Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews has said that reports that some national governments are trying to slash the EU international cooperation draft budget by 40% are “alarming.”
Andrews said that drastic cuts would be a “betrayal of everything the EU stands for in the world” and were only following in the footsteps of the “short-sighted ideology behind President Trump’s USAID cuts, which have already had a devastating impact.”
“MEPs must consent to the EU long-term budget, and we will not be bullied. Parliament vetoed the budget agreement of national governments during the last Irish Presidency of the Council, and we must be prepared to do the same again,” Andrews said.
“The Global Europe funding supports crucial programmes vital to our values and interests. It supports accession states getting ready for EU membership, it supports fragile states around the world, funds peace and conflict prevention initiatives, funds migration agreements and crucially helps support climate adaptation,” he explained.
The Dublin MEP said, “clearly the EU needs new revenue sources to pay for the wide range of challenges facing us today and to take advantage of the opportunities of tomorrow.”
“Exploring such new revenue sources should be the focus of national governments and not cutting aid to the most vulnerable people in the world.”