Trans-European networks: rules for granting financial aid

The Council adopted its common position on the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation 2236/95/EC laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of trans-European networks. According to it, an increased rate up to a 20% maximum for Community support for the following priority TENs projects will be allowed: - Satellite positioning and navigation systems as provided for in Article 17 of Decision 1692/96/EC (Galileo type projects); - priority projects on the energy networks and cross-border or cross-natural barrier sections of selected TENs transport projects as identified in Annex III to Decision No 1692/96/EC, provided in particular that the projects are started before 2010. The main part of Community support under the Common Position will be aimed, as proposed by the Commission and supported by the European Parliament, at contributing decisively to the implementation of the outstanding priority TENs transport projects. At the same time, but with a much lesser budgetary impact, Community support will be targeted at TEN's priority energy projects and Galileo type projects. The Common Position does not concern the e-TENs priority projects (TELECOM) for which the Commission has made a separate proposal, which remains on the table. In addition, the Council introduced the possibility of financing TENs based on a multiannual legal commitment (whereas the budgetary one remains annual) giving projects promoters a strong guarantee that they will receive funding from the Community throughout the implementation phase. It should also be added that the introduction of stricter rules in financing projects to comply with sound and efficient management, introduced by the EP is kept with a slightly different formulation, based on the one proposed by the Commission in its proposal. On the other hand, the common position does not follow the Commission's proposal - shared by the EP - that plans to set up an advisory procedure for the committee. It maintains the regulatory procedure as it is presently used, but agrees on the presence of an EIB representative (as observer) in the Committee. Although the Common Position does not follow the amendment on the increase of the financial framework for the period 2001-2006, it keeps the second alinea relating to a stricter assessment of the use of funds.