The Irish government has managed to get agreement on a 7 year budget for the EU.
Concerns were raised that the government would not be able to successfully negotiate the plan after the European Parliament refused to sign onto a package initially agreed by Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore.
The Taoiseach, in his role as President of the European Council, welcomed the €960 billion agreement. The new package will see nearly a trillion euro in funding made available to member states to stimulate growth, with a particular emphasis on job creation and in particular youth unemployment.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz thanked those who negotiated through the night for what he described as an 'acceptable' outcome, taking time to particularly note Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore's contribution. He has now pledged to push strongly to get the budget through Parliament, but he said that won't be an easy sell:
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Schulz added that €55 billion of the current budget was left unspent, fear of that being repeated caused concern that the budget being proposed was too high.
However, he spoke strongly on the need for the €908 billion that will eventually left in the pot, promising that it would be spent in full to promote growth, counter unemployment, for investment in research, development, international cooperation and renewables.
Above, a graph showing how the EU's budget will be spent
The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Borroso, says the new agreement represents a good deal for all involved:
Eamon Gilmore responded to reporters' questions about why he appeared to prematurely announce agreement on the budget last week:
