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EU Parl Watch

opinion parliamentary committee, 24 April 2026

On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing the European Competitiveness Fund ('ECF’), including the specific programme for defence research and innovation activities, repealing Regulations (EU) 2021/522, (EU) 2021/694, (EU) 2021/697, (EU) 2021/783, and amending Regulations (EU) 2021/696, (EU) 2023/588, (EU) [EDIP]

Document CONT-AD-784350 · (COM(2025)0555 – C100165/2025 – 2025/0555(COD))

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Ondřej Knotek

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AI:In short

The Committee on Budgetary Control gives its opinion on the proposed regulation establishing the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), including a defence research and innovation programme. It supports the aim of boosting Union competitiveness but raises concerns about heavy reliance on financial instruments, budgetary guarantees, financing not linked to costs, accelerated procedures, derogations from the Financial Regulation and broad Commission discretion. Its amendments strengthen transparency, accountability and sound financial management, and reinforce protection of the Union's financial interests across all implementation modes. They require conditions and annual reporting on derogations, safeguards against double funding, traceability to final beneficiaries, justification and auditability for financing not linked to costs, and conflict-of-interest rules for advisory boards. They also require balanced geographical distribution of support, targeted technical assistance for less experienced entities, and reporting on the geographical spread of ECF funding.

Position. The Committee on Budgetary Control supports the ECF's objective but proposes amendments to strengthen transparency, accountability and sound financial management, protect the Union's financial interests across all implementation modes, and ensure flexibility and speed are matched by democratic oversight.

Key points

  1. The amendments require that OLAF, the European Court of Auditors and the European Public Prosecutor's Office can investigate, audit and prosecute across all ECF implementation modes.
  2. Implementing partners, intermediaries, final recipients and, where applicable, third-country counterparts must meet equivalent obligations on access, information and cooperation.
  3. Derogations from the Financial Regulation must meet clear conditions, with annual reporting to Parliament and the Council on their legal basis, justification, financial impact and beneficiaries.
  4. The amendments require adequate geographical balance and focus technical assistance on less experienced entities, with reporting on the geographical distribution of ECF support by Member State, policy window and funding instrument.
  5. Safeguards against double funding are reinforced and traceability of Union funds down to final beneficiaries, including subcontractors, is enhanced.
  6. Simplification measures must not undermine transparency or accountability, and the single gateway's transparency function is strengthened, with public access to information in line with data protection rules.
  7. Financing not linked to costs requires robust justification, clear methodologies for setting and verifying milestones and targets, safeguards against overcompensation and double funding, and effective auditability.
  8. Advisory boards and stakeholder consultations must comply with rules on conflict of interest, transparency and integrity.
  9. New definitions are added for 'less experienced applicants' and 'first-time applicants', with targeted support and monitoring of their participation and success rates.
  10. A new article on competitiveness across Europe requires supportive measures for start-ups, first-time and less experienced applicants and applicants from less developed regions, plus a European Competitiveness Scoreboard and an ECF Dashboard.
  11. A Competitiveness Coordination Tool is established, with Parliament involved as observer, informed regularly and receiving analytical reports and strategic guidance.
  12. New articles require annual Commission reporting to Parliament and the Council on ECF implementation, and interim and ex-post evaluations.

Who is affected

  • Businesses, research organisations and public entities across all Member States, who must be able to participate effectively in the programme.
  • Start-ups, first-time applicants, less experienced applicants and entities in less developed and transition regions, who receive targeted support and advisory services.
  • Implementing partners, financial intermediaries and final recipients, who must meet obligations on access, information, cooperation and due diligence.
  • Third countries associating to ECF activities, which must grant audit and investigatory rights to OLAF, EPPO and the European Court of Auditors.
  • Members of advisory boards, who must comply with conflict-of-interest, transparency and integrity rules.

Figures and deadlines

  • By 31 December 2030, the Commission may take measures if funding to Transition and Widening countries remains significantly low.
  • Beneficiaries must inform the granting authority of variations greater than 10% between the amount granted and the estimated expenditure.
  • 30% of the budget allocated to the Project Advisory shall be used for actions targeted to start-ups, first-time and less experienced applicants.
  • The Commission shall transmit an annual report on ECF implementation to Parliament and the Council by 30 June each year.
  • An interim evaluation is due no later than four years after the start of programme implementation, and an ex-post evaluation no later than four years after the end of the period in Article 4(1).
  • A notice on each action financed under Article 20 must be published within 60 days of signature of the legal commitment.
  • Members of the ECF Strategic Stakeholders Board serve a term limited to two years, renewable twice.

