06/02/2019 (Agence Europe) – Despite a 9-hour meeting, the co-legislators failed to reach an interinstitutional agreement on the European Defence Fund for the next multiannual financial framework on Tuesday 5 February. All the main political points were addressed, in particular the ethical control (art. 7) of actions and the eligibility criteria for financed entities and actions (art. 10 and 11), the direct or indirect management of the fund, and the eternal question of the choice between the delegated act and the implementing act. According to our information, the co-legislators are moving towards ex ante control of the ethical dimension and towards direct management with an exemption mechanism. The negotiations were close to an agreement, but at the Parliament’s request, the final agreement was postponed to 19 February. (PH)