The EU Council Presidency has begun negotiations with the European Parliament to provide the best premises for using the future European money provided through the Cohesion Policy

Met dank overgenomen van Roemeens voorzitterschap Europese Unie 1e helft 2019 (Roemeens voorzitterschap) i, gepubliceerd op woensdag 20 februari 2019.

The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union has started negotiations with the European Parliament to ensure the best premises for the use of future European money, provided by the Cohesion Policy

Yesterday evening, took place in Brussels the first trialogue under the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council, on future regulations on European funds provided through the Cohesion Policy, a dossier managed by the Ministry of European Funds.

Mrs. Rovana Plumb, as Chairman of the General Affairs Council - Cohesion on behalf of the EU Council Presidency, now exercised by Romania, co-rapporteurs of the European Parliament and Mrs. Corina Cretu, European Commissioner for Regional Development, have agreed on an ambitious timetable for negotiations. Such an approach is necessary to ensure the programming, management and implementation of future European funds at the level of all EU Member States.

To this end, in order to agree on the necessary legal framework and to be able to prepare the future European programs in a timely manner, allowing beneficiaries of funds of the entire Union to have access to the allocated funds, the Presidency of the EU Council, represented by Minister Rovana Plumb, and the institutions of the European Union are cooperating closely throughout this period.

Contextual information

Trilogues are informal tripartite meetings, within the framework of EU-level negotiations, on the legislation to be adopted. These take place between representatives of the EU Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission.

The purpose of a trialogue is to arrive at a provisional agreement on an acceptable text for both the EU Council and the European Parliament.

During the trialogue, discussions are conducted by the co-legislator hosting the meeting - either the European Parliament or the EU Council. The two institutions explain each position during a debate. The European Commission acts as mediator in order to achieve a agreement between co-legislators.

For a given dossier, each institution designates its negotiators and defines its negotiation mandate. Any provisional agreement reached in the trilogues is informal. It must therefore be approved by official procedures applicable within each institution. Participants in trialogues negotiate on the basis of mandates given in accordance with the internal rules of the institutions they represent.

The frequency and number of trilogues depend on the nature of each dossier and on the specific political circumstances (for example, the end of the legislature). Given that the Presidency of the Council is rotated, usually each Presidency of the Council is motivated to finalize a certain number of dossiers by the end of its Presidency.

About the Cohesion Policy

The Cohesion Policy of the European Union is supported by a number of institutional actors involved in its preparation, definition and implementation. They are in constant consultation with the governments of the Member States, employers’ and professional organizations, non-governmental organizations and think tanks. Through their various attributions, they contribute to the synergy of the Cohesion Policy and ensure the achievement of the EU objectives, both at the legislative and implementation levels.