Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the EU will meet on Friday 11 December for a third inter-institutional meeting (trilogue) on the 2021-2027 Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Discussions on the subject are currently at an impasse.
The two sides had already reached a partial interim agreement in March 2019, although some points were left out. These included non-Member State issues and the budget section, which is dependent on the negotiations about to be concluded (see other news) on the Multiannual Financial Framework.
These negotiations should, among other things, make it possible to agree on the amounts and start dates of the EIM (CEF) programmes.
Two main sticking points
For the 2021-2027 period, the latter should be made up of a ‘Transport’ envelope of EUR 12.8 billion, an ‘Energy’ envelope of EUR 5 billion, and a ‘Telecommunications/Digital’ envelope of almost EUR 2 billion (2018 prices).
EUR 10 billion deducted from the Cohesion Fund would be added to the ‘Transport’ envelope. EUR 1.5 billion would also be earmarked for projects to adapt certain parts of the transport network to allow dual civil-military use (military mobility). However, two sticking points remain.
Pre-assignment. The first is the transport envelope. In July, the European Council introduced earmarking of EUR 1.6 billion for specific projects: the Rail Baltica project (see EUROPE 12530/21), according to information obtained by EUROPE.
Speaking before the European Parliament’s Transport Committee (TRAN) on 27 October to inform his colleagues of the progress of the second trilogue, Dominique Riquet (Renew Europe, France), rapporteur on this dossier, assured that this pre-assignment constituted a “red line” for Parliament.
“We cannot accept this, since this envelope must be determined by the general regulation, which has been agreed upon in advance. Under no circumstances can any amount be preempted for operations that may have been arranged within the EU Council”, he said.
Cohesion. The second point on which the co-legislators stumbled last October concerns the allocation key for the cohesion envelope.
The EU Council wants 70% of this envelope to be allocated according to the national allocations of Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund, and the remaining 30% to be allocated on a competitive basis to projects located in those States. All until 2023.
Parliament, for its part, reportedly prefers that the selection of projects eligible for funding be made exclusively on the basis of national allocations until the end of 2022 and that, during a second phase, the remaining resources be allocated on a competitive basis.
However, the agreement reached last week on the so-called “umbrella” regulation laying down common provisions for structural and investment funds (see EUROPE 12614/11) could allow for progress to be made.
Parliament united, German Presidency blocked
“The negotiations are going to be difficult”, Dominique Riquet also stressed, pointing out the resistance to the German EU Council Presidency and its limited room for manoeuvre.
Marian Marinescu (EPP, Romania), also rapporteur on this dossier, expressed the same fears on 9 November before the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE).
“The three rapporteurs are aligned, without any division, to support the Parliament’s position”, he noted, however - again echoing Mr Riquet, who reported “strong unity in Parliament, which provides a stable and solid discussion position”. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)