European Parliament lead negotiator defends Gilmore’s role in EU budget talks

The European Parliament’s lead negotiator on the EU budget talks has said the parliament’s delegation was not in a position to accept the outcome of Wednesday’s budget discussions, but that he and Eamon Gilmore had reached agreement on a package.

In his first statement on the issue since the controversy on the EU budget erupted, MEP Alain Lamassoure strongly defended Eamon Gilmore’s handling of the EU budget negotiations.

A number of MEPs have criticised Ireland’s handling of the talks, accusing the presidency of prematurely claiming that agreement had been reached.

“When, during the negotiations, I realised that he went as far as he could go within his mandate, I proposed to end the negotiation, based on the text that we had reached,” Alain Lamassoure said yesterday. “The delegation of parliament was not in a position to accept the outcome, given the differences expressed by representatives of different political groups in parliament.”

The Irish presidency of the European Council has been representing member states in negotiations with the European Parliament on the seven-year budget, and had hoped to reach agreement on the budget before the end of the presidency.

Agreement on the terms of the budget is required to unlock almost €1 trillion of funds.

'Manipulation'
A number of MEPs expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of Wednesday night's talks, with German MEP Reimer Boge resigning his position as negotiator for the European People's Party in protest. "The statement by the Irish council presidency of an alleged agreement on the financial framework is nothing more than a manipulation," the centre-right MEP said.

However, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has strongly defended his role in the talks, emphasising that his role was to secure agreement with the parliament’s lead negotiator.

Agreed text
Mr Lamassoure said he would now present the agreed text to the parliament and would "personally defend it". "The representatives from the different political groups can then express their views in a way that allows the political leadership in parliament to give a response to the Irish presidency," he said.

Mr Gilmore had taken “political risks within the frame of a very tight negotiating mandate”, Mr Lamassoure said.

Mr Gilmore will present the agreed package to member states on Tuesday in Luxembourg, while MEPs will vote on the package at their plenary session in Strasbourg in less than two weeks.

Negotiations with MEPs on the EU’s budget for the years 2014 and 2020 have been ongoing since February.