The Irish Times view on the EU budget: major barriers to getting an agreement
Even though the commission touted a headline figure of €2 trillion, the actual amount to be allocated is just over €1.8 trillion, when Covid debt payments are factored in. This is still a considerable increase on the €1.2 trillion agreed for the EU budget in 2021, though it still only represents 1.23 per cent of EU GDP.
A sum of €300 billion was allocated for agriculture, compared to €386billion in the 2021 budget. What's more, agriculture is no longer a standalone section in the budget. Farmer organisations have vowed to resist the reforms.
The spending priorities delineated by the commission reflect the challenges facing the bloc. One is a lacklustre economic performance. There were sizeable increases in allocations for research, innovation and the digital economy. The budget also directs more to eastern member states and allows for extra defence spending.
READ MORE
To help fund this, the commission is proposing a list of new fund-raising measures, including a tax on big companies. These are sure to prove controversial. And with questions about the financing of the package as well as the direction of resources, what emerges may look very different from the initial plan.
Member states have ruled out bigger national contributions and many remain resistant to the idea of expanding common debt issuance to fund centralised spending. There are a lot of spending demands, in other words, but few easy ways to find revenue to meet them. Many member states will push for a smaller EU budget while the European Parliament will argue for more. These are the seemingly intractable problems that von der Leyen has to solve over the next two years.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
7 minutes ago
- Irish Times
William Fry hires partners from rival law firm
Leading Irish law firm William Fry has hired four senior partners from rival Eversheds Sutherland as the fallout from a failed merger of the two firms continues. Merger talks between the two firms collapsed in May, but it subsequently emerged that William Fry was bidding to recruit several senior partners from Eversheds. Sources confirmed over the bank holiday weekend that William Fry has succeeded in hiring Gerard Ryan (the head of corporate mergers and acquisitions in Eversheds Sutherland), together with Gavin O'Flaherty, Enda Newton, and Maria O'Brien. All four are senior partners in Eversheds' corporate unit and are likely to bring members of their departments with them. READ MORE In all, 10 to 15 lawyers could move to William Fry as a result, it is understood. Eversheds did not comment when contacted by The Irish Times. Sources say its corporate lawyers had strongly supported the proposed merger with William Fry. The weekend's move means that the firm has gained many of the likely benefits of the merger, but at a fraction of the cost and risk normally associated with such deals. It leaves William Fry with one of the country's biggest corporate and mergers and acquisitions practices. It also means that five of the firm's senior partners are ranked 'leading partners' by Legal 500 EMEA 2025, an international directory that grades lawyers according to jurisdiction and specialisation. So far this year, William Fry's corporate team has advised on two of the three biggest deals in the Republic in the six months to the end of June. The firm advised Irish-listed company DCC on the €1.22 billion sale of its healthcare division to HealthCo Investment Limited, a subsidiary of funds managed by Investindustrial Advisors Limited. It also worked for the Department of Finance on the completion of a €1.2 billion share buyback with AIB, which was bailed out by the State post the 2008 financial crash. Did the EU have its hands tied before striking a trade deal with the US? Listen | 23:32 William Fry is one of the State's biggest law firms and employs 500 people, including 350 legal and tax professionals. The firm was founded in 1847 and is led by managing partner Stephen Keogh. According to recent reports, nine Eversheds Sutherland partners are likely to join a new practice that Eversheds Sutherland will establish in the Republic, while about 150 of the firm's existing 290 staff were destined to do the same. London-based Eversheds Sutherland (International) put the existing Irish practice on notice that it was taking back the Eversheds name after news of the merger talks broke late last year.
