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A € 5 billion Brexit compensation fund that Ireland hoped would cushion the economic blow of Britain’s exit from the European Union is the subject of fierce rivalry between member states and France sees much of the marijuana as compensation for its fishermen.
The Brexit Adjustment Reserve was agreed to in a landmark EU budget deal this summer to help countries hardest hit by Brexit, and given that Ireland’s growth forecast will be the worst hit in the bloc, the government hoped to get most of it. But as the negotiations enter their final stretch, it has become clear that fishing communities in various member states are likely to lose out whether a deal is reached or not, leading to fierce competition over how the 5,000 will be divided. millions of euros.
“Certain member states started to see this whole fund as a kind of fish compensation fund,” said an EU diplomat. “Almost exclusively for fish, and almost exclusively for France.”
With French President Emmanuel Macron preparing for a reelection campaign against far-right eurosceptic rival Marine Le Pen, the prospect of French fishing communities losing access to their traditional lands has become politically sensitive, leading to Paris. to make an offer for much of the cash to soften the Brexit blow.
As the commission prepares to come up with proposals on how the fund should be divided and what criteria should be used to calculate the impact of Brexit, member states have exerted strong pressure to tilt the calculation in their favor.
“Many countries are looking at that fund,” said a senior EU Commission official. “France is looking to tap into the fund. It will be a lively debate between the member states and the commission ”.
Opposite the background
Several countries oppose the fund being used for political reasons, to help President Macron quell the domestic rollback of a commitment on fisheries.
“This instrument is obviously in order to have some type of compensation for the most affected countries and the best way to do it is concrete data,” said a second diplomat.
The details of any eventual deal will influence how the fund will be divided, because the economic pain is likely to fall unevenly across different member states and industries, depending on the tradeoffs involved. If no agreement can be reached, the impact is expected to be more severe across the board.
Ireland has been pushing alongside Belgium and Denmark for blanket rules on how money can be used, to allow the government to use it to support sectors of the economy, including agri-food, retail, industry and Fishing.
The countries geographically closest to Britain and with the strongest trade links are forecast to be the hardest hit overall, with Ireland expected to be hit the hardest followed by the Netherlands and Belgium.
Coastal states
When it comes to fishing, the coastal states of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden are at risk of losing access to stocks they previously fished, depending on the outcome of the talks.
The commission official described Ireland’s claim on the Brexit fund as “muscular,” while diplomats agree that whatever the measure, Ireland likely has ample evidence that it deserves a generous slice. But strong competition runs the risk of reducing participation.
“The French take it into account and the bottom is not that big,” said a third EU diplomat.
The announcement of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve was key to Ireland’s support for the € 1.8 trillion EU budget and the recovery fund deal this summer, to which Ireland is a net contributor. The overall package has yet to receive final approval, due to a last minute veto by Hungary and Poland that has sparked intense negotiations to break out of the stalemate.
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