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Full text

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Short justification 527 paragraphs

The proposal for a Regulation establishing the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) seeks to enhance the Union’s competitiveness through a flexible funding architecture mobilising public and private investment. While supporting this objective, the Rapporteur raises concerns regarding the extensive reliance on financial instruments, budgetary guarantees, financing not linked to costs, accelerated procedures, derogations from the Financial Regulation, and the broad discretion granted to the Commission in programming and implementation.

Against this background, the amendments aim to strengthen transparency, accountability and sound financial management, while respecting the need for flexibility and speed inherent to competitiveness-oriented instruments.

The amendments reinforce the protection of the Union’s financial interests by ensuring that the investigative, audit and prosecutorial competences of OLAF, the European Court of Auditors and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office apply across all implementation modes of the ECF. Given the reliance on blending operations and cooperation with third countries, they clarify that implementing partners, intermediaries, final recipients and, where applicable, third-country counterparts are subject to equivalent obligations regarding access, information and cooperation, thereby preventing accountability gaps and safeguarding Parliament’s budgetary control and discharge prerogatives.

The amendments also address the extensive use of derogations from the Financial Regulation. While such tools may be justified in specific cases, their cumulative use risks weakening transparency and value for money. The amendments therefore require clear conditions for their use and introduce comprehensive annual reporting obligations to the European Parliament and the Council, covering their legal basis, justification, financial impact and beneficiaries, in line with Articles 317 and 319 TFEU.

Furthermore, the amendments stress the need to ensure adequate geographical balance as well as focus the technical assistance to less experienced entities. Reporting obligations are strengthened to ensure transparent and comparable information on the geographical distribution of ECF support by Member State, policy window and funding instrument, enabling scrutiny of balanced access to Union support.

Given the emphasis on blending, cumulation and synergies with other programmes, the amendments reinforce safeguards against double funding and enhance traceability of Union funds down to final beneficiaries, including subcontractors. They clarify that simplification measures must not undermine transparency or accountability and strengthen the transparency function of the single gateway, ensuring public access to information in line with data protection rules.

With regard to financing not linked to costs, the amendments require robust justification, clear methodologies for setting and verifying milestones and targets, safeguards against overcompensation and double funding, and effective auditability, consistent with the European Court of Auditors’ findings.

Finally, governance safeguards are reinforced by clarifying that advisory boards and stakeholder consultations must comply with rules on conflict of interest, transparency and integrity.

Overall, the amendments seek to ensure that flexibility and speed are matched by transparency, accountability and democratic oversight, thereby safeguarding the Union budget and preserving the European Parliament’s institutional prerogatives without undermining the ambition of the ECF.

AMENDMENTS

The Committee on Budgetary Control submits the following to the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, as the committee responsible:

Amendment 1

Read the rest (515 paragraphs)

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 3

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(3) To regain and reinforce its competitive edge, it is essential that the Union revives the innovation cycle by developing its disruptive innovation capacity and investing in emerging, cutting-edge and strategic technologies with significant economic potential. To ensure its autonomy in the global economy, the Union should guarantee its technological and industrial leadership in strategic sectors, starting with critical raw materials supply chains, to develop and manufacture strategic technologies in Europe, as well as mitigate risks affecting its security and resilience emanating from critical external dependencies. This can be done by addressing market failures and suboptimal investment situations, in a proportionate manner and without crowding out private funding, considering the high investment needs for delivering on Union priorities, including for decarbonisation and the digital transition. Greater emphasis should be put on leveraging private sector participation by improving the use of risk-sharing mechanisms between Union funds and private investors, to ensure an efficient use of public funding. This will build upon and further amplify the impact of the progress achieved on the Savings and Investment Union, which will provide the necessary regulatory landscape for private investments to thrive. The use of any additional national resources is without prejudice to the application of Articles 107 and 108 TFEU.(3) To regain and reinforce its competitive edge, it is essential that the Union revives the innovation cycle by developing its disruptive innovation capacity and accelerating investment in emerging, cutting-edge and strategic technologies with significant economic potential. This should contribute to strengthening the competitiveness and resilience of the Union economy by mobilising the industrial, technological and innovation capacities present across all Member States. To ensure its autonomy in the global economy, the Union should guarantee and expand its technological and industrial leadership in strategic sectors, starting with critical raw materials supply chains, to develop and manufacture strategic technologies in Europe, as well as mitigate risks affecting its security and resilience emanating from critical external dependencies. This can be done by addressing market failures and suboptimal investment situations, in a proportionate manner and without crowding out private funding, and by mobilising long-term capital to meet the substantial investment needs linked to the Union priorities, including for decarbonisation and the digital transition. Union funding under the ECF should respect the principle of technological neutrality, allowing the market to determine the most cost-effective pathways to achieving policy objectives. Funding criteria should be based on measurable outcomes rather than prescriptive technology preferences. Greater emphasis should be put on leveraging private sector participation by improving the use of risk-sharing mechanisms between Union funds and private investors, to ensure an efficient use of public funding without prejudice to transparency and traceability of Union funds. This will build upon and further amplify the impact of the progress achieved on the Savings and Investment Union, which will provide the necessary regulatory landscape for private investments to thrive. The use of any additional national resources is without prejudice to the application of Articles 107 and 108 TFEU.

