France obtained the addition, in a footnote, of the reference to an ex ante conditionality or social “enabling condition” as an annex to the Common Provisions Regulation, at the end of the meeting of ambassadors within the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper II) on Wednesday 5 June.
The proposal to link favourable conditionalities with the European pillar of social rights – a French request made at the Gothenburg Summit in 2017 (see EUROPE B11907) – had been left open at the last Coreper meeting (see EUROPE 12267/6).
Admittedly, the French proposal has not been clearly introduced among the horizontal favourable conditions provided for in Annex III to the Common Provisions Regulation. But France, supported by Spain and Italy, have reportedly secured a footnote leaving the door open for the introduction of such an ex ante condition in the future.
“The content of this Annex is without prejudice to any additional conditionalities to be discussed at political level, in particular on the European pillar of social rights”, it reads. However, the political level has yet to be defined.
The subject is reportedly not currently on the agenda of the next General Affairs Council (GAC) dedicated to Cohesion on 25 June. Some believe that the subject could, however, be raised at the next European Council.
In general, the proposals made by the Commission have been maintained (public procurement monitoring mechanism, state aid rules, implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities). The conditionalities linked to the European Charter of Fundamental Rights have reportedly been the subject of amendments to the margin.
In all, eight Member States voted against the compromise on the table, in particular because of the footnote, but for completely different reasons. Hungary and Poland were against the footnote. On the other hand, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden took a negative position, because they would have liked to see other potential conditionalities debated, particularly for migration policy. Croatia and Latvia also reportedly voted against. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)