The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and representatives of the European Parliament hope to reach a partial interinstitutional agreement by March on the structure of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) relating to the period 2021-2027.
This was the outcome of the second meeting of interinstitutional negotiations ('trilogues') between the two sides, which took place on Tuesday 19 February in Brussels.
These debates echo the European Commission's proposal of last June concerning the future architecture of the CEF (see EUROPE 12035). Transport ministers in the Member States reached a partial political agreement in December (see EUROPE 12151), while Parliament defined its negotiating position that same month (see EUROPE 12158). A first trilogue took place on 22 January, during which the parties worked on the definitions (see EUROPE 12178).
On Tuesday, representatives of the European Parliament and the Romanian Presidency of the Council specifically discussed the objectives of the future CEF and the projects eligible for funding under this financial instrument. Problems relating to awards and the criteria under which they would be allocated was also heading in the right direction for agreement.
However, the parties have not yet reached an agreement on military mobility issues and will thus have to return to these points at a later date. The same applies to the co-financing rates for projects.
Several technical meetings are planned in the coming days and the next political trilogue is scheduled for 7 March; at this stage, institutions then hope it will be partially concluded. No agreement on the full text can be reached, as the budgetary part cannot be finalised due to the ongoing negotiations on the post-2020 multiannual financial framework (see EUROPE 12197). (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)