Ireland Welcomes EU Budget Agreement

The budget was finalised following an agreement to provide €1 billion in food aid for the developing world.

The Minister said "We supported the French Presidency's compromise package, which was the subject of careful negotiation at the level of budget experts. As always, compromise has been quite difficult for all delegations, including Ireland. We have all made compromises, but I think a reasonable balance has been struck."

"Overall, I am satisfied that the budget agreed is good for Ireland and Europe. I am particularly pleased that we have agreed to provide €1 billion to farmers in the developing world who have been hardest hit by the steep rise in food prices."

For Budget 2009 financial support for the preservation and management of the Union's natural resources, including the Common Agricultural Policy, has been ensured. This means that support for direct payments and rural development has been maintained.

The EU Budget for 2009 has been agreed at €116.1 billion in payment appropriations.

The Community funding for the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) and the PEACE programme has also been maintained

While making a significant financial contribution to the EU budget, Ireland expects to remain a net beneficiary from the Budget in 2009.

The agreement was reached on Friday at an all-day meeting of Budget Council Ministers in Brussels, following negotiations with the European Parliament and the European Commission. The agreement will now return to the European Parliament, under co-deciding power, for formal endorsement and signature at its plenary meeting in Strasbourg in December.

EU leaders, at their European Council meeting last June, concluded that action was required to assist the world's poorest populations severely affected by high food prices. Following that, the European Commission proposed the new €1 billion food aid facility.

The Irish Government supported the inclusion of the new food aid facility in the budget, in line with its commitment to tackling global hunger.

In a report presented on 25 September 2008 in New York, Ireland's high-level Hunger Task Force advised the Government as to where and how Ireland can best contribute to efforts to reduce global hunger. The Minister of State for Overseas Development, Mr Peter Power, is strongly committed to bringing forward the work of the Hunger Task Force in the coming months.