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PL-DK-CY trio presidencies work plan in the context of the post 2013 Cohesion Policy reform SAWP, 4 July 2011 Content Objective Working method Co-operation with MS 2 Objective (1) Poland, Denmark and Cyprus as three Presidencies which will oversee the negotiations of the post 2013 Cohesion Policy regulations have agreed on a common approach to be followed over the next eighteen months It should serve the common goal of ensuring a swift and effective management of the negotiation process of the legislative package for Cohesion Policy’s next programming period 3 Objective (2) The Trio believes that the work on the future Cohesion Policy should be concluded sufficiently in advance of the next programming period starting on 1 January 2014 in order to allow for a proper planning and implementation of member states’ programmes Therefore, assuming that the Commission will present the proposals for the post 2013 Cohesion Policy regulations no later than autumn 2011, the Trio will strive to reach an agreement on the Cohesion Policy package by the end of 2012, provided that an agreement on the MFF is reached by then 4 Objective (3) Long and in-depth discussions during Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian presidencies should be a conducive factor making it possible to proceed with the substantive negotiations soon after publication of the draft regulations by the European Commission Thus, taking into account these conducive circumstances and provided that the negotiations in the European Parliament progress in a parallel way with the negotiations in the Council, the Trio is optimistic for a timely conclusion of the negotiations on key parts of the Cohesion Policy 5 Working method In accordance with Article 16(6) TEU and Article 2(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the General Affairs Council has the responsibility for the conduct of the work on the European Cohesion Policy. Any discussion in other Council configurations will not lead to conclusions or otherwise prejudge the outcome of the horizontal debate on the European Cohesion Policy. ROLE OF The General Affairs Council will ensure the overall co-ordination GAC AND COREPER II of the work undertaken in this framework. COREPER II has the responsibility for resolving any outstanding issues coming from the structural action working party and for preparing the work of the General Affairs Council on this issue, taking into consideration the work carried out in other relevant Council preparatory bodies, notably the Friends of the Presidency working party on the multi annual financial framework. 6 Working method In accordance with articles 177 and 178 TFEU the Cohesion Policy regulations are adopted according to the ordinary legislative procedure after consulting the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of LEGISLATIVE the Regions PROCEDURE The Presidencies will take account of the opinions of the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 7 Working method The Trio will divide the package into manageable, thematically organised negotiating blocks. The list of articles of the draft regulation included in a given block will be clearly established in the beginning of the discussion on the block. A given block would in general consist of several chapters or a chapter or a part of it, but if justified it could also NEGOTIATIONSinclude articles from (a) different draft regulation(s). BY BLOCKS Regarding the proposals for fund specific regulations, once all of them are opened by PL PRES the following Presidency/ies will aim at concluding discussions about them. SAWP will hold sole responsibility for negotiating all regulations within the CP legislative package, with the exception of issues which have financial implications to be discussed in FoP group which is solely responsible for the MFF. 8 Working method NEGOTIATION STAGES The conduct of work will be divided into three major stages, progressing according to the level of maturity of the discussions: a clarification stage, based on a in-depth analysis of the documents submitted by the Commission and a better understanding of Member States' positions (1 SAWP meeting for a EC presentation of draft general regulation, 1 SAWP meeting for a EC presentation of all specific regulations); a negotiation stage, aiming at narrowing the gap among the EC and Member States' positions on key issues; a concluding stage, aiming at the preparation of the final decisions to be reached 9 Working method Each of the upcoming Presidencies will circulate, at the GUIDING PRINCIPLES beginning of its term (PL PRES in September), an indicative work programme and calendar for the handling of this file within the Council. This plan will – where relevant – be co-ordinated with the work of the multi-annual financial framework Each presidency will aim to narrow down the open issues in a given block and the following Presidencies will try to avoid reopening the discussion on the same issue. Unresolved problems will be addressed at the last stage as a part of the final deal on the MFF. Any time a given negotiating block is provisionally closed the unwritten principle that nothing is agreed until all is agreed will be respected. 