The European Parliament voted yesterday to approve a complex formula allowing the £240 million peace and reconciliation fund for Northern Ireland to be fully financed.
By 428 votes to seven, MEPs supported the proposal to fund some of the Northern Ireland package with money originally allocated to other projects but unspent. This decision effectively removes a threat by the parliament's budget committee two weeks ago to cut £80 million from the fund.
The budget committee's move was made in protest at the refusal of the Council of Ministers to increase the overall budget to fund three of the parliament's pet projects - the Northern Ireland fund, trans European transport and communications projects and research and development.