On Thursday 9 or Friday 10 July, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, is expected to present his proposal on the new "negotiating box" to facilitate a compromise on the European Recovery Plan and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027 (see EUROPE 12519/1).
Member States' Ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) are expected to discuss this 'negotiating box', probably on Friday, the second to be presented by Mr Michel after the one preparing the discussions at the February extraordinary summit (see EUROPE 12426/1).
The General Affairs Council will then discuss the MFF and the European Recovery Plan on Wednesday 15 July to prepare for discussions at the highest political level at the extraordinary European summit on 17-18 July.
Mr Michel is continuing his consultations. On Monday 6, he met the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, and will also have a further discussion on Wednesday 8 July with the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel (see EUROPE 12519/1).
Solvency instrument and InvestEU. On Monday, Coreper continued its assessment of the Commission's proposals, referring in particular to the future company Solvency Support Instrument (see EUROPE 12496/9) and the development of the InvestEU programme to create a new strand promoting private investment in strategic sectors (see EUROPE 12496/8). The Commission proposes to allocate €8.28 billion to the Solvency Support Instrument for European Companies and €10.13 billion to the InvestEU programme.
On the Solvency Support Instrument, the so-called 'frugal' countries and others have asked the Commission for clarification as to whether this measure requires an increase in the EIB's capital. They asked for answers to this question before the July extraordinary European Council.
On InvestEU, among the questions raised were the fate of the 'strategic investment' section after 2024, when the European Recovery Plan ends, and the advisability of including geographical criteria for intervention to prioritise support for companies in the countries most affected by the pandemic.
On Wednesday 8 July Coreper will discuss governance and the MFF 2021-2027. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)