Irish Times
7 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Has Ireland become too pricey for tourists? An economist and a tourism industry representative debate
David W Higgins: Ireland's hotel and restaurants prices are almost 30% higher than EU average When tourists travel there are a mix of costs. This can include flights, car rental, souvenirs and guided tours. High on the list is the cost of restaurants and hotels . It's basic. Tourists need somewhere to stay at night and eat throughout the day. The prices set for these items can decide if their trip happens or not. It's therefore disappointing to continually find that Ireland compares poorly across Europe when measuring these costs. Eurostat recently compared countries for the mix of prices on hotels and restaurants in 2024. It found that Ireland was 29.3 per cent higher than the EU average. The only country higher than us was Denmark on 47.6 per cent. There's a silver lining in being second because it means the Danes can feel rich travelling here. I once met a Dane who said coffee in Dublin was really affordable. You can imagine the raised eyebrows and blank stares from anyone who heard this. With a population of just six million, Denmark won't be enough to keep Ireland a vibrant tourist destination going forward. The years emerging from the Covid pandemic saw countries around the world rattled by supply chain disruption and an emergence of meaningful price jumps for the first time in decades. Consumer prices in Ireland are up 25 per cent across the board since 2016. READ MORE As wages have also risen here and elsewhere, we can assume this first 25 per cent move isn't an issue. It's price growth above these levels that should worry us. That's where restaurants and hotels continue to sound alarm. Prices linked to restaurants and hotels are up 39 per cent on 2016, according to Eurostat. What's worse is that this masks the underlying mix of the two parts. Inflation data is compiled with the Irish consumer in mind. In a given year, many of us spend sizeable amounts with local cafes, pubs and restaurants. Our spend on hotels is a much smaller fraction. Inflation among accommodation providers is up a seismic 77 per cent. It's manageable for locals and sometimes unnoticed because domestic travel is less frequent than our visits to restaurants. Now put yourself into the shoes of international travellers. Their mix of spending is heaviest on accommodation. It's the main plank of their trip. [ Alarm bells are sounding over falling visitor numbers. But is tourism really in crisis? Opens in new window ] The hospitality sector has admittedly faced rising input costs. All sectors have. We can give further allowance to policy changes such as higher minimum wage levels. This has notched up wages across hospitality at a pace higher than in other sectors. You can understand how restaurants, cafes and pubs have had to pass on higher costs. It's just hard to feel sympathy for hotels. But how is this possible? Surely a competitive market will attract new hotels, B&Bs and other sources of supply? The opposite has taken place. The surge in migration sent the Government scrambling for beds. Hotels were offered safe contracts which guaranteed income, instead of the precarious fluctuations they normally face from tourism. Even with International Protection Accommodation Services numbers falling, the latest data shows 7 per cent of hotel rooms are still used for this purpose. Releasing these rooms would mean a welcome easing to price pressures. It's all the more essential given the clouds that now hang over the tourism sector. The latest CSO data on international arrivals showed a 10 per cent decline in May, compared with the same month last year. Travellers from continental Europe are down 21 per cent. You might have expected travellers from America to be down, given the moves in the dollar this year. Numbers are actually up 11 per cent. But this is only cause for more alarm. As the tariff story unfolds, we may also see a turn. Americans are on course for a big inflation development of their own. Something's gotta give somewhere, because international tourists will only keep giving so much. David W Higgins is an economist Eoghan O'Mara Walsh: Nearly two-thirds of all holidaymakers rate us as 'very good' or 'good' value Now that we are in the peak summer tourism season, a question often asked is if Ireland is still a value-for-money destination? In my opinion, the answer is yes – and crucially it is not my opinion that counts. Fáilte Ireland, the State agency for tourism, carries out annual surveys with tourists as they are holidaying here. One of the key responses that is closely monitored by industry leaders is the value-for-money question. The latest available research shows Irish tourism is doing pretty well: 63 per cent of all holidaymakers report Ireland as being 'very good' or 'good' value, with a further 32 per cent rating us as 'fair' value and only 5 per cent rating us as 'poor' value. US visitors, buoyed by a relatively strong dollar were most positive; cash-strapped British and price-conscious Europeans a little less enthusiastic. The truth is that Liveline anecdotes about how expensive Ireland is as a holiday destination are often more of a domestic concern, whereas the international visitor tends to be a little more insouciant. The three primary reasons visitors come to Ireland after all are low-cost to no-cost: the friendliness of the people, the stunning scenery, and our culture and heritage. That's not to say Ireland isn't a northern European destination in terms of costs and prices. Last month, as noted above, Eurostat ranked Ireland as the second most expensive country in the EU, with prices 38 per cent higher than the average. That is bound to find its way into the pub, restaurant and hotel bills that consumers pay. There is a huge onus on tourism and hospitality businesses to continue delivering a compelling experience for visitors. If the quality of the Irish tourism product