CER welcomes Parliament MFF report

On 14 November the European Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg, approved the report on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027, outlining the Parliament’s position in view of the interinstitutional negotiations that should lead to an approval of the next MFF by mid-2019. The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) welcomes the Parliament’s report and its ambition.

The Parliament’s vote represents a call for Member States to commit more resources to the EU budget, thereby allowing stronger investments in all policy areas that fall under the competence of the Union. In particular, CER supports the call for an increased CEF envelope for transport (EUR 17.7 billion against the 11.3 billion proposed by the European Commission), more resources for the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the Regional Development Fund (ERDF), additional budget for Horizon Europe and a new envelope of EUR 300 million for sustainable tourism, as well as the backing granted to the DiscoverEU project.

CER Executive Director Libor Lochman said: “We are pleased by the Parliament’s strong stand in favour of sustainable transport – this is a mark of confidence in the benefits of rail. We now look to the Council: we know that negotiations are difficult among Member States, and that it will not be easy to find an interinstitutional agreement. This is why today we ask for transparency in the process: we are convinced that stakeholders should have the right to follow the process, and that they could help find reasonable solutions on all policies”.