What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Changed:1. Grants the Executive Director of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023 / Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Grants the Interim Executive Director of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023 / Postpones its decision on granting the Interim Executive Director of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Grants the Executive Director of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023 / Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Grants the Director of the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023 / Postpones its decision on granting the Director of the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy for the financial year 2023 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Grants the Executive Director of the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023 / Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Grants the Executive Director of the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023 / Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Grants the Executive Director of the Chips Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023 / Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the Chips Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Chips Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the Chips Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Grants the Executive Director of the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023 / Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Grants the Executive Director of the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023 / Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2023;

Changed:1. WelcomesNotes that the role of the joint undertakings inshould supportingbe to support research and innovation activities in the areas of transport, energy, health, circular bio-based industries, key electronic components, supercomputing, and network systems; calls on the joint undertakings to promote the transformation of scientific knowledge into marketable innovations, and to establish mechanisms to ensure that their activity leads to an increase in European competitiveness in the world;

Changed:3. Welcomes theNotes mutuallythat beneficialthe nature of joint undertakings asis based on public-private partnerships that steer investment and leverage public and private funds to fund common goals; reminds, in that regard, that the contributions of private members must meet established targets in order for such partnerships to remain mutually beneficial; calls on joint undertakings which allow in-kind contributions to additional activities (IKAA) to avoid, where possible, an excessive reliance on such contributions in order to meet established targets;

Removed:4. Welcomes the annual report of the Court of Auditors on the European Union’s joint undertakings for the financial year 2023 (the ‘Court’s report’); underlines that the mission of the Court of Auditors is crucial to the sound implementation of the Union budget and to oversight of the budget;

Added:4. Acknowledges the significant contributions of the joint undertakings in advancing research, innovation, and technology development across various sectors, including aviation, rail, and air traffic management, as integral to achieving the Union's strategic objectives of sustainability, digital transformation, and competitiveness.

Added:5. Welcomes the annual report of the Court of Auditors on the European Union’s joint undertakings for the financial year 2023 (the ‘Court’s report’); underlines that the mission of the Court of Auditors is crucial for the sound implementation of the Union budget and for oversight of the budget;

Changed:(c) the high levels of inflation caused by the two aforementioned events had an impact on the supplies and delivery time for the joint undertakings;

Removed:8. Welcomes the many achievements of the joint undertakings in their respective areas of activity during the financial year 2023 and the resilience that these bodies have demonstrated, despite difficulties and constraints both within the Union and outside the Union;

Added:9. Acknowledges the benefits of joint undertakings, the importance of public-private cooperation in fostering innovation, promoting research and development and the economic benefits of the partnerships; notes that by pooling resources and expertise from both sectors, public and private, joint undertakings can face the challenges more effectively; underlines the importance of transparency, accountability and efficient use of public funds by joint undertakings;

Removed:9. Welcomes the fact that joint undertakings are overall well-managed entities which can claim to conduct their operations according to sound financial management, thereby contributing effectively to Union policy objectives as well as to the sound implementation of the Union budget; nevertheless is concerned with a series of elements, in light of the findings of the Court of Auditors, as presented in this resolution;

Added:10. Recognises the value of initiatives fostering stakeholder engagement and participation, such as open calls for expressions of interest and joint calls across the joint undertakings, as instrumental in leveraging the collective expertise and resources; draws particular attention to the joint call for proposals launched by Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking and the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking – the first joint call of its kind from joint undertakings aimed at developing an integrated air and rail network for a sustainable multimodal transport system;

Added:11. Recalls that joint undertakings must conduct their operations according to sound financial management, thereby contributing effectively to Union policy objectives as well as to the sound implementation of the Union budget; nevertheless is concerned with a series of elements, in light of the findings of the Court of Auditors, as presented in this resolution;

Changed:12.14. Takes note of the fact that, in the view of the Court of Auditors, insufficient guidance was provided to the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking and the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking on their first-time annual accounts, especially as regards the need for clarity in distinguishing the financial resources managed by the Commission before they attained their financial autonomy and by the joint undertakings after they attained it; echoes the Court’s recommendation for action in this regard which recommends that accounting guidelines should be developed in a clear and comprehensible way which should specify the rules for the presentation of the first annual accounts of new joint undertakings and that these guidelines should include instructions on how to separate the financial resources implemented by the Commission from those implemented by a joint undertaking after it attained its financial autonomy; underlinesnotes that the risk to the reliability of annual accounts was deemed to be low for all joint undertakings except for the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking and the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking, for which the risk to reliability was deemed to be medium, due to the complexities brought about by the transfer of budget appropriations and assets from the responsibility of the Commission to the responsibility of the joint undertaking;

