Prodi: "Kleiner budget zal EU minder slagvaardig maken" (en)

EUOBSERVER / DUBLIN - European Commission President Romano Prodi has hit back at the six EU member states who want to see overall contributions to the budget reduced.

Speaking in Dublin at the launch of the Irish Presidency, Mr Prodi said that it would simply not be possible to achieve the goals given to the European Commission with a reduced budget.

He said these goals are in the areas of justice and home affairs, external politics and the Lisbon Agenda - the EU's self-set target of turning itself into the most dynamic economy in the world by 2010.

Mr Prodi stressed that "there is an added value of the resources spent at the European level".

His comments follow a letter sent by six of the net EU contributors to the EU budget - Austria Sweden, the Netherlands, France, the UK and Germany - asking that spending from the period starting in 2007 be capped to 1 percent of the EU's gross national income (GNI).

The Commission will reveal a preliminary outline of the financial perspectives - EU budget ceiling - for the years beyond 2007 on 25 January.

Irish Presidency to provide the mechanics

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said that directly afterwards his country would "arrange for early discussions" with member states.

Following a meeting between the European Commission and the Irish Presidency in Dublin, Mr Ahern said the Commission wants Dublin to work on the procedures, methods and timetables.

"We will undertake all the preliminary work", he said.

Talks on the next financial perspectives, from 2007-2013, are set to be extremely tough. The tone was set by the letter of the six which was published directly after the failed negotiations on the EU Constitution last month.

Many fear that both issues may become bitterly entangled - particularly as Germany, itself the biggest contributor to the EU budget, has publicly linked the two questions.