Brussels, 28/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament regional development (REGI) committee has completed its negotiating mandate on the legislative package aiming to reform the cohesion policy. Indeed, on Tuesday 27 November the MEPs voted to extend the mandate of rapporteurs Costanze Krehl (S&D, Germany) and Lambert Van Nistelrooij (EPP, Netherlands) on the common arrangements of the regulation relating to the European structural funds. They had already received a first mandate to negotiate on the financial aspect of the regulation during a first vote in July.
Nevertheless, the rapporteurs let their colleagues in the REGI committee know that the interinstitutional negotiation, which had already started, is not moving quickly enough for their taste or in the direction that they recommend. They consider that the Council, in its negotiations with the Parliament on the cohesion policy for 2014-2020, is progressing slowly - even on “easy issues”. In their view, the Council is apparently more inclined towards an exchange of positions than real negotiations. The talks - nevertheless conducted at the rate of one per week - have already focused on partnership contracts and a code of conduct, without agreement at this stage. Nevertheless, the rapporteurs still intend to conclude this year the negotiations on the first block linked to programming and a strategic approach.
Although it is not related to the rapporteurs' mandate, macroeconomic conditionality - greatly disparaged by the Parliament and the regions - is very much preserved in the last proposal of the president of the Council, Herman Van Rompuy, as part of the multiannual financial framework. On this basis the member states could well agree to the suspension of commitment appropriations and payment appropriations in case of recourse to this conditionality. (MD/transl.fl)