Changed:(g) The total available budget in 2023 for the Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking amounted to EUR 102,6 million in commitment appropriations (compared to EUR 171,4 million in 2022) and EUR 120,3 million in payment appropriations (compared to EUR 180,8 million in 2022); understands furthermore that according to the report on budgetary and financial management of the Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking, its total budget execution rate for the financial year 2023 reached 97 % for commitment appropriations and 82 % for payment appropriations, indicating that there were no severe issues related to the pace of implementation of the budget; nevertheless stresses the low execution rate of payment appropriations for the part of its operational expenditure financed under Horizon 2020, which reached 67 %; notes the explanation of the joint undertaking and generally calls on the joint undertaking to ensure a healthy pace of implementation for each section of its budget; points out that Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking postponed final payments to 2024 due to technical issues experienced by beneficiaries; takes notice of the several projects that did not fully claim their budgets, reducing the need for operational payments by approximately EUR 4,1 million; calls on the joint undertaking concerned to elaborate a plan on how to improve the accounting reporting obligations; highlights the importance of supporting the joint undertaking given rail’s inherent advantages in terms of environmental performance, land use, energy consumption, and safety;

Changed:17.19. Echoes the Court’s concerns as regards unused appropriations in the implementation of programmes of certain joint undertakings and calls on the joint undertakings concerned to avoid the reoccurrence of similar situations, as the accumulation of unused appropriations leads to cash surpluses, which are therefore not available to the Union for the financing of other activities and programmes; underlines that this is not in line with the principle of sound financial management and has resulted in a total of EUR 1,5 billion of cash surplus for the financial year 2023; echoes the Court’s recommendation for action in this regard which recommends that thejointthe joint undertakings concerned should develop corrective mechanisms to reduce their cash surpluses to a reasonable level and subsequently align their cash requests for each financial year with their estimated spending needs, in coordination with the Commission; is aware of possibilities under the financial rules of the joint undertakings concerned for unused appropriations to be entered in the estimate of revenue and expenditure of up to the three financial years following their reception; is nevertheless concerned more precisely with:

Removed:18. Echoes the Court’s concerns as regards the contribution of members to certain joint undertakings, in particular as regards the possibility that some joint undertakings could not meet their contribution targets or only do so through high reliance on in-kind contributions to additional activities and calls on the joint undertakings concerned to take all actions necessary to ensure that these situations are avoided; underlines that a failure to meet contribution targets goes against the founding idea of joint undertakings; is concerned, more precisely, with:

Added:20. Stresses that all joint undertakings shall strengthen internal financial controls and public transparency mechanisms, ensuring that funds are distributed efficiently and in a manner consistent with EU strategic objectives;

Added:21. Echoes the Court’s concerns as regards the contribution of members to certain joint undertakings, in particular as regards the possibility that some joint undertakings could not meet their contribution targets or only do so through high reliance on in-kind contributions to additional activities and calls on the joint undertakings concerned to take all actions necessary to prevent these situations from arising in the future; underlines that meeting contribution targets is the responsibility and obligation of the concerned joint undertakings and that failing to meet contribution targets goes against the founding idea of joint undertakings; is concerned, more precisely, with:

Changed:23.26. Takes note of the fact that the levels of detail and the level of accessibility vary when it comes to the quantitative data provided by the joint undertakings on the gender balance of experts selected to work with the joint undertakings; calls on all joint undertakings to increase transparency and to include clear quantitative data on gender balance among the experts selected in their future Annual Activity Reports; calls on all joint undertakings to intensify their efforts to promote gender equality at all levels and to ensure that gender balance remains a horizontal priority in all activities related to procurement, grants and tenders and to provide explanations when gender balance cannot be achieved;

Added:28. Calls for a fair and equitable geographical distribution of funding from the joint undertakings, ensuring that regions with lower innovation capacity and SMEs receive adequate support;

Changed:25.29. Is concerned with the state of play of recruitment within the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking, which received 39 additional posts to be recruited by the end of the financial year 2023 in order to implement the significant funds received under the current multiannual financial framework but which only managed to recruit 21 additional staff; is furthermore concerned with the assessment of the Court of Auditors which determined that the recruitment procedures of the joint undertakings were not sufficiently transparent due to a lack of clear and previously agreed upon scoring-grids to assess candidates and their qualifications as well as due to a lack of sufficient documentation on the underlying decision-making process; regrets that in the view of the Court of Auditors, this situation may have resulted in a lack of equal treatment of candidates; reminds that it is paramount to avoid the application of double standards during the recruitment process and requests for all necessary actions to be taken in this regard; echoes the Court’s recommendation for action in this regard which recommends that the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking should use its increased staff effectively to achieve its recruitment target by the end of 2024 and that, in order to increase the transparency of its recruitment procedures and to substantiate the decision-making processes of the selection committee, the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking should use a pre-agreed scoring grid during the pre-selection phase, in line with the practice of other joint undertakings and Union bodies; welcomes the readiness of the joint undertaking to integrate recommendations for improvements;

Added:30. Emphasises the need for a coherent and fair staffing policy across all Joint Undertakings to ensure adequate and inclusive working conditions, career development opportunities, and work-life balance for staff; calls for the implementation of measures to prevent excessive reliance on temporary contracts and precarious employment; underlines the importance of mental health support structures, flexible working arrangements, and fair internal promotion opportunities to improve staff well-being;

