Strasbourg, 14/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - Pat Cox, Irish President of the Liberal Group at the European Parliament, took a personal stance on Wednesday on the recommendation by the Ecofin Council which (for the very first time) used the instrument that allows for a Member State to be reprimanded for its convergence policy, by sending a recommendation to Ireland (see EUROPE of 12/13 February, page 7). Formally, the European Commission has the right to propose such a recommendation (Ed.: Article 99.4 of the Treaty gives authorisation for this.), but Mr Cox considers that, by establishing this precedent, it has made a mistake. Ireland's macro-economic policy goes neither against the Maastricht criteria nor against the Stability Pact, said Pat Cox, who admitted that the Irish budget is rather expansionist. He also stressed, however, that the measures challenged will not necessarily promote inflation. Tax cuts, for example, must be seen in the context of a social pact aimed at restricting wage demands, thus having an anti-inflationary effect. Mr Cox admitted, however, that the government of his country should have reacted in a more "relaxed" manner to this scolding. Mr Cox added that, if Ireland has, since its accession, received a large part of Community funds this is due to structural reasons (its economy is more agricultural than the Community average). Also, Ireland will no longer be qualified to receive credits from the cohesion fund after end 2002.