On Wednesday 30 January, the Member States' ambassadors to the European Union ('Coreper') defined their negotiating position on aid for the implementation of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) core network through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), in the event that a no-deal Brexit takes place.
This position echoes the European Commission's proposal of 1 August to review the route of links with Ireland eligible for CEF funding. Regulation 1316/2013 on the CEF provides in particular that aid may be granted to support maritime transport links between Ireland and the United Kingdom, and the aim here is to ensure that the departure of the United Kingdom from the EU is not too onerous for Ireland in a no-deal scenario.
The negotiating mandate focuses on the selection of ports eligible for support under the CEF. In particular, the Member States wanted to provide more support for ports in the central TEN-T network, by including them in these future routes eligible for aid. This would in effect mean supporting certain Belgian, French, Irish and Dutch ports.
In addition, certain investments in terms of infrastructure security may be eligible for aid.
Inter-institutional negotiations ('trilogues') with the European Parliament can therefore begin, as the members of the Transport Committee voted on this subject on 10 January (see EUROPE 12169). As a result of pressure from several French MEPs, particular emphasis was placed on French ports. A first trilogue was scheduled for this evening, January 30. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)