Brussels, 05/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 5 December, the Council of the EU argued that the European Commission should make a proposal for the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) to be paid for out of the EU budget. The Commission, supported by the Netherlands in particular, however, took pains to dampen the Council's ardour, stressing the need for an in-depth study into the added value of this procedure to be carried out in advance.
In conclusions adopted by the Council, no fewer than 11 references were made to article 185 of the Treaty. This is by no means surprising, as all of the stakes related to the PRIMA initiative can be summed up in one question: will the Commission use its right of initiative to propose to pay for public-public partnership programmes between several member states and third Mediterranean countries out of the EU budget? Article 185 of the TFEU makes this an option, as it allows the EU to participate in research programmes undertaken by more than one member state further to a Commission proposal.
The majority of the Council is convinced that this solution is justified, as it would make the PRIMA initiative into long-term structured cooperation. Cooperation of this kind would concern both projects of the initiative, one on food production and the other on water supply. Over the last month, around €200 million have been raised by 14 countries participating in the initiative. But these informal commitments are conditional on the existence of European co-funding. According to the member states which support this solution, mainly those from southern Europe, there are many advantages, such as the fact that it would create a bridge between the two sides of the Mediterranean and promote political stability on the southern shore, as well as its sustainable economic development.
The Commission took pains to quell the enthusiasm of the Council, which called upon it to “determine, as soon as possible” whether it will be possible to apply article 185 to the PRIMA initiative. This means that the Commission did not formally take position in favour of this solution at a Council meeting held behind closed doors. It stressed the need to assess the solution, particularly for the risk of duplications of effort and as regards the efficiency of this solution. The Netherlands were also cautious to the point of hostility, stressing that the EU budget should above all be used to support “excellence” in research. (JK)