The European Parliament's Conference of Presidents decided on Thursday 19 December to "freeze" large parts of the negotiations with the EU Council on programmes linked to the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027.
On Wednesday 18 December in Strasbourg, MEPs criticised the lack of progress in the EU Council on the next MFF (see EUROPE 12393/4, 12389/2).
The Conference of Presidents, made up of the Parliament's President and the chairs of the political groups, decided on Thursday, to freeze negotiations on sectoral programmes linked to the MFF, in protest at the lack of progress in the EU Council on the next MFF.
The Parliament also criticises the EU Council for overstepping its powers by wanting to negotiate, via the 'negotiating framework' (the living document designed to facilitate the search for an agreement), certain important policies which are nevertheless subject to the co-decision procedure with MEPs. In particular, negotiations on sectoral programmes linked to the Cohesion policy and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are frozen.
The decision of the Conference of Presidents coincides with the position expressed 2 days earlier by the Conference of Committee Chairs of the European Parliament.
No more partial agreements. Another decision taken by the Conference of Presidents: the Parliament warns that there will be no more 'partial' agreements (compromises with the EU Council on programmes without budgetary elements). These partial agreements "are often very disadvantageous for the Parliament, because, in the end, there is less money and therefore priorities that cannot be funded", notes one source.
The Parliament voices its position. "We continue to urge the EU Council to work towards a common position that would unblock the negotiation. The Parliament will remain firm in the defence of a strong budget, without any cuts, and we will also maintain our demand for new own resources", said the Parliament’s S&D group Chair Iratxe García Pérez (S&D, Spain).
The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, said he was "very disappointed" by the lack of urgency from national governments to reach an agreement and thus avoid delays in the start of the programmes. "We are ready to negotiate in a spirit of constructive dialogue. (...) Until there is progress on the EU Council side, we cannot continue these talks", he warned. However, he said he had received positive signals from the incoming Croatian EU Council Presidency and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, "and we hope we can soon start real negotiations on the MFF", Sassoli concluded.
"We want the negotiations to move forward and we remain focused on the best ways to do so", commented a European Commission spokesperson.
European Council in February? The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, will hold consultations with each of the EU Member States to determine the most appropriate time to negotiate an agreement ('landing zone'). An extraordinary European Council could be convened in the second half of February, sources say, with a view to a possible agreement at the European Council "in early or mid" spring 2020. The Parliament will have to give its consent to the agreement on the MFF 2021-2027 and the debates are expected to be particularly complicated between EU Member States, which are more divided than ever on this issue.
European Parliament/EU Council negotiations on the CAP have not yet started.
With regard to cohesion policy, the Parliament/EU Council debates on the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund hit a brick wall regarding the budget (see EUROPE 12390/11).
A provisional partial agreement has been reached between the European Parliament and the EU Council on the Common Provisions Regulation (see EUROPE 12388/17).
Negotiations on Interreg were ongoing (see EUROPE 12387/11).
Link to the Finnish Presidency paper on the state of negotiations on Cohesion policy: http://bit.ly/2Q8CaCn (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur, with Pascal Hansens)