The European Commission strategy for investment received negative opinion from the Transport committee, while the Industry committee asked to mainly finance the green economy
by Emanuele Bonini
Whatever the plenary session of the European Parliament will decide, Jean-Claude Juncker's investment plan raised concerns among the MEPs, who voted against the proposal made by the president of the European Commission. The original idea was creating a special European fund for the strategic investments (EFSI) with 21 billion Euro in guarantees. Five billions are supposed to come from the European Investment Bank (EIB), the other sixteen billion will come from the European Commission. Part of the European Commission guarantees should come from the Connecting Europe Facility programme (CEF, 3,3 billion €) and Horizon 2020 (2,7 billion €). A proposal rejected by the Transport committee of the European Parliament, where 43 MEPs to 3 affirmed the reallocation of 3,3 billion Euro from CEF should be deleted. «CEF should not be sacrificed», said Dominique Riquet, co-rapporteur of the opinion voted on Tuesday. «The Commission keeps telling us these are additional funds but the EFSI proposal rather looks like a substitution. MEPs want a real addition of investment: the Juncker Plan + Horizon 2020 + the Connecting Europe Facility. Not the cherry without the cake».
While the Transport committee voted against one of the mail pillar of Juncker's investment plan, the Industry and energy committee adopted a cross-party amendment to earmark €5 billion of the EFSI for energy efficiency measures. «The top priority of this fund should be to create a green energy union, based on energy efficiency and renewable energy», according to the Green energy spokesperson, Claude Turmes. So, what was thought to unite Europe finished to divide the EU institutions, and from Juncker's different voices are rising. Maybe at the end nothing will happen as these opinions are not binding, and the plenary session of the European Parliament will give the final position on this sensitive file. Any way, the political fact is the European Parliament is reconsidering the plan by which Europe should return to grow. Not a good message indeed.
Whatever the plenary session of the European Parliament will decide, Jean-Claude Juncker's investment plan raised concerns among the MEPs, who voted against the proposal made by the president of the European Commission. The original idea was creating a special European fund for the strategic investments (EFSI) with 21 billion Euro in guarantees. Five billions are supposed to come from the European Investment Bank (EIB), the other sixteen billion will come from the European Commission. Part of the European Commission guarantees should come from the Connecting Europe Facility programme (CEF, 3,3 billion €) and Horizon 2020 (2,7 billion €). A proposal rejected by the Transport committee of the European Parliament, where 43 MEPs to 3 affirmed the reallocation of 3,3 billion Euro from CEF should be deleted. «CEF should not be sacrificed», said Dominique Riquet, co-rapporteur of the opinion voted on Tuesday. «The Commission keeps telling us these are additional funds but the EFSI proposal rather looks like a substitution. MEPs want a real addition of investment: the Juncker Plan + Horizon 2020 + the Connecting Europe Facility. Not the cherry without the cake».
While the Transport committee voted against one of the mail pillar of Juncker's investment plan, the Industry and energy committee adopted a cross-party amendment to earmark €5 billion of the EFSI for energy efficiency measures. «The top priority of this fund should be to create a green energy union, based on energy efficiency and renewable energy», according to the Green energy spokesperson, Claude Turmes. So, what was thought to unite Europe finished to divide the EU institutions, and from Juncker's different voices are rising. Maybe at the end nothing will happen as these opinions are not binding, and the plenary session of the European Parliament will give the final position on this sensitive file. Any way, the political fact is the European Parliament is reconsidering the plan by which Europe should return to grow. Not a good message indeed.
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