Ms Jane-Ann McKenna:

We do acknowledge that there are financial pressures for Europe and that there is a number of issues that require considerable funding. However, it is not just that the funding cuts are happening in isolation and that the funding has to come from somewhere. We would argue that those furthest behind should not be affected. That should be the last pot of money to be looked at. However, it is coupled with a clear agenda and this is what we really fear. It was clear from the leaked document from the director general of the international partnerships that the EU’s international co-operation instrument will be used to advance geopolitical, and primarily foreign policy, objectives. That is what we really fear. One fear is the direct impact that these cuts will have but it is also that we are seeing this agenda play out in real time. That is why we are saying that it is not only important to see that these cuts do not affect those who are most behind, those in the least developed countries and fragile states, but that we need to ask where this train is taking us in terms of the agenda being set, where Ireland is within that and how we can push against that and ensure that our foreign policy values are reflected in the EU’s international co-operation budget.