25/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - ESI funds for Portugal and Spain frozen: European Parliament wants structured dialogue with Commission. In a letter addressed to the European Commission on Monday 25 July, the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, agreed to open a structured dialogue with the European Commission on freezing the 2017 commitments on European Structural Investment Funds (ESI). This dialogue will open after the summer recess, in agreement with the position of the political groups at the European Parliament, which have been previously consulted. It will be based on the regulation containing common provisions on European funds (Article 23, Regulation 1303/2013). Recently, the Commission sent a letter to Schulz in which it listed the operational programmes potentially affected by financial sanctions in Spain and Portugal, for having failed to stick to their respective budgetary trajectories (EUROPE 11598). (PH)