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Weekly Lists
June 30, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 22
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Infrastructure
Romanian port operators and Fondul Proprietatea argue over port administration bill
Constanta Port Business Association accused restitution fund Fondul Proprietatea (FP) of blocking investments in the Constanta port with the aim of only deriving short-term dividends (a legitimate policy FP never denied), after FP asked President Klaus Iohannis not to promulgate the new port administration bill, economica.net reported.
FP claims the bill would allow incumbent port operators to derive economic rents by freezing the fees paid to the port administration at low levels for 10 years. President Klaus Iohannis is expected to promulgate the bill, as the parliament has already endorsed it.
On their part, the port operators argue that the bill establishes a dedicated body within the Competition Council (similar to the larger market regulator for the energy market) which would arbitrate the disputes. The port operators also claim that the bill follows the European directives in the sector.
EU funds should not be held hostage to politics, a senior Slovak minister insisted on June 27 as the European Commission debates placing conditions on cohesion funding.
The idea of limiting funds made available to member states that do not follow EU values has been mooted more and more often as Brussels seeks to fight populist tendencies without trying to force through formal processes that would demand unanimous agreement in the EU Council. The Visegrad states are at the forefront of the debate due to their refusal to agree with migrant quotas or withdraw measures that Brussels says are weakening the rule of law or democracy.
The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have seen their economies boosted in recent years by billions in EU funds. All of the Visegrad states have insisted that they will not give in to "blackmail" linking EU funds with accepting refugees. All of the Visegrad countries are heavily dependent on structural funds for economic growth. At around €90bn, Poland is the largest recipient in the EU under the 2014-20 budgetary window. Hungary and the Czech Republic have around €25bn available, and Slovakia €15bn.
Visegrad insists EU funds must not be held hostage