Brussels, 03/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - Although macro-economic conditions are undeniably to blame for the failure of the trilogue meeting on reform of cohesion policy on Wednesday 2 October, the views of the Council and Parliament clearly moved closer together on three other sensitive subjects.
The European Commissioner for Regional Development, Johannes Hahn, was in a position to announce to the press on Thursday 3 October that this breakthrough in negotiations had been made in the institutional trilogue on reform of cohesion policy, which had remained a dead letter since the end of the summer break. According to the Commissioner, room for understanding had been reached on co-financing and pre-financing rates, as well as performance conditions. According to a source close to the dossier, on the issue of performance, the cursor was currently set at 6% of the funds set aside until 2019, therefore at a level located between 5% requested by Parliament and the 7% by the Council. Macro-economic conditions, however, may yet again take the agreement hostage. Parliament is eager to be treated on an equal footing when it comes to implementing these conditions, which requires the suspension of structural fund payments in the event of non-respect of macro-economic recommendations set out by the Commission. According to the co-rapporteur for the Common Strategic Framework, Lambert Van Nistelrooij (EPP, Netherlands) who spoke to EUROPE, “Parliament will only be able to say yes if it is treated as an equal. There are other examples that prove that this is possible”. The parliamentary negotiating team would like its institution to be involved in the procedures either through the delegated acts or through co-decision procedure.
Despite this stalemate on macro-conditions, the co-rapporteur on the common strategic strategy did say that there had been “good progress” at the Wednesday trilogue. He regretted, however, that the package on the table, which included the preliminary agreements, still had to be analysed by COREPER or ministers, when time for adopting reform in the plenary session at the end of October was running out. The co-rapporteur was annoyed that, “the Council needs more time but what is it waiting for?” Several different sources referred to next Monday's trilogue and the accompanying logistical implications, as well as the possibility of other meetings on Tuesday or Thursday. The Parliamentary committee on regional development (REGI) is due to vote on the final package on 14 October. (MD/transl.fl)