The negotiators of the Parliament and of the Council of the EU have defined the three main issues that continue to stand in the way of the extension of the 'Juncker' investment and beyond 2018.
Of the 13 questions to be dealt with when the inter-institutional negotiations were launched, ten have been resolved subject to a global agreement, a European source said on Friday 8 September, following a further negotiation session. The source referred in particular to the reinforcement of the 'additionality' of the projects selected and support for the participation of small project promoters.
Unsurprisingly, the matter of paying for the increase in the public guarantee provided to the projects selected by the EFSI fund, the financial arm of the 'Juncker' plan, remains to be discussed (see EUROPE 11853). The Commission's proposal of using reflows from instruments under the previous multi-annual financial framework has not gone down well with the member states, but has had a fairly warm reception from Parliament.
According to the same source, the member states would rather these reflows (loan reimbursements, liberation of financial guarantees or revenue from interest, dividends, capital gains) be paid directly into the Community budget.
The other subjects on the table concern the governance of the steering committee of the EFSI fund, to which Parliament wishes to appoint an independent expert, and the modulation of the pricing of loans granted to support project owners.
The Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU is not confident that it will be able to secure a revised mandate on Monday 11 September, ahead of the next inter-institutional negotiating session to be held in Strasbourg the next day. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)