Up to half a dozen offices providing information on the European Commission may be forced to close because of a new financial directive from the Commission.
The directive means around 270 so-called Infopoint and Carrefour offices in all EU member countries cannot be given direct grant funding.
In Ireland, each Euro Info Centre is currently given a sum of between €15,000 and €20,000 to provide information about the European Commission and its activities.
There are currently centres in Cork, Galway, Sligo, Waterford and Belfast providing information on EU legislation and policy, public tenders, EU funding programmes, market information and European projects and programmes.
Mr Peter Doyle, director of the European Commission Representation in Ireland, confirmed a new financial directive had forced the withdrawal of direct funding for the Info Centres.
However, he said it was more a "technical problem" than an issue with funding and it was hoped a resolution could be found to allow the information offices to remain open.
"We just need to get over this technicality," Mr Doyle said.
The Info Centres in Ireland are attached to other services, such as local authorities or chambers of commerce.
Mr Doyle said the centres had worked "quite well" and that the European Commission "would have preferred to have seen more of them". "The original intention is that we should have one in every county and one in every large city," he said.
However, one such centre attached to UCG recently closed because it could not survive on the funding available to it from the Commission.
Mr Doyle said: "It closed before this was annnounced. Ireland is a very high cost country even by Brussels standards."
"We will get it back on the rails but for the moment we have got to wait until we can put in some new system."
All of those running the Carrefour and Infopoint services have been contacted and the circumstances explained to them, Mr Doyle said.
"None of them are pleased and that's not a surprise. We are a civil service and if you find you are in a situation where you are in breach of a financial regulation, there is no alternative."
Mr Doyle said the fact that support had been suspended "does not mean we are cutting off all contact with them". "They have the support of this office which they use a lot."
He said he "certainly hoped" the remaining services would not be forced to close as a result of the suspension of funding. "But it depends on how long it takes to resolve this issue."
Ms Elaine Wakely, manager of the Euro Info Centre in Galway said she hoped it would be possible to keep the centre running with the support of the local business community.
"At this point, we are going to hold on and see what happens. The Commission is not known for speedy payments in general," she said.
The centre receives funding each year to cover the calendar year. However, it is typically this late in the year before the funding is received, Ms Wakely said.
"Basically, we are supported by the chamber until we can pay them [the European Commission] back." Ms Wakely said the centre had a "very steady flow" of people seeking information and had been particularly busy during the Euro changeover period.
"We are still functioning and the chamber has been very understanding."