The trilogue discussions between Council, European Parliament and the Commission on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund should have begun yesterday. This first meeting has, however, been cancelled.
After the European Parliament Plenary vote on 23 October, the negotiations – the so-called trilogue – between Council, European Parliament and the European Commission on the final text in the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) can begin. It was scheduled to start on 7 November, but the first session has now been rescheduled to take place on Wednesday 13 November.
The trilogue negotiations will aim to find a compromise between the Parliament’s position adopted on the 23 October and the previously agreed Council General Approach from 15 July 2013. The main negotiators will be the Lithuanian Presidency and the EMFF rapporteur French MEP Alain Cadec (EPP) for the European Parliament, but the Commission is also present. Representatives of the three parties have begun preparatory technical meetings already.
The trilogue schedule as it stands today:
Wednesday 13 November (10:00–13:00)
Tuesday 19 November (14:00–17:00)
Tuesday 26 November (8:00–10:00)
Thursday 5 December (9:00–12:00)
Tuesday 10 December (14:00–17:00)
Thursday 19 December, (10:00–12:00 and 16:00-)
Even if a deal could be reached before the end of the year, the formal adoption of the compromise text will take some time, so most likely the new legislation underpinning the Fund – which should be operational 2014-2020 – will not be published until some time late spring 2014. Meanwhile, Member States are preparing the use of the Fund in national Operational Programmes.