Ministers fail to advance EU budget talks

EU foreign Ministers yesterday failed to broker any advance on the deadlocked talks on the European Union's post-2000 budget, Agenda 2000, but there was some comfort for Ireland in a German acceptance that cohesion funding will continue.

The four "cohesion" countries, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Ireland, had opposed German suggestions that funding would not be continued to those who qualified for the single currency. Yesterday the German Minister, Mr Joschke Fischer, told a special "conclave" preparing for next weekend's Vienna summit that Bonn was lifting its objections.

But Ministers were unable to heal the more substantial rift over whether the overall budget should be allowed to rise in real terms beyond the 1999 spending figure. The Austrian presidency has tabled a paper which calls for a "stabilisation" at the 1999 level which cohesion countries say would mean substantial cuts in spending.

The Commissioner for Regional Policy, Ms Monika Wulf-Mathies, yesterday warned the stabilisation would mean cuts of 18-20 per cent in the current structural fund budget. A Commission Agriculture spokesman put the gap between the commission's farm proposals in Agenda 2000 and the presidency proposal at £4.5 billion a year and warned that the CAP reforms proposed by the Commission would simply not work.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, said he was "very concerned" at the stabilisation package, which represented a serious attack on both structural funds and the CAP. They were "simply not on", he said.

Acknowledging the difficulties involved in reaching agreement by March he said the issues were of such importance that if the deadline had to be breached "so be it".

British officials accuse the Commission of overstating its case by using figures for 1999 commitments agreed at Edinburgh in 1992 rather than actual payments, which are some £8 billion less.

Mr Andrews yesterday also reiterated his commitment to seeking a review next year of the Government's opposition to participation in Partnership for Peace. He said he hoped the issue could be dealt with by October, allowing for full debates in the Dail, the Foreign Affairs Committee, and within the political parties, his own included.

The Partnership for Peace programme consists of a series of bilateral agreements between non-NATO countries and NATO involving training and other exchanges. Fianna Fail strongly opposed participation before the last election while it had been supported by Fine Gael and Labour.

Mr Andrews refused to be drawn on his own position, arguing that it would be "improper" to prejudice the debate, but expressed concern at what he perceived as confusion on the issue.