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European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans met with representatives of the European Investment Bank (EIB) on 06/01/2020 to discuss European financing needs in view of the ambitious European Green Agreement. The European Commission said in mid-December that it would spend EUR 260 billion annually to finance the European Green Agreement - there were significant investment needs to achieve the objectives set by the European Green Agreement, and the EU could only meet these needs if the public and private sectors were mobilized. In this respect, according to the Commission, the EIB will be the main partner to act as a public investment pool and as an additional guarantee for private investment. The EIB has set ambitious targets, including doubling its climate investment target from 25% to 50% by 2025, and has committed itself to stop financing fossil fuel energy projects by 2021. This should make the EIB a European climate change bank. The European Commission also hopes that the EIB could help with the financing of the Fair Transformation Mechanism (below) of EUR 100 billion. Funding for the European Green Agreement could come from a total of three different sources - cohesion policy, the InvestEU program, and the EIB.
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On 14/01/2020, the European Commission should present a proposal for a Just Transition Fund, which should provide a means of financing for the transition to the rules of the European Green Agreement. The Just Transition Fund should help European citizens and industry affected by the transition to a climate-neutral economy and provide EUR 100 billion from EU resources combined with national and private financial resources. According to the European Commission, the Fund should ensure state aid rules to promote green investments; financing a fair transformation from the InvestEU program and from EIB Group resources or technical assistance. A new Just Transition Fund should be set up under the cohesion policy, and resources from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund + should be mobilized. Member States should participate in the funding as well.

In March 2020, the European Commission should also present a legislative proposal aimed at embedding the objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 in European legislation - unanimity will not be required to pass legislation (Poland, which now refuses to meet the target by 2050, will not capable of blocking legislation itself). By the summer of 2020, the European Commission should put forward a proposal to increase the EU emission reduction target to 50% by 2030.

The Presidents of the European Parliament's political groups agreed to suspend the budget-related parts of the EP negotiations following the failure of the European Council to reach an agreement on the European Union budget after 2020. European Parliament President David Sassoli said Member States are constantly submitting to the European Union new challenges and responsibilities, the European Commission also presented a new set of requirements in the new European Green Agreement (deal) last month. According to Sassoli, the European Parliament is unable to properly negotiate new policies and challenges until a sufficient European budget is secured. According to Sassoli, the Member States do not reflect the urgency of the problem and therefore hopes to start "real" negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework as soon as possible during the Croatian Presidency.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic met with Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture on 08/01/2020, following the presidency of the Council of the European Union by Croatia (January to June 2020). The Prime Minister and the Commissioner discussed the future of the Common Agricultural Policy and discussed the priorities of the Croatian Presidency, including the emphasis on ensuring support for family farms and young farmers. At the meeting, both participants stressed that for the dynamic development of the agricultural sector in the European Union, funding for the second pillar of the CAP - rural development programs - should be supported, as well as environmentally friendly use of natural resources and the development and use of new technologies.
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According to the EP rapporteur on the main part of the CAP transition period, Elsi Katainen (FI, Renew Europe), the EP Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (COMAGRI) should vote on its opinion by the end of April 2020. Elsi Katainen held a meeting on 08/01/2020. Katainen stated at the beginning of the meeting that he expects the opinion of COMAGRI in April 2020. This would ensure that there are no delays in the payments for farmers during transition period. Katainen said that the one-year transition period, as proposed by the European Commission, might not be enough, so we should be prepared to negotiate a two-year period. Attention should be paid not only to the continuation of rural development programs but also to transitional national support. The draft report should be submitted by Katainen at the end of February 2020. At the stakeholders´ meeting, a representative of the European Commission called on Parliament to approve the proposal as it was submitted - the Commission already considers the proposal as a fair compromise, modifications could delay the process. The Commission representative also rejected the continuation of the payment of transitional national aid, which is due to end in 2020 under the 2013 agreement. Representatives of agricultural organizations mostly supported the extension of the transitional period to two years, while the transitional period for one year was supported by the Danish agricultural and food chamber. Trialogues of the Commission, Parliament and the Council will be launched once the EP plenary opinion is approved.