Amendment 2

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 4

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(4) This requires that Union funding offers support to businesses and projects along the entire investment journey. This journey encompasses all stages of developing and manufacturing strategic technologies, products and services in Europe, from applied research, through all forms of innovation, scale-up, industrial deployment, to manufacturing and market deployment, including the necessary investment and operational costs support, infrastructure and skills. The investment journey is not linear as all stages feed each other, and ideas for new products or services might arise at any stage. European funding needs to cater for this non-linear reality with increased flexibility of providing support preserving predictability for funding.(4) This requires that Union funding offers support to businesses and projects along the entire investment journey. This journey encompasses all stages of developing and manufacturing strategic technologies, products and services in Europe, from applied research, through all forms of innovation, scale-up, industrial deployment, to manufacturing and market deployment, including the necessary investment and operational costs support, infrastructure and skills. The investment journey is not linear as all stages feed each other, and ideas for new products or services might arise at any stage. European funding needs to cater for this non-linear reality with increased flexibility of providing support preserving predictability for funding, without undermining transparency, traceability of funds and accountability for the Union’s spending. At the same time rising borrowing costs pose a risk to future budgets and reduce the fiscal space for new priorities. This unprecedented fiscal pressure requires the ECF to demonstrate strict expenditure discipline and to prioritise spending with the highest demonstrable EU added value. Administrative overhead costs, including the costs of implementing partners and executive agencies, should not grow disproportionately to the operational budget of the Fund.

Amendment 3

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 5

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(5) This also requires that Union funding facilitates the creation and expansion of innovative and industrial ecosystems, where different actors interact in a synergetic way. Successful ecosystems feature intensive and agile interactions and collaboration between small and large companies, universities research institutions, infrastructure providers, investors as well as public authorities. Without such collaborations within and between individual innovation and industrial ecosystems, innovation potential stays unexploited.(5) This also requires that Union funding facilitates the creation and expansion of innovative and industrial ecosystems, where different actors interact in a synergetic way. Successful ecosystems feature intensive and agile interactions and collaboration between small and large companies, universities research institutions, infrastructure providers, investors as well as public authorities. Without such collaborations within and between individual innovation and industrial ecosystems, innovation potential stays unexploited. The purpose of these synergies should be to achieve the EU's most important economic goals and to demonstrate EU added value.

Amendment 4

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 8

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(8) In the EU, persistent disparities in competitiveness and innovation performance across regions continue to exist. After sustained efforts at both EU and national level to close the innovation gap, it is time to unlock the full potential of every region. By ensuring that less-developed regions are effectively connected to EU value chains, the Union as a whole will be better positioned to compete globally.(8) In the EU, persistent disparities in competitiveness and innovation performance across regions continue to exist. After sustained efforts at both EU and national level to close the innovation gap, it is time to unlock the full potential of every region. By ensuring that less-developed regions are effectively connected to EU value chains, the Union as a whole will be better positioned to compete globally. To achieve this, it is necessary to support the participation of entities established in all Member States, including those with less developed innovation systems, and to ensure balanced distribution of opportunities across the Union, in particular through targeted outreach, advisory services and technical assistance for entities facing structural barriers to accessing competitive Union funding, while respecting the principles of excellence, absorption capacity and sound financial management.

