Editors’ Choice: Ireland chases EU budget gold

According to Irish legend, at the end of every rainbow is a pot of shimmering gold.

Even though the optical phenomenon didn’t grace the skies above Cork this week as Ireland kicked off its six-month presidency of the Council of the EU with a visit from the European Commission’s leadership, there was still a pot of cash at the centre of attention.

On Dublin’s watch, the EU is racing to seal a deal on its next seven-year budget by the end of December. The fight over the spending blueprint, totalling around €2 trillion, is set to be Brussels’ hardest in years.

Ireland, which earned a reputation for some serious budget diplomacy last time it was in the presidency hot seat, is now tasked with delivering the magic again. And ideally, before key elections in France and Italy next year, which could derail the discussions.

Getting a deal by year’s end likely means a bumper European Council summit in December, Nicoletta Ionta reported this week in our Rapporteur newsletter. On the way there, the Irish presidency is expected to unveil an updated rundown of the figures in October.

Leaders could also be convened for an extraordinary meeting in November to pave the way for a deal. But not all that shimmers is gold, and good planning alone won’t be enough to loosen the tight grips on national purses.

Earlier this week, a leaked German government position outlined a €400 billion budget cut, calling it “impossible” to find a deal based on the current draft. This won’t go down easily with the cohesion-friendly countries, a loose club of 16 states advocating for a bigger cash pot. And even the EU’s budget chief, Piotr Serafin, himself urged frugal capitals to remember that a smaller budget could come at the cost of modernisation.

Ireland’s premier, Micheál Martin, was very clear about the size of the challenge that lies ahead. Sealing a deal will mean “reconciling the irreconcilable”, he said in Cork.

And it will, in no small part, be down to the diplomats of one of Europe’s smaller states – which only became net contributors to the EU budget in 2018 – to get that done.

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(vib, cm)