Brussels, 18/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) was adopted by the transport (TRAN) and industry, research and energy (ITRE) committees of the European Parliament on Tuesday 18 December by 81 votes to 8, with 5 abstentions. The MEPs fully support the European Commission's philosophy of investing €50 billion in transport, energy and telecoms infrastructure so as to reduce bottlenecks and develop cross-border sections that are often badly served. According to the Commission's proposals, this financing tool should allocate more to transport (€31.7 billion) than to the other networks (€9.1 billion and €9.2 billion), redirecting €10 billion from the Cohesion Funds in order to do this. The MEPs want to review this system, which is especially displeasing to the eastern countries that benefit from the Cohesion Funds. They planned for the examination for the redistribution of this €10 billion to be postponed until 1 January 2017. In this way, from 2014-2016, the member states will still receive a national envelope. “We have heard the concerns. We wanted fairness. If we had let it go, only western Europe would have benefitted from funding”, said Markus Pieper (EPP, Germany), the rapporteur of the opinion of the REGI (regional development) committee.
If the MEPs fully subscribe to the CEF, it is because it especially brings growth, jobs, competitiveness and European integration, said the co-rapporteur Dominique Riquet (EPP, France). Adina Valean (ALDE, Romania), also a co-rapporteur, especially sees the CEF's leverage effect - “it is the best way of using European money because it attracts private investment and multiplies public funding (up to 15 times the initial budget)”. With regard to energy, it provides for the single market to be completed, and for telecoms, it will enable the promotion of online administrative services. As regards transport, Inès Ayala Sender (S&D, Spain) explains that the MEPs highlight the intermodality and reduction of the sector's impact on climate change - by favouring rail, for example. The final budget for the CEF will depend on the agreement on the next 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework. “In the Council's initial proposals, the CEF was the adjustment variable. We must fight to defend it”, Riquet urged (our translation throughout). (MD/transl.fl)