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Attends General Affairs Council and holds a number of bilateral meetings with Member States due to assume the EU Presidency in the near future

Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Public Procurement, Open Government and eGovernment, Patrick O’Donovan T.D., attended the General Affairs Council (Cohesion Policy) in Brussels today. The EU Cohesion Policy Budget for 2014 – 2020 is €352bn, or one third of the total EU Budget. The meeting, attended by Ministers from the 28 EU Member States, progressed planning for Cohesion Policy post-2020. This is at a time when there is expected to be considerable downward pressures on the overall EU budget from a range of challenges, including the departure of the UK from the EU. The Minister briefed the Council on the Irish position on Cohesion Policy post 2020.

The Minister held a bilateral meeting with the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister, Tomislav Donchev, in anticipation of their Presidency of the EU Council, which will take place from January to June of 2018. He was briefed by the Deputy Prime Minister on Bulgaria’s priorities for the Presidency. They also discussed a number of the challenges facing the EU, including the possible impact on Cohesion Policy due to Brexit, migration and border security. Minister O’Donovan took the opportunity to brief the Deputy Prime Minister on Ireland’s position on EU Cohesion Policy post 2020, and he stressed the need for simplification of the EU regulations and the need to leverage synergies across the various Funds to maximise their economic impact.

Minister O’Donovan held a further bilateral meeting with the Romanian Minister for European Funds, Mr Marius Nica. Romania will assume the Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019, a time of considerable change in the EU, including the date for Brexit, which is expected to take place in March of that year, and the EU Parliamentary elections in April. The two Ministers discussed planning for the Romanian Presidency and Cohesion Policy post-2020.

Speaking after the meeting, the Minister said: ‘At one third of the EU Budget, Cohesion Policy is an important tool to stimulate economic growth, promote social cohesion and to reduce disparities between the regions of the EU. It is also a concrete demonstration of European solidarity, ensuring that the benefits of increased economic activity are equally shared by all EU Citizens.’ Commenting on the bilateral meetings with Bulgaria and Romania he stated “I also took the opportunity to hold meetings with senior government Ministers from two Member States who will assume responsibility for the Presidency of the EU Council at crucial times in the coming eighteen months: Bulgaria, who hold the EU Presidency for the first six months of 2018 and Romania, who will hold the EU Presidency in 2019, at a time when Brexit is anticipated to take place. Both bilateral meetings were very productive, discussing the challenges facing the EU in the coming years, the priorities for the respective Presidencies and generally continuing to foster and build upon the strong working relationship which Ireland enjoys with both Bulgaria and Romania.”