EU member states make bid to shape ECF priorities

EU governments have agreed to push for strengthening their role in setting funding priorities in the future European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) at all stages of the implementation cycle.

Ministers for EU affairs have reached an agreement on the main parts of the ECF proposal, but the deal does not include financial and horizontal issues that are being discussed as part of overall negotiations on the EU budget for 2028-34.

According to the agreement, the adoption of future ECF work programmes, the documents that would set the priorities and budgets for funding calls, would require a formal opinion from EU member states.

Meanwhile, an “ECF general committee”, made up of member state representatives, would be tasked with advising the European Commission on the strategic direction and priorities of the ECF, long-term competitiveness trends, the need to adjust priorities to evolving economic conditions, and strengthening the connection between research, innovation and industrial policy.

The ECF would be a new programme for which the European Commission has proposed a €409 billion budget, or €362 billion when accounting for inflation. It’s set to steer investments towards technologies and industries that are important to Europe’s independence and economic competitiveness.

EU countries want to ensure they have a strong say over where that money is going. The ECF general committee would meet at least once a year, with additional meetings before the preparation of the first work programmes and three years after the start of the programme.

Horizon Europe links

The amendments mirror governments’ plans to influence the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme through a Horizon Europe Strategic Committee. The text foresees joint meetings between the Horizon Europe Strategic Committee and the ECF General Committee to address issues related to collaborative research and innovation activities, which are set to receive funding from both instruments.

Governments retained the Commission’s proposal to include collaborative research calls under Horizon Europe in a dedicated part of the ECF work programmes. This could be a sticking point in trilateral negotiations with the European Parliament, whose draft report, which is yet to be adopted, calls for separate work programmes for Horizon Europe calls.

However, the Council has added an amendment to the “tight links” between the two instruments to stipulate that Horizon Europe rules, including on evaluation committees and award criteria, should apply to collaborative research and innovation activities included in the ECF work programmes.

One key division between governments has been whether to include specific measures in the ECF to boost the participation of actors from poorer EU countries. The compromise text states that funding should be awarded based on the quality of proposals, while also calling on the Commission to monitor the geographical distribution of the money.

“Best efforts should be made to ensure that, at the end of the implementation period, excessive and persistent geographical concentration, not justified by the distribution of relevant technological and industrial capacities across the Union, is avoided,” it says.

Sectoral support

The ECF is part of the Commission’s push to simplify the EU funding landscape, as it brings together 14 existing programmes into a single fund with a single rulebook and a single entry point.

It is set to cover four policy areas: clean transition and industrial decarbonisation; health, biotech, agriculture and bioeconomy; digital leadership; and resilience and security, defence industry and space. But that also means some programmes risk losing out as money shifts towards specific priorities.

Various stakeholder groups and Parliament committees are pushing for the explicit inclusion of sectoral programmes including Life, which supports biodiversity, the circular economy and climate action; EU4health; and funding for agriculture.

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The Council position provides stronger guarantees that these activities will continue to be funded. The ECF should support “all areas covered by the Life programme” under the current EU budget, including “continued support to bottom-up innovative projects,” it says.

EU4Health has made “significant contributions” in areas including disease prevention, cancer and rare diseases, the text says. Previous actions not covered by other EU programmes “should also be considered under the ECF,” it says.

The document also singles out biotechnology as “one of the most promising technologies of this century” and agriculture as a strategic sector that’s fundamental to food sovereignty, competitiveness and economic resilience.

The Council amendments also state that ECF work programmes should include a specific part on how they will support SMEs.

The partial negotiating position is the Council's mandate to start negotiations with the European Parliament on the ECF. Parliament’s research and industry committee is expected to vote on its position on September 10, before it is put to plenary later in the year.