Initially scheduled for Monday 21 April, the joint vote by the European Parliament’s budgets committee (BUDG) and economic and monetary affairs committee (ECON) on extending the duration and scope of the Juncker Investment Plan has been postponed until Wednesday 10 May.
This postponement has been confirmed by a number of parliamentary sources and described as likely in the circles of Udo Bullmann (S&D, Germany), rapporteur for the ECON committee.
Among the subjects being discussed is governance of the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI), the financial arm of the Juncker Plan, particularly the question of the European Parliament’s participation in the fund’s management board (see EUROPE 11761).
The two co-rapporteurs – Bullmann and Fernandes (EPP, Portugal) – would prefer that Parliament be given a seat on the EFSI board of managers (see EUROPE 11761), but in order to avoid any political interference, a compromise might be reached that grants Parliament the option of appointing an expert who is not an MEP.
Another element under discussion is the possibility of no longer giving the EFSI priority for reimbursement of investments in the event of a project’s collapse, giving it a junior position instead. The MEPs wonder whether the European Investment Bank (EIB), which pilots the EFSI, should be allowed to set its own policy in this domain on a case-by-case basis. A parliamentary expert says it is also a question of the EIB’s financial rating.
The two co-rapporteurs refuse to allow the budget lines for the 'Horizon 2020' programme and the Mechanism for Interconnection in Europe to be used again to extend the EFSI. They suggest making use of unused funding from the budget for one or more headings in the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2020. This idea does not seem to be controversial among MEPs.
The Liberals would like the extended Juncker Plan to be able to support research projects in the field of defence. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)