EU Member States again failed, on Wednesday 10 June, to reach an agreement on the latest proposals from the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU on the topic of the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF).
The Presidency will make another attempt to secure a partial general approach on 16 June in Luxembourg, since the ECF file remains conditional on the work performed on Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-20234. The issue of the balance between support for project excellence and sufficiently broad geographical coverage under the ECF once again proved to be the sticking point, according to a source.
The Fund, proposed in July 2025 by the European Commission, with an envelope of €234 billion, is also linked to the regulation on the post-2027 Horizon Europe programme (€175 billion), which is also intended to do more to serve EU competitiveness and which also still needs to be agreed (see EUROPE 13877/7).
On 16 June, ministers for European Affairs of the EU27 will be asked to endorse only the overall structure of the ECF. As is the case with Horizon Europe, one of the main outstanding issues on the ECF on 10 June remains – alongside coordination between the two instruments – the balance between support for excellent projects with high added value for the EU and the need to maintain sufficiently broad geographical coverage for this new funding.
A group of countries is concerned that ECF funding may be concentrated only in certain Member States capable of carrying these highly innovative projects and therefore regions that would also need support for their competitiveness will be neglected.
On 10 June, the Cyprus Presidency therefore submitted a new compromise text, which was only slightly amended compared with an earlier text of 22 May.
As regards the relationship between excellence and geographical balance, the text therefore remained unchanged from this version.
“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”, the text stated.
Measures for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) participation in projects supported by the ECF, in particular the ability to join consortia, have also been strengthened in recent weeks (see EUROPE 13869/7).
According to a source, this debate could be resolved by concrete means to facilitate opportunities across the EU, whether through business support or national contact points. In other words, “we are strengthening the way in which companies are allowed to access the Competitiveness Fund”, the source added.
The idea is that “if things are made easier and companies are given the means to find the right consortium, if they receive the necessary business support, if companies are guided and assisted in finding new partners and in defining the appropriate work programme, this all helps resolve the debate on geographical balance”.
According to an explanatory note seen by Agence Europe, the main elements of the new compromise text concerned other aspects, notably the governance model and synergies between the ECF and other EU funds and programmes.
Among the other amendments was greater attention paid to SMEs “through additional elements in support of SMEs, in particular in work programmes and in dedicated calls, and incentives for crowding in and mobilising private capital”.
“The provisions on the ECF Project Advisory and on business support were also expanded, improving the link between the expertise of the existing InvestEU advisory hub and the future EU for Business Network, while ensuring a stronger focus on establishing synergies with existing national structures and the provision of partnering opportunities, including for national contact points”.
The proposed governance model strengthens and structures the involvement of the EU Council and the Member States at all stages of the implementation cycle, explained the Presidency. An examination procedure has been added for all comitology procedures.
The text pertaining to the delegation of powers to the European Commission has been clarified and Member States will play a central role in setting priorities by contributing from the very start of the process.
As regards coordination with other funds, the Presidency worked to “ensure that the perspective of the Horizon Europe community on the priority setting for collaborative research and innovation activities implemented through ECF work programmes is duly taken into account”. The proposed structure provides for joint sessions of the ECF General Committee, acting in its strategic advisory role, and the Horizon Europe Committee. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Clément Solal)