etc.).
On the structure of the budget. Ireland supports the European Commission’s ambition to change the structure of the EU budget and the cross-cutting principles of simplification, flexibility and performance-based funding (the ‘cash for reform’ approach).
On the contrary, “European preference conditionality” should not be included in the design of the future Competitiveness Fund, as the EU must continue to “nurture investment relations with our international partners”, according to Ireland.
“Safeguards and appropriate ring-fencing” will be necessary to ensure that sufficient funds are allocated to particular priorities, both “within and between MFF pillars”, to counterbalance the greater flexibility of the budget.
In addition, “proportionality between milestones and targets and the level of investment” is called for as part of the reform process. In keeping with the principle of simplification, Ireland has warned that a “clear link” should be made “between the administrative burden and the size of funding allocation”.
On the amounts. Not very forthcoming on the subject of new own resources, Ireland warned that “with many competing demands on our budgets, we [the EU] must be ready to prioritise our resources”.
Ireland also considers that the GNI (gross national income) indicator remains the fairest and most effective approach to distributing national contributions to the EU budget, but says it is “willing to consider proposals for genuine new own resources” that meet the criterion of fair burden sharing.
Because the “MFF alone cannot transform Europe’s competitiveness landscape”, Ireland is encouraging the EU to promote the “development” of markets and to “encourage private investment” by using instruments such as equity, guarantees and loans.
External affairs. Of the Member States whose position papers on the MFF have been published or consulted by Agence Europe (Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Estonia), Ireland is, along with France, the only one to give a prominent place to external affairs.
All called for continued support for Ukraine, but Ireland added the need to maintain EU funding in the Middle East under the next MFF including “in support of activity in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt”, as well as to “achieve a two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
More generally, Ireland expects the MFF to maintain “the EU’s leadership in providing development and humanitarian assistance”.
To see Ireland's position paper: https://aeur.eu/f/hw6 (Original version in French by Florent Servia )