drops then we certainly will have a problem. [ Is Ireland really suffering a tourism collapse? Opens in new window ] How Irish tourism is faring this summer depends on who you talk to. National Central Statistics Office numbers indicate a double-digit tourism decline for the first half of the year, whereas industry data is less alarmist, pointing to a flat year. Consistent feedback, though, from all quarters is that escalating costs of business continue to squeeze already tight profit margins. Many of these business costs are of course State-induced and tourism chiefs are rightly pressuring Government to row back on some of these impositions. That is why industry leaders are pushing for Government to deliver on its commitment to restore the 9 per cent VAT rate for hospitality on budget day. My economics lectures may have been some time ago but even I remember that adding supply to meet demand helps moderate prices. So as well as curbing costs of business, the Government should be working to attract additional capacity into the market. Instead it seems to be doing the opposite. Tourism chiefs are mystified with the proposed draconian clampdown on short-term rental tourism properties. There is widespread agreement urban centres need more long-term rentals but the blunt way the legislation is currently designed means there is a real risk that rural and coastal Ireland will be denuded of holiday homes and self-catering properties, a staple of Irish tourism for decades. Taking so much stock out of the market is going to do nothing to support our value proposition. And why hasn't the passenger cap at Dublin Airport been lifted by this stage? It has been debated ad nauseam. More air access into the island's main gateway would lead to greater competition and better value for visitors coming to our shores. [ The Irish Times view on the Dublin airport cap: will politicians or the courts finally decide? Opens in new window ] Tourism and hospitality is the country's largest indigenous industry and biggest regional employer. There are more than a quarter of a million people employed in the sector across 20,000 businesses. Put simply, tourism matters. Minister for Tourism Peter Burke is set to unveil a new national tourism policy this autumn. Hopefully it will match the ambitions of the industry. But sustainable growth can only be enabled by pro-tourism and pro-enterprise policies. Competitiveness is all-important. Let's curb additional business costs and facilitate extra supply into the market. That will be a win for the visitor, for industry, for the exchequer and for the communities across swathes of regional Ireland where tourism is the only show in town. Eoghan O'Mara Walsh is chief executive of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation
Irish Times
33 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Dublin's planned MetroLink will be obsolete because of artificial intelligence, says Dermot Desmond
Artificial intelligence (AI) will make Dublin's planned MetroLink obsolete and the Government should abandon the €10 billion project, according to businessman Dermot Desmond . Instead, Mr Desmond has urged the Government to concentrate on the coming advantages of AI , where autonomously-driven vehicles (AVs) will cut car ownership dramatically in the decades ahead. If approved, construction of the 18.8 km mostly-underground MetroLink should begin between 2028 and 2031, with services between Swords, Dublin Airport, Dublin city centre, and on to Charlemont in south Dublin city opening in early 2035. Equipped with driverless trains running every 3 minutes during peak hours, the MetroLink is proposed to carry 20,000 passengers each hour, each way when it opens. READ MORE Dermot Desmond has said he believes MetroLink will be out of date in 10 or 15 years' time. Photograph: Cyril Byrne However, Mr Desmond is scathing of the plan, believing that public and private transportation is on the cusp globally of the biggest changes for a century or more on the back of the growth of AI. The billionaire said he had believed that the Department of Finance should veto the MetroLink. 'I think it will be useless, out of date in 10 or 15 years' time. This is something that is not going to be required, it shouldn't be planned.' AI and autonomous vehicles will cut the numbers of vehicles on the roads dramatically, he predicted: 'I think you need to look at what's going to happen in the future and then plan backwards.' The billionaire investor has become increasingly interested in the subject of AI, sponsoring a conference in Belfast last month with Queen's University, which heard from major speakers from the United States and elsewhere. 'Where the change that's going to make a big difference to everybody in the world, not alone Ireland. I think that change is going to come out of transport,' Mr Desmond declared then. 'Within 15 to 25 years, I think it will be mandated that there will be autonomous vehicles. People will not be allowed to drive anything,' he said, adding that AI is already cutting travel times and saving energy. 'Public transport systems in the future will become much more efficient. Buses will know what and where the demand is and will organise themselves accordingly,' said Mr Desmond, who urged the Government to plan for wide-scale AV bus services. The changes to come will overturn every conception held today about transport in cities, with faster journeys, less pollution and far less demand for parking because there will be fewer private vehicles, replaced by robotaxis. Most cars today lie idle for 80 per cent of their lives. 'The most optimistic case for Dublin is a reduction of 98% in vehicle numbers,' he said, though he put most realistic reduction between 20% and 60%. 'AV cars will require less space on roads as they will be better able to travel efficiently if the margin for human error is removed,' he said, 'We already live in a world where our phones anticipate when we will leave for work and tell us how long it will take. '
