On Wednesday 13 March, the European Parliament adopted, by a strong majority (624 votes in favour, 13 against, 24 abstentions), the report defended by Iskra Mihaylova (ALDE, Bulgaria) on the continuation of the PEACE IV European Territorial Cooperation programmes after the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU.
In essence, according to the text, the funding meant for Northern Ireland and the regions of West Scotland included in the UK-Ireland cooperation programme will be maintained under the Interreg programme after the withdrawal.
The rule stating that cooperation programmes may not exceed 20% of their budget outside the EU will not apply in this particular case.
The body of programmes specific to the Union will remain the managing authority, while the Northern Ireland Department of Finance will remain the audit authority.
Finally, the Commission and the United Kingdom will establish the procedures for carrying out controls and audits. In case this is not possible, safeguards are provided.
The text was adopted under the fast track procedure (see EUROPE 12183/3). The Council's approval is all that is needed for the text to be adopted definitively. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)