EU and International Affairs Publications
In December last year European Council reached agreement on the Financial Perspectives for the EU for the years 2007 - 2013. The new Perspectives, which have since been agreed with the European Parliament, protect the interests of each Member State and allow the EU to move forward on a sound financial basis. They provide for 2862.36 billion for the years 2007-2013.
From Ireland's perspective, the overall result was excellent. We expect that over the seven years covered by the Perspectives, our receipts from the EU will amount to 214 billion while our payments will be 213 billion, leaving us with a net benefit of 21billion. We anticipate that we will become a net contributor to the EU budget near the end of the seven-year period. This gradual move to net contributor status is consistent with our deep national commitment to the EU and the very rapid economic progress that EU membership has made possible.
Following consideration of a Working Paper on Transposition and Infringements, the Inter-Departmental Coordinating Committee on European Affairs (ICCEUA) decided that a set of agreed Guidelines on Transposition should be developed.
On 1 May 2004, at a Day of Welcomes ceremony in Dublin, we welcomed 10 new Member States into the Union. Bulgaria and Romania are expected to join in 2007. The expansion of the EU to 28 Member States is a historic achievement. It closes a bleak chapter in Europe's history. It replaces a Europe divided by the Iron Curtain with a strong and united Europe working to promote growth, employment, social solidarity, environmental protection and security for all of its 460 million citizens. The accession of the 10 new Member States will over time affect how the EU goes about its business. It will be important for Ireland to build on the already very positive relations we have with these new Member States. To further this objective, the Government decided that Ireland should have resident Embassies in each of our EU partners.
Ireland's overriding priority in the coming year will be to prepare for and conduct an efficient and effective Presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2004. In the wake of the successful outcome to the referendum on the Treaty of Nice the European Union concluded negotiations with ten accession countries in December 2002. These ten countries become observer members in April 2003 and full members in May 2004. Conducting the Presidency in a European Union of twenty-five will pose both a challenge and an opportunity for Ireland.
This publication is offered as just one step in the Government's efforts to better inform the public of Ireland's policy in relation to the European Union