Amendment 5

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 9

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(9) The EU outermost regions and overseas countries and territories represent unique and strategic assets that benefit the Union as a whole – including proximity to third countries, exceptional conditions for space and astrophysics research, abundant renewable energy potential, rich biodiversity, and extensive maritime zones. The ECF should leverage their potential as geostrategic outposts, particularly in support of the Union’s objectives on security, preparedness, regional value chains, and competitiveness.(9) The EU outermost regions and overseas countries and territories represent unique and strategic assets that benefit the Union as a whole – including proximity to third countries, exceptional conditions for space and astrophysics research, abundant renewable energy potential, rich biodiversity, and extensive maritime zones. The ECF should leverage their potential as geostrategic outposts, particularly in support of the Union’s objectives on security, including energy and economic, preparedness, regional value chains and competitiveness. At the same time, the EU should ensure that publicly funded projects will be developed in cooperation with local stakeholders, and in accordance with transparency standards.

Amendment 6

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 10

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(10) The Commission should ensure tight coordination and synergies between all Union founding sources in the MFF. For this purpose, the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation will be tightly linked to the ECF: to ensure that the European industry leverages research results funded by the Union to further innovate and produce in Europe. In order to foster synergies, the work programmes adopted under this Regulation should integrate in a specific and dedicated part and ensure coherence with the ‘Competitiveness’ component, Part II ‘Competitiveness and Society’ of the Regulation (EU) [XXX]10 of the European Parliament and of the Council [Horizon Europe Framework programme for Research and Innovation]11 in accordance with the committee procedure set out in this Regulation. Besides, the ECF shall ensure coherence with the types of actions planned to be implemented under the Innovation Fund, notably when developing work programmes.(10) The Commission should ensure tight coordination and synergies between all Union founding sources in the MFF. For this purpose, the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation will be tightly linked to the ECF: to ensure that the European industry leverages research results funded by the Union to further innovate and produce in Europe. In order to foster synergies, the work programmes adopted under this Regulation should integrate in a specific and dedicated part and ensure coherence with the ‘Competitiveness’ component, Part II ‘Competitiveness and Society’ of the Regulation (EU) [XXX]10 of the European Parliament and of the Council [Horizon Europe Framework programme for Research and Innovation]11 in accordance with the committee procedure set out in this Regulation. Such coordination should include effective safeguards to prevent double funding and to ensure a clear audit trail across all Union programmes, including where actions receive cumulative support from the ECF and the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. Besides, the ECF shall ensure coherence with the types of actions planned to be implemented under the Innovation Fund, notably when developing work programmes.
10 OJ L.., p10 OJ L.., p
11 COM(2025) 54311 COM(2025) 543

Amendment 7

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 12

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(12) Moreover, to foresee a strong connection with the Competitiveness Coordination Tool, the work programme of the ECF should ensure coherence with the selected projects and competitiveness priorities identified under the Tool.(12) Moreover, to foresee a strong connection with the Competitiveness Coordination Tool, the work programme of the ECF should ensure coherence with the selected projects and competitiveness priorities identified under the Tool, following a transparent and evidence-based selection methodology. Such coherence should be documented in the work programmes and be subject to transparent reporting to the European Parliament and the Council.

Amendment 8

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 13

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(13) Cooperation between public and private sectors can benefit European competitiveness and leveraging private investments is necessary to complete the objectives of the ECF. Therefore, it should be possible to implement parts of the ECF budget through public-private partnerships together with other public and private entities, where this is the most effective implementation form to achieve the policy objectives established for research and technological development, while ensuring additionality and avoiding the crowding-out of private investments. Public-private partnerships in the form of Joint Undertakings should be established where a close involvement of the Union is required and should ensure appropriate voting rights for the Union as well as sufficient co-investment by other partners to leverage Union support. In view of fostering synergies and efficiencies, it is necessary, based on the assessed needs, to ensure a centralised establishment and administrative functions for joint undertakings. Therefore, the number of joint undertakings should be as limited as possible.(13) Cooperation between public and private sectors can benefit European competitiveness and leveraging private investments is necessary to complete the objectives of the ECF. Therefore, it should be possible to implement parts of the ECF budget through public-private partnerships together with other public and private entities, where this is the most effective implementation form to achieve the policy objectives established for research and technological development, while ensuring additionality and avoiding the crowding-out of private investments. Public-private partnerships in the form of Joint Undertakings should be established where a close involvement of the Union is required and should ensure appropriate voting rights for the Union as well as sufficient co-investment by other partners to leverage Union support. In view of fostering synergies and efficiencies, it is necessary, based on the assessed needs, to ensure a centralised establishment and administrative functions for joint undertakings. Therefore, the number of joint undertakings should be as limited as possible. One of the purposes of these partnerships should be to address the challenges faced by the Union and achieve results that benefit the EU citizens.

