On Thursday, 24 September, the European Parliament’s Committee on Regional Development (REGI) adopted (24 votes in favour, 7 against, 9 abstentions) an opinion championed by Cristina Maestre Martín de Almagro (S&D, Spain) on the public sector loan facility under the ‘Just Transition Mechanism’ by notably introducing the 2030 climate objectives as well as climate neutrality by 2050 into it.
Moreover, MEPs want to make access to the facility conditional on respect for the Rule of law, including minority rights such as LGBTI rights, which are compromised in several Member States due to the creation of the much-talked-of LGBTI-free zones that exist in Poland.
In addition, MEPs are insisting on the principle of partnership, which is one of the pillars of Cohesion Policy. The vote in the Committee on Budgets is scheduled for 12 October, if all goes well.
This facility constitutes the third pillar of the Just Transition Mechanism and was designed to raise between €25 billion and €30 billion according to the European Commission’s initial projections (see EUROPE 12495/6). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)