The European Parliament and the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU met for the second time at political level on Tuesday morning, 10 December, to discuss the Regulation on European territorial cooperation (Interreg). Some progress has been made, but the co-legislators will meet again under the Croatian Presidency of the Council.
In particular, the co-legislators made progress on the issue of cross-border maritime cooperation (see EUROPE 12375/13) and have reportedly reached a provisional agreement including a reference to the EU Council’s proposal to a maximum limit of 150 km, with exceptions to allow the continuity of existing programmes, but also the possibility of developing future cross-border interaction beyond 150 km. Thus, the specificity of the Mediterranean regions, which are sometimes a little more than 150 km from each other, would be taken into account in order to be able to continue to apply the programming.
Other points still need to be discussed, in particular on the specific objectives of Interreg and the issue of the integration of migrants. The EU Council would like to refer only to the future regulation on the European Social Fund plus (ESF+), but it is important for the European Parliament to keep a reference to the economic and social integration of migrants in the framework of the Interreg Regulation. Indeed, as long as the content of the ESF+ has not been decided, it will be difficult for parliamentarians to take the risk of removing the subject of the integration of migrants from the scope of Interreg.
The co-legislators have also made progress in targeting thematic concentrations. Parliament wants programmes and Member States to focus on climate and social issues, for which the EU Council wishes to retain some flexibility. However, the EU Council has taken a step towards the European Parliament towards a more binding approach and has expressed its willingness to support an obligation if Member States opted for one of the two policy objectives (climate objective or social objective).
In addition, Parliament and the EU Council have yet to discuss the treatment of ‘small projects’. As a reminder, Parliament has established a minimum financial allocation of 3% of the total Interreg allocation for small projects. This threshold is too high, according to the Member States, and could, especially for small programmes, increase the burden without providing any benefits.
Negotiations will resume under the Croatian Presidency. A new timetable for interinstitutional negotiations (trilogues) has not yet been agreed. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)