Added:31. Calls on all joint undertakings to implement concrete measures to improve gender balance in leadership positions and decision-making bodies, including setting gender balance targets and regularly monitoring progress; stresses the need to address gender pay gaps and ensure equal opportunities for career advancement;

Changed:28.34. Takes note of the fact that the levels of detail and the level of accessibility vary when it comes to the quantitative data provided by the joint undertakings on the gender balance among their staff and within their governing bodies and structures in their Annual Activity Reports; calls on all joint undertakings to include a clear section dedicated to quantitative data on gender balance among their staff and within their governing bodies and structures in their future Annual Activity Reports, including the disaggregation of data between different levels of responsibility and different types of contract; calls on all joint undertakings to ensure that gender balance remains an objective at all levels of responsibility,responsibility and to persist in their efforts to enhance it, in order to ensure a fair representation of society within their staff and to promote a healthy and productive working environment and to provide explanations when gender balance cannot be achieved;

Added:37. Underlines that joint undertakings shall ensure that funded projects contribute to social well-being and inclusivity, respect workers’ rights and labour conditions and align with the principles of a just transition to sustainable technologies;

Changed:31.38. Welcomes the work of the Court of Auditors on the examination of grant payments made by the ten joint undertakings implementing research and innovation projects, especially as regards its complementary audit of a sample of grant payments at beneficiary level under Horizon 2020; is concerned with the results of this examination which showed that there were persistent systemic errors, especially as regards declared personnel and equipment costs; calls for correction of the systemic errors;

Added:40. Calls on the Commission to implement: i) mandatory financial training for beneficiaries of the joint undertakings to prevent recurrent accounting errors; ii) automated verification tools to enhance accuracy in personnel cost calculations; iii) stronger ex-ante audit procedures to ensure proper use of Union funds;

Changed:40.48. Underlines the importance of implementing an internal control policy on sensitive functions for the joint undertakings; stresses that such a policy can prevent and mitigate the risk of inappropriate or fraudulent action; regrets that at the end of the financial year 2023, the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking, the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, the Chips Joint Undertaking, the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking as well as the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy did not yet have a policy in that regard; stresses the critical nature of this situation and urges the joint undertakings to take action without unnecessary delays;

Removed:42. Takes note of the information reported by the joint undertakings on their activities related to prevention, detection, and correction of fraud; calls on all joint undertakings to continue to report on such elements and to include in their future reports a clear presentation of the legal framework and policies put in place in this regard;

Added:50. Calls on all joint undertakings to enhance their transparency policies, particularly regarding potential conflicts of interest; urges joint undertakings to publish declarations of interest for their members of boards of management, scientific committees, and external experts, ensuring that any financial, professional, or personal ties to entities benefiting from funding from the joint undertakings are disclosed; insists on the introduction of a mandatory ‘cooling-off’ period for senior staff of the joint undertakings before they can take up employment in organisations that receive funding from the joint undertakings;

Added:51. Takes note of the information reported by the joint undertakings on their activities related to prevention, detection, and correction of fraud; calls on all joint undertakings to strengthen their role and identify their weaknesses by engaging further in anti-fraud discussions and to report on such elements and to include in their future reports a clear presentation of the legal framework and policies put in place in this regard;

Changed:44.Welcomes53. Welcomes the fact that the Court’s report also includes an analysis of the follow-up of joint undertakings to previous observations and recommendations for actions published by the Court; notes in this regard that out of 37 observations not sufficiently addressed at the end of 2022, 16 were closed and 21 remained open at the end of 2023; furthermore notes that out of the 15 recommended actions in the annual reports of 2021 and 2022, 9 had been fully implemented, 2 in most respects, 3 in some respects and 1 not implemented at all; understands that some recommendations that still need to be implemented further mainly relate to human resources issues which the joint undertakings can only implement in cooperation with the Directorate-General for Budget of the Commission and once applications are ready to be implemented; understands that the recommendations that had to be implemented before the end of 2023 were implemented in due time;

Removed:Other priorities for the Joint Undertakings

Added:55. Notes with concern the persistent challenges related to cost overruns, delays, and governance issues in the implementation of the ITER project; calls for improved financial oversight and enhanced budgetary transparency, including more detailed public reporting on cost developments, spending efficiency, and progress toward key project milestones; stresses the need for stricter auditing mechanisms to ensure that Union contributions to the project are effectively utilised; urges the joint undertaking to strengthen internal governance by ensuring regular and independent evaluations of project risks and by increasing accountability mechanisms for senior management;

Added:Other priorities for the joint undertakings

Added:58. Calls on the joint undertakings to establish the cooperation with universities in order to reach out to young European graduates to strengthen their future recruitment processes;

Added:64. Emphasies the need for digital sovereignty in research funded by the Union; in that regard puts special emphasis on the Chips Joint Undertaking, Euro European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking, and the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking who shall prioritise projects that enhance Union autonomy in semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity; asks the Commission to ensure that projects funded by joint undertakings: i) are not excessively reliant on third-country suppliers for critical technologies; ii) contribute to the Union’s industrial resilience and strategic independence; iii) foster domestic R&D in key digital sectors;