Negotiations on the Horizon Europe post-2020 framework programme are expected to be particularly difficult due to a dispute between the European Parliament and the EU Council on the legal basis of the Regulation on the specific programme for the implementation of the framework programme, according to the feedback from the second interinstitutional negotiating session held on Tuesday 29 January.
The regulation on the specific programme is indeed giving Member States a hard time, because of the extension proposed by the European Commission of the legal basis to Article 173 of the TFEU to cover European industry and introducing codecision, where the European Parliament had only an advisory role previously.
In December, in response to the blocking on the legal basis of the Regulation on the specific programmes (see EUROPE 12106), the Competitiveness Council adopted its position solely on the Regulation on the Framework Programme. It was to try to reach an agreement in February on the regulation on the specific programme (see EUROPE 12151). However, the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU should only submit a progress report to national delegations on 19 February instead of trying to reach a political agreement ('general approach').
In the European Parliament's view, it is difficult to move forward on the framework programme without at the same time negotiating the regulation on the specific programme, one source explained. According to it, the two texts are linked, particularly with regard to strategic planning to define work programmes (see EUROPE 12069).
The next interinstitutional meeting is scheduled for 21 February. Originally, the meeting was scheduled after the Council, in the hope that Member States would reach political agreement in principle on the text of the specific programme, explained a second source. This shall not be the case. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)