Ahead of the meeting of the Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the European Union (Coreper II) on 17 April, the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council is setting out its negotiating method for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034.
In a note dated Friday 10 April, which Agence Europe has been able to consult, it proposes “targeted” revisions of specific paragraphs in the draft Negotiating Box, the central document that structures budget negotiations between Member States.
This text, which is not binding on the delegations, aims to identify the issues that remain open and to prepare for future political decisions. The Presidency explicitly states that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”, a principle that should guide the entire process.
The negotiation strategy has three components. Firstly, to define the options in the Negotiating Box without figures, in order to reduce the open options; secondly, to prepare the future financial proposals; and thirdly, to advance the sectoral discussions on the main MFF instruments.
The aim is to have a sufficiently stabilised framework by June to enable Member States to make genuine political choices.
However, it should be noted that the timetable presented by the Presidency is particularly tight, and that following the transmission of this first revision to delegations on 10 April, technical discussions are continuing within the Ad Hoc Working Party on the MFF, which met on Tuesday 14 April, before an initial exchange of views between ambassadors at Coreper II on 17 April.
The EU Council Presidency hopes to finalise this revised version by the end of April and, at the same time, continue work on the three major blocks of the future budget, namely the national and regional partnership plans, the European Competitiveness Fund and the Global Europe instrument.
The month of May will be punctuated by bilateral meetings at ambassadorial level and an informal General Affairs Council on 10 and 11 May devoted to crisis management.
The Cyprus Presidency then plans to present a draft Negotiating Box with figures at the end of the month or at the beginning of June, with the ambition of rapidly reaching “partial general approaches” on several texts.
A number of adjustments proposed in the note also relate to budget governance and flexibility. The Presidency envisages an annual political discussion to better structure funding priorities, while greater margins and specific instruments should enable a more effective response to crises. National plans can be adjusted in the event of a crisis by successively mobilising several financial levers.
European Competitiveness Fund. With regard to the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), the document of 10 April goes on to state that it will be “established to bolster European competitiveness as a whole, notably in strategic sectors and technologies along the investment journey based on open, competitive and fair award procedures”.
With a “commitment to excellence at its centre”, the new document adds, the ECF “will ensure equal opportunities to access funding, enhance business development, strengthen collaboration and capacity building to unlock the innovation potential across the EU. Particular attention will be paid to SMEs and small midcaps across Member States”. With this wording, the Cyprus Presidency is attempting to reconcile the different approaches, with ten ‘large’ Member States having insisted on this criterion of excellence in a recent letter, and medium-sized countries concerned about geographical equity in the distribution of the €410 billion allocated to the ECF (see EUROPE 13844/5).
“Horizon Europe shall be tightly connected to the European Competitiveness Fund by placing research and innovation at the heart of the Union’s economy and investment strategy. Support for research, development and innovation across all pillars of Horizon Europe will be based on excellence”, the document also states. At the same time, it is essential to address the participation gap and the innovation divide. “Horizon Europe, guided by the principle of excellence, will enhance the research and innovation capacity in widening and transition countries”.
For the time being, the lack of figures is keeping the divisions between Member States open, particularly on the overall level of the budget, its flexibility and its priorities. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry and Solenn Paulic)