The European Parliament and the Council of the EU failed on Friday 11 December to unblock negotiations on the regulation establishing the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the 2021-2027 period.
Their third interinstitutional meeting (trilogue) on this dossier allowed for “some progress on the technical points on the margins, but none on the political points” that are most problematic (see EUROPE 12620/15), a European source told EUROPE.
After four hours of discussions, MEP Dominique Riquet (Renew Europe, France) - one of Parliament’s three main rapporteurs on the issue - announced via Twitter that the positions of the two co-legislating institutions were “still too far apart”. “The talks will resume in 2021 with the Portuguese Presidency” of the EU Council, he added.
Only the appropriations already committed in the framework of the 2014-2020 CEF can therefore continue to be paid at the beginning of 2021. However, no new money will be released until the co-legislators have reached agreement on the regulation establishing the 2021-2027 CEF. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)