The Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin TD has accused the Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore of jeopardising EU Budget negotiations.
It comes after IrelandÂ’s bid to secure European Parliamentary support for the European UnionÂ’s seven-year budget suffered a setback today, after a number of MEPÂ’s expressed their dissatisfaction with the package.
Mr Gilmore and the European ParliamentÂ’s chief negotiator Alain Lamassoure agreed on a joint text on the Multi-annual Financial Framework in Brussels yesterday evening.
However German MEP Reimer Boge accused Mr Gilmore of manipulation, and resigned from his position as negotiator for the European PeopleÂ’s Party in protest.
"The statement by the Irish Council Presidency of an alleged agreement on the financial framework is nothing more than a manipulation," Mr Boge said.
He added that the European ParliamentÂ’s negotiating team had decided not to continue the negotiations last night.
Micheál Martin said it's deeply worrying that the negotiations may have been unnecessarily undermined at the last moment, because of the Irish GovernmentÂ’s rush to claim a headline victory.
Deputy Martin commented, "I am already on the record having been critical of the draft EU budget on the basis that it does not do enough to provide a stimulus or tackle the crisis holding back economies and impacting quality of life across the European Union.
The current negotiations are critically important as they will establish the level of flexibility available on the spending of money and where it can be redirected in tackling the crisis."
He added, "while the Irish people are well versed in the GovernmentÂ’s inclination to over-spin even minor announcements, international negotiators are not and I hope that in this case the EUÂ’s budget will not be the latest victim of the ‘spin first, substance laterÂ’ approach of the Tánaiste and the Government."