10 Working method GUIDING PRINCIPLES The formal negotiations in the Council may be supplemented with technical discussions on the side organized by the European Commission on the leading Presidency request. This may take a form of technical seminars and will serve purely explanatory reasons to facilitate the formal debate Political debates within the General Affairs Council will be regularly organized by the Trio Presidencies to give input to and direct further negotiations. The first such a meeting, solely addressed to the ministers in charge of Cohesion Policy, will be held by the PL PRES in December 2011 11 Working method At the beginning of the negotiations, the Trio will present its common goals, principles and methodology of work to the European Parliament’s relevant committees. The Presidency will ensure that the European COOPERATION leading WITH Parliament (Committees: REGI and EMPL) is regularly EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT informed about the course of negotiations in the SAWP and vice versa 12 Working method Taking due account of a complex context of the MFF negotiations and of the regulatory and strategic frameworks of other EU policies the Trio Presidency will assure co-ordination with other Council preparatory bodies debating issues relevant to the CP legislative package This will apply in particular to the Friends of Presidency Group for the Common Contract and thematic concentration in Cohesion Policy COORDINATION the MFF and other relevant working parties as concerns WITHIN THE Strategic Framework, the Development and Investment COUNCIL The SAWP will get a regular feedback from the discussions led in other Council preparatory bodies and its position will be communicated to other working parties if relevant. In any case, SAWP remains the only Council group in charge of leading the discussion on the new CP package, with the exception of its financial part 13 Working method All decisions regarding those issues of the Cohesion Policy legislative package which have financial implications on the MFF will be decided in the FoP Group, as a coordinating body responsible for overall financial implications of the MFF. However, each presidency can conduct discussion on strategic aspects of Cohesion Policy related to the financial issues RELATIONS Depending on the course of the debate, the leading Presidency WITH MFF may consider: NEGOTIATIONS organising a joint meeting of the FoP Group with the SAWP having orientation debate in SAWP on issues within the remit of FoP Group with the results to be used by them The leading Presidency will regularly inform the SAWP members on the state of play of the negotiations in the FoP Group The FoP Group may ask SAWP to analyze a specific issue and report back 14 Co-operation with MS (1) The success of the approach is impossible without the support of the Member States participating in the SAWP The Presidencies would like to underline the following key expectations which should be taken into account by all the TRIO EXPACTATIONS delegations: TOWARDS MS Active participation in the discussion of the delegations whose countries are still holding reservations, with full understanding that some issues may come up again later, is essential for advancing the discussion on the first blocks 15 Co-operation with MS (2) We urge the Member States to adopt their official positions as TRIO EXPACTATIONS TOWARDS MS soon as possible. The first meetings for each block would be devoted mostly to questions and clarifications, but during the following ones a substantial discussion on a given subject will be launched having Presidency compromises on the concrete text of relevant articles as a point of departure In cases where few issues remain unsettled for the time being, the Trio Presidencies will appreciate a willingness on the part of the Member States and the Commission to narrow down the differences as much as possible on a given negotiating block with a view of coming back and resolving them as a part of the final deal. This is necessary to make any substantial progress 16 Co-operation with MS (3) Finishing negotiations on time to be able to start the TRIO EXPACTATIONS TOWARDS MS programmes without delay requires an ambitious schedule. The Presidencies will strive to send all the documents sufficiently in advance to facilitate preparation for the discussion The Presidencies are open to having bilateral discussions at every moment of the negotiations covering every open part of it. Even before official publication by the Commission, the Member States who are willing to share their views are invited to discuss bilaterally, on the basis of information available at that moment 17 Contact information Piotr Żuber [email protected] CONTACT Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the EU Rue Stevin 139, Brussels phone: +32 278 04 487 mobile: +32 491 717 649 PL Presidency website: pl2011.eu 18 Thank you for your attention! 19