Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning European Union financial contributions to the International Fund for Ireland (2007-2010)’

COM(2010) 12 — 2010/0004 (COD)

2011/C 18/21

Rapporteur-general: Mr SMYTH

On 19 February 2010 the Council of the European Union and on 18 February 2010, the European Parliament, decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 304 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), on the

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning European Union financial contributions to the International Fund for Ireland (2007-2010)

COM(2010) 12 — 2010/0004 (COD).

On 16 February 2010 the Committee Bureau instructed the Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion to prepare the Committee’s work on the subject.

Given the urgent nature of the work, the European Economic and Social Committee appointed Mr Smyth as rapporteur-general at its 462nd plenary session, held on 28 and 29 April 2010 (meeting of 29 April 2010), and adopted the following opinion by 103 votes to 1 with 3 abstentions.

1.   Conclusions

1.1   The EESC notes that the Commission’s proposal for a Regulation governing the European Union’s contributions to the International Fund for Ireland (period 2007 to 2010) has been now based on Articles 175 and 352(1) of the TFEU, thus complying with the decision of the European Court of Justice of 3 September 2009 in case C-166/07.

1.2   The EESC approves the aforementioned proposal.

2.   Reasons and recommendations

2.1   The International Fund for Ireland (hereafter IFI) was set up in 1986 by the UK and Irish Governments with a view to ‘promote social and economic advance and to encourage reconciliation between nationalists and unionists on the island of Ireland’. The European Union has been one of the main donors, alongside the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, of the EUR 849 million that has supported over 5 700 projects in Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland for over 20 years.

2.2   The EESC has, in its own-initiative opinion The role of the EU in the Northern Ireland peace process  (1), underlined the importance of the IFI and supports rapidly rectifying the legal basis upon which the EU’s financial contributions to the IFI are governed for the period 2007-2010 in the light of ECJ court case C-166/07.

(1)  OJ C 100 of the 30.4.2009, p. 100, point 6.4.8.