Brussels, 20/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 20 December, the Cypriot Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers briefed the Transport Council on the latest developments relating to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Despite the unknown factor relating to the amount that will be allocated to the CEF (which depends on the results of European Council discussions on the multiannual financial framework), questions relating to the financial regulation should be settled. Nonetheless, compulsory lending for projects, the much talked-about project bonds, is expected to be the subject of discussion. The same is also true for priority infrastructure in telecommunications.
European Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas bemoaned the fact that the amount proposed by the Council for CEF has been cut by 22%. He also slammed the imbalanced way in which cuts have been prescribed. He said such a situation is counter-productive and incompatible with the European objectives of competitiveness and growth, adding that they must work together if they want to have an ambitious budget. Italy, for its part, wanted talks under way to confirm the share of the budget reserved for transport - a stance taken by Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti.
Kallas invited member states to resort to the project bond system and to provide information on the potential use of such bonds. He also stressed that there should not be discontinuity between the pilot phase and the establishment of the instrument, arguing that investors need time and predictability for working with such instruments. Italy shared his enthusiasm on this. (MD/transl.jl)