EU research ministers were last night near to agreement on a £10 billion research and technology budget for the next five years. Ireland is expected to maintain current levels of benefits, which would provide about £200 million in European funding for R&D projects over the period of the new programme.

Last night, sources were confident agreement would be reached on the compromise proposal for the Fifth Framework Programme for Research, £2 billion less than that proposed by the European Commission and amounting to a freeze at current levels of EU spending in this area.

However, Spain and Portugal were understood to be holding out against any deal. See Technology, pages 10-12