On Thursday 22 November, MEPs from the European Parliament's ‘Transport’ and ‘Industry’ Committees adopted their position in view of the interinstitutional negotiations ('trilogues') with the European Council on the structure of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the period from 2021 to 2027.
This vote echoes the European Commission's proposal on 6 June last year (see EUROPE 12035). The first discussions in the European Parliament had suggested criticism of the amount allocated to this future CEF (see EUROPE 12068) and more than 1,200 amendments had been tabled for this text, serving as proof of the complexity of the subject.
As a reminder, the Commission had proposed that the financial allocation for this future CEF should be €42.3 billion (at current prices), divided between transport (€30.6 billion at current prices), energy (€8.7 billion at current prices) and digital (€3 billion at current prices). In addition, under the 'transport' component, the institution envisaged a specific financial allocation of €6.5 billion (at current prices) to support military mobility.
MEPs themselves would like the overall amount to be higher. Thus, the budget allocated to the CEF for 2021 to 2027 would be increased, according to their position, to €43.85 billion at constant 2018 prices, again with three financial allocations for: transport (€33.5 billion at constant 2018 prices), energy (€7.7 billion at constant 2018 prices) and digital (€2.7 billion at constant 2018 prices).
The budget allocation to support military mobility would still be €6.5 billion at current prices. The projects should then have a dual objective of using both civilian and military infrastructure.
Amendments have also been made to the eligibility of projects qualifying for financial assistance under the CEF, as well as to the criteria for granting assistance. Several recommendations were also made with regard to the development of the programme and its evaluation.
When it comes to the European Council, discussions are not yet concluded and Transport Ministers are expected to approve a partial general approach at their meeting on 3 December. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)