As the liquidation process of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) comes to an end, the revenue generated by its remaining assets has become too low to ensure sustainable financing of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS), the European Court of Auditors announced on Thursday 26 September in a statement.
Since 2002, the RFCS, the European Union's specific research programme in the coal and steel sectors, has been financed by the revenue generated by the assets of the ECSC in liquidation, whose own funds amounted to €1,462 million at the end of 2018. However, mainly due to the extremely low level of interest rates in recent years, the income generated by these assets has become very low, the auditors point out.
The RFCS budget has therefore decreased significantly, from €42 million in 2017 to €22 million in 2019. In 2020, it is expected to be around only €12 million, while annual funds of at least €40 million are said to be needed. Thus, the Court of Auditors concludes that the current model, according to which the fund is financed solely on the basis of the proceeds from the liquidation of the ECSC's assets, is no longer viable. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot – intern)