On Monday 3 December, at the Transport Council, the EU Transport Ministers will approve a partial agreement (‘partial general approach’) on the architecture of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the period 2021-2027.
This text echoes the European Commission's proposal of 6 June (see EUROPE 12035). As a reminder, CEF funding affects three areas: transport, energy and telecommunications.
The ‘Friends of the Presidency’ Group of the Council of the European Union discussed the Commission's proposal in September, October and November. These discussions have therefore enabled the development of a partial general approach.
However, the negotiations could not be finalised, in particular because of the negotiations on the Multiannual financial framework (MFF) over the same period, linked to the CEF (see EUROPE 12147). "The programme is ready, the text is ready", except on the budgetary issue, said a diplomatic source. "We are not even allowed to discuss the actual budget that will be attached to this programme", he added. The amounts are therefore not specified in the partial general approach guidance document, with only indications in square brackets being mentioned.
The various national delegations have each expressed their concerns and wishes and the document tries to take some considerations into account.
It should be noted that the Austrian Presidency has proposed an article on the eligibility criteria for projects potentially eligible for financial support under military mobility, a topic that will be included for the first time in the next CEF. However, the agreement will have to be examined in more detail when the amounts are included.
As a reminder, the Members of the European Parliament's ‘transport’ and ‘industry’ committees voted on their positions on the CEF 2021-2027 on 22 November (see EUROPE 12143). (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)