In a document consulted by Agence Europe, the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU has prepared initial details of the Competitiveness Fund and the horizontal elements of the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The Member States will debate the issue at a meeting of the ‘General Affairs’ Council in Luxembourg on Tuesday 21 October.
These initial elements should enable the Danish Presidency of the EU Council to prepare a framework for general negotiations on the MFF, with a view to the European Council in December 2025 (see EUROPE 13732/21). For the time being, the Danish Presidency is not aiming for any conclusive debate or compromise.
Horizontal elements. They designate the transversal political principles that will apply to the future MFF, whose structure has been largely modified by the European Commission to achieve a “simpler, more efficient and more flexible” budget.
The Danish Presidency is also looking at simplification, flexibility, governance, impact and performance in its preparatory document. It takes as a basis for future negotiations the major principles of the European Commission (see EUROPE 13682/1), including the reduction of the administrative burden for authorities and beneficiaries. A number of flexibility measures should make it easier for the EU budget to respond to “exceptional circumstances” and “changing priorities” by reallocating funds.
The Presidency is proposing to limit to 20% of the amount earmarked for a programme the sums that would be subject to a derogation, but specifies that this would not concern pre-allocated appropriations per country. The Member States will also be discussing the merging of margins into the Single Margin Instrument.
European Competitiveness Fund. The Danish Presidency’s proposal is broadly in line with the European Commission’s one for the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) (see EUROPE 13682/6). It retains the same objectives, except that it insists on paying particular attention to SMEs and ‘small midcaps’.
The ECF’s architecture also seems to meet with consensus, according to the draft framework for negotiations: the authors of the document base themselves on the four pillars presented by the Commission in July, namely the green transition, digitalisation, health and defence.
However, the Danish Presidency is proposing to add a fifth envelope for the general objectives of the ECF.
The four pillars of the Horizon Europe research programme have also been taken over unchanged.
The operation of the ECF is not yet very detailed at this stage, but the EU Council seems to agree with the Commission on the predominant role of the InvestEU tool for distributing funds.
There is still some way to go on the conditions for project eligibility and, therefore, on what does and does not ensure the Union’s competitiveness. In a paragraph in square brackets, the Danish Presidency does not fail to draw attention to the risk of fragmentation of the Single Market, but does not go any further on the geographical balance in the allocation of projects (see EUROPE 13719/1).
It mentions the protection of the Union’s economic interests and autonomy, which must be part of the eligibility conditions, without saying anything more about the level of innovation or excellence of the projects.
Favouring countries with lower research performance. The authors of the document are more specific, however, about the allocation of Horizon Europe funds: the programme should strengthen the innovation capacity of countries that have participated less in Horizon Europe to date (the (‘widening countries’). Again, in square brackets, they propose that capacity-building measures should be restricted to those less successful countries that have increased their R&D spending. (Original version in French by Florent Servia and Léa Marchal, with Lionel Changeur)