09/12/2016 (Agence Europe) – The Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU informed the member states’ permanent representatives (Coreper) on Friday 9 December, that the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement at the trialogue meeting on 7 December on the proposal for revision of the 2012 decision establishing an information exchange mechanism on intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) and non-binding instruments (such as a memorandum of understanding or a statement of intent) between member states and third countries in the area of energy (see EUROPE 11685). Coreper will be invited to endorse the agreement at a forthcoming meeting. The Coreper chairman will then send a letter to the chairman of the European Parliament’s energy (ITRE) committee, indicating that, if Parliament adopts the compromise text as approved by Coreper at its plenary session, the Council will then adopt the text in first reading without amendment. This should enable the revised IGA transparency mechanism to come into force by mid-2017. (EH)