13/07/2018 (Agence Europe) – Some MEPs are concerned about the strengthening of the link between the European Semester budget process and the European Social Fund+ (see EUROPE 12022). The rapporteur of the draft European Parliament own-opinion report, Mercedes Bresso (S&D, Italy) along with Constanze Krehl (S&D, Germany) and Rosa D’Amato (EFDD, Italy), opposed the option of suspending European finance, speaking in a debate in Parliament’s regional development committee on 10 July. Several MEPs again rejected the imposing of macroeconomic conditions. Lambert van Nistelrooij (EPP, the Netherlands) queried the way such a measure would be implemented and the risk of renationalising programmes. Only Matthijs van Miltenburg (ADLE, the Netherlands) welcomed the measure, calling for the future ESF+ to be made coherent with the country-specific social and economic recommendations. The draft opinion will be voted upon on 9 October at an extraordinary meeting of Parliament’s committee. (PH)