The Government was well aware it would be in line to get a kicking from its European counterparts, and from all directions.<\/p>\n
While the ink was still drying on the speeches Simon Harris<\/a> and Jack Chambers<\/a> were due to deliver in the D\u00e1il on Tuesday, another set of officials were finalising a very different budget document.<\/p>\n Ireland, in its role holding the EU presidency, was preparing to propose a compromise on the size of the union\u2019s next seven-year budget. The proposal, published on Saturday, suggested chopping \u20ac141 billion off the \u20ac1.7 trillion draft on the table.<\/p>\n The reduction falls short of the belt-tightening a group of fiscally conservative governments had sought. The \u201cfrugal\u201d camp, led by Germany<\/a>, wants the proposed budget to be several hundred billion euros smaller. <\/p>\n \u201cThe numbers that have been put on the table still present a widely unaffordable increase and we are therefore nowhere near an agreement,\u201d said Jessica Rosencrantz, Sweden<\/a>\u2019s minister for European affairs. <\/p>\n For others, the compromise drafted by Irish diplomats and politicians went too far and undercut big ambitions for the EU to become a serious geopolitical player. <\/p>\n The bread and butter of the EU\u2019s shared pot \u2013 Common Agricultural Policy<\/a> (CAP) subsidies and \u201ccohesion\u201d money for infrastructure projects in poorer regions \u2013 were protected from further cuts.<\/p>\n Instead, Ireland suggested cutbacks to EU international development aid and to scale back a new \u201ccompetitiveness fund\u201d.<\/p>\n The Irish proposal, known in Brussels bureaucrat-speak as a negotiating box, is the Government\u2019s best stab at nudging the other 26 member states towards a final, messy deal. <\/p>\n [\u00a0Increasing levels of debt carried by EU institutions a concern, says top auditorOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n There\u2019s a rush to conclude the budget talks before the French presidential election next spring, on the (very possible) chance the Eurosceptic far-right leader Marine Le Pen<\/a> is swept to power.<\/p>\n Leaders have set themselves a deadline to strike an agreement by the end of this year.<\/p>\n The budget, which will run from 2028 to 2034, is put together by the European Commission<\/a>. The EU\u2019s executive body always aims high, in the knowledge its plans will be pared back by national governments.<\/p>\n The EU pot is predominantly financed through national contributions. The net contributors, who chip more in than they get out, are naturally keen to keep a check on spending. <\/p>\n The Irish proposal expectedly reduced the amount budgeted for overseas development aid and the running costs of the EU\u2019s institutions.<\/p>\n The Government also suggested trimming back the size of a bumper \u201ccompetitiveness fund\u201d. The fund will throw money behind European industry to help efforts to go green, keep pace in the tech race, channel cash into the defence sector, and fund research.<\/p>\n [\u00a0Europe is changing, but Ireland has yet to noticeOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Ironically, it is one of the few areas where the Nordic frugals, Germany and the Netherlands<\/a>, do not want to slash back. <\/p>\n A larger group, led by Italy, Spain and Poland, which includes most southern and eastern member states, made it clear they would fiercely resist reductions in CAP money or \u201ccohesion\u201d funds. <\/p>\n \u201cWe protected to the extent the member states wished, the traditional policies of the union, which are very, very important,\u201d Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne<\/a> told a press conference on Saturday. <\/p>\n The seven-year budget needs the support of all 27 EU member states to be approved. <\/p>\n