On Wednesday 13 February, MEPs voted by a narrow majority (372 votes in favour, 300 against, 3 abstentions) to delete Article 15 on macroeconomic conditions from the umbrella common provisions regulation between the structural and investment funds, which was also adopted by a relative majority (460 votes in favour, 170 against, 47 abstentions).
The co-rapporteur, Germany's Constanze Krehl (S&D), had announced it from the outset when the text was presented before the vote, indicating her willingness to amend the report to delete the article she considered "inadequate". This position was widely echoed during the plenary debate, where many MEPs strongly criticised the provision as unfair, contrary to the spirit of Cohesion Policy and counterproductive, with some citing the examples of Portugal and Spain (see EUROPE 11669).
Thus, 4 political groups, namely EFDD, ENF, S&D and GUE/NGL, have tabled amendments (amendments 425, 444, 448 and 469) to remove any link between Cohesion Policy and the 'European Semester' budget process. The Regional Development Committee (REGI), last January, had maintained Article 15, but had significantly weakened its scope by providing only for the suspension of commitments and not payments (see EUROPE 12177).
In contrast, the EPP’s co-rapporteur, Andrey Novakov (Bulgaria), was in favour of maintaining Article 15, as was ALDE. However, this vote does not bury the article. As Ms Krehl explained at a press conference, macro-conditionality will undoubtedly be discussed fiercely once again with the Council, which is in favour of this principle. Ms Krehl, who was already co-rapporteur on the current regulation, had already fought with the Council to remove macroeconomic conditions, without success (see EUROPE 10953).
In general, the text put forward by Ms Krehl, and Andrey Novakov (EPP, Bulgaria) has been amended several times in plenary. Thus, the reintegration into the Regulation of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) is maintained. However, in order to ensure the widest possible support, the co-rapporteurs had to negotiate with the members of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development to clarify and delimit the integration of the fund.
In the same vein, the restrictions introduced in the REGI Committee for the future InvestEU were relaxed in plenary in order to reach a compromise with those who defend the financial instrument. Thus, as of 1 January 2023, Member States will be able to allocate to InvestEU up to 2% of the amounts of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund plus (ESF+), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). During the mid-term review, 5 years after the beginning of the budget cycle, up to 3% of the total allocation of each fund may be allocated to InvestEU. The REGI Committee had voted for a maximum allocation of 1% for the first 5 years and 2.5% for the following years. The Commission suggested 5%.
On the other hand, the MEPs of the Transport Committee were not successful: the budget allocation transferable from the Cohesion Fund to the European Interconnection Facility (EIM) was reduced from €10 billion to €4 billion.
In general, the European Parliament aligns the budget allocation for the next Cohesion Policy with the current budget, bringing it to €378 billion in 2018 prices. It increases co-financing rates (85% for the least developed regions and the outermost regions, 65% for the regions in transition and 50% for the most developed regions) and introduces a possibility of flexibility in the calculations of the Stability and Growth Pact for public investments made under the Structural and Investment Funds.
In favour of maintaining macro-conditionality and against reducing the transfer from the Cohesion Fund to the EIM, ALDE voted overwhelmingly against the report, with the exception of REGI Committee Chair Iskra Mihaylova (ALDE, Bulgaria). Similarly, the ENF voted as a whole against the text. With a few exceptions, the S&D and Greens/EFA supported the text. A significant small group of EPP MEPs, mainly from the German, Scandinavian and Dutch delegations, voted against the text. The GUE/NGL and the EFDD voted in a piecemeal manner.
The first interinstitutional meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 19 February, but the talks cannot go very far, as the Council has only adopted a partial position on the managing authorities and programming (see EUROPE 12163), as the Chair of the REGI Committee regretted at a press conference. However, as one source points out, these first chapters, if concluded under this trilogue mandate, would allow local and regional managing authorities to organise themselves in time.
According to a source close to the file, the two co-rapporteurs have a very good chance of being re-elected for the next mandate, which should allow for a certain stability in the forthcoming interinstitutional negotiations. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)