EU Leaders Open Irish Presidency Talks on Budget and Trade

The College of European Commissioners met their Irish government counterparts in Cork on Friday to mark the start of Ireland's six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU. High on the agenda is the next EU budget, which the Irish presidency is tasked with finalizing before the end of the year.

Officials said negotiations would be extremely difficult and require significant concessions from all sides.

Designing a seven-year budget means reconciling the irreconcilable, officials stated. Ireland will present a revised negotiating document in October, with special focus on own resources, the EU-wide taxes meant to complement national contributions. Everybody agrees that own resources are necessary to fill the gap, yet nobody can say which ones fit best, officials added.

Irish-made alumina sales to Russia also featured in the talks. Officials said factors such as local jobs, the environment and supply chain should be taken into account before making a final decision. The Taoiseach promised to share the findings of an internal investigation with the Commission and work together to develop an approach to tackle the core issue.

Enlargement, competitiveness, security, rising trade tensions with China and the latest tariff threat from President Donald Trump were also discussed. Officials noted that restrictions on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank still lack a qualified majority to become reality.

As focus turns to the NATO summit scheduled for 7-8 July in Ankara, President Donald Trump said on Thursday it is ridiculous for the U.S. to continue its one-sided relationship with NATO. Kurt Volker, former U.S. ambassador to NATO, told reporters that Trump's constant gripe with European and Canadian allies is not always best placed.