Brussels, 08/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - Conciliation procedure is now inevitable between the European Parliament and Council over how to reach an agreement on Life+, the environmental financial instrument for 2007-13. Parliament is also prepared for a showdown to defend at any cost this instrument for implementing environmental and nature protection policies. Marie-Anne Isler Béguin (Greens/EFA, France), rapporteur on the dossier, underlined to the press on 8 November in Brussels that the battle would be hard but not without hope. Informal inter-institutional dialogue will begin at the end of November in search of a compromise. It will fall to the German presidency to negotiate it.
At the heart of the disagreement: the attempt by the Council of the EU to get 80% of funding reserved for Member States through “delegated management” of funds - a goal which Parliament resolutely opposed during its vote in second reading. It considered the “re-nationalisation” of Life+ as unacceptable, which would be like giving a blank cheque to Member States for the pursuit of national objectives (EUROPE 9294).
Ms Isler Béguin pointed out that Parliament's refusal is the result of “common battle of the different political groups, as the environment cuts across party lines”. She added that, “At Parliament we all agree that European environment policy, perceived as the most positive by EU citizens, should remain at a European level. In the first reading, we fought to keep the money for funding Natura 2000 with the objective of environmental renewal and fighting against the decline in biodiversity which will continue with climate change. We want Natura 2000, the beacon of our environmental policy, to have the means for implementation and management. Scientists, ecological engineers and everyone say that this requires money. Without a specific budgetary line, the choice will quickly be made between financing a new railway or a Natura 2000 project. We shouldn't have any illusions about that!”
If this first demand of Parliament is met, it will be necessary to make the part of the budget delegated by the Commission to Member States to be more modest because for the environment, “the European level is more pertinent for taking action and instigating policies at a world level. China's interest in advice based on European norms bears this out”. Isler Béguin pointed out that re-nationalisation of environment policy would create a dangerous precedent for aficionados of an inter-governmental Europe.
Christian Gutierrez-Cortines (EPP-ED, Spain), the shadow reporter pointed out that, “in its initial proposal, the Commission mentioned decentralisation in a generalised way. We are not against the principle at all but total decentralisation should be avoided. Giving money to the States to have national agencies and civil servants paid by the Commission is like accepting the death sentence for all monitoring and control of the projects”. Marie-Noëlle Lienemann (PES, France) also a shadow reporter said that there was no reason to doubt that a compromise was possible as Parliament's position was very clear and its “objective is not to block Life+”. MEPs voted for a budgetary amendment that guarantees the continuity of funding: in the absence of an agreement between co-legislators on Life+ in the second reading. The Commission was immediately called on to find a solution that would allow for funding of activities linked to Life+, up to the beginning of conciliation. Ms Isler Béguin said that she hoped that the conciliation procedure could still begin this year to find a conclusive result in March but she regretted the fatalism of the Commission, “The Commission is afraid of taking on the work of something for which it would be unable to fund personnel requirements but it should be prepared to defend its own interest. If there is a Directorate General that should increase its staff, then it is definitely DG Environment”, she said.
In the second reading, Parliament wanted Life+ to have a budget of €1.911bn (2004 prices to take into account inflation) for the period 1 January 2007- 31 December 2013, an envelope that is above the €1.854bn proposed by the Council. (an)