Amendment 9

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 14

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(14) The ECF should use the whole toolbox of Union budget to unlock additional public and private investments, in particular from institutional investors throughout the whole investment journey. It should contribute to creating an “investment culture” by better leveraging public funds and the de-risking potential of the Union budget. It will maximise the added value of Union action and crowd-in private capital to secure a competitive innovation and industrial base, also by using innovative funding instruments including public-private co-investment with asymmetric risk returns. In this regard, the use of financial instruments that crowd in private investors should be the privileged option wherever possible.(14) The ECF should use the whole toolbox of the Union budget to unlock additional public and private investments, in particular from institutional investors throughout the whole investment journey. It should contribute to creating an “investment culture” by better leveraging public funds and the de-risking potential of the Union budget. It will maximise the added value of Union action and crowd-in private capital to secure a competitive, and modern innovation and industrial base, including through the use of innovative funding instruments such as public-private co-investment with asymmetric risk-return profiles, while ensuring transparency, accountability and effective budgetary oversight of the use of Union funds. In this regard, the use of financial instruments that crowd in private investors should be the privileged option wherever possible. The Commission should monitor the impact of such instruments, including through assessments of potential crowding-out of private investment for the ECF financial instruments and budgetary guarantees and report on the results to the European Parliament and the Council.

Amendment 10

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 15

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(15) The Draghi report calls for more investment support to close the investment gap and recognises InvestEU as the key risk-sharing instrument to use. The ECF InvestEU Instrument should set up a single budgetary guarantee and deliver financial instruments to support EU competitiveness.(15) The Draghi report calls for more investment support to close the investment gap and recognises InvestEU as the key risk-sharing instrument to use. The ECF InvestEU Instrument should set up a single budgetary guarantee and deliver financial instruments to support EU competitiveness, provided that the investments de-risked with Union-support are subject to budgetary oversight in order to ensure Union added value.

Amendment 11

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 17

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(17) The ECF should facilitate access to funding from Union programmes through user-centric, fast, simpler and harmonised procedures and improve coherence among Union instruments and with Member States investments. The ECF should put beneficiaries of Union funding, and notably industry, SMEs, start-ups and scale-ups, including those established under the upcoming 28th regime, at the centre of the design of Union funding instruments.(17) The ECF should facilitate access to funding from Union programmes through user-centric, streamlined, simpler and harmonised procedures and improve coherence among Union instruments and with Member States’ investments, ensuring that businesses, research organisations and public entities across all Member States can effectively participate in the Programme. The ECF should put beneficiaries of Union funding, and notably industry, SMEs, start-ups and scale-ups, including those established under the upcoming 28th regime, at the centre of the design of Union funding instruments. It should contribute to reducing administrative burdens and time-to-grant, streamline the digitalisation of application procedures and provide clear and predictable eligibility criteria across programmes, while respecting the principles of sound financial management, transparency and public accountability. The implementation of the Programme should also be subject to appropriate independent evaluation and monitoring mechanisms to assess its impact on research and innovation objectives. These evaluations should include clear performance indicators, financial audits, and public consultations.

Amendment 12

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 17 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(17 a) In order to ensure that the benefits of increased competitiveness are shared across the Union, the ECF should also contribute to reducing economic, social and territorial disparities and to fostering convergence between less developed, transition and more developed regions. That support should address persistent innovation and digital divides and ensure the effective diffusion of innovation and the uptake of advanced technologies across all regions of the Union. To that end, the Programme should provide targeted technical assistance and appropriate support measures, while ensuring transparent monitoring of the geographical distribution of Union funding and appropriate reporting on regional participation. Such monitoring should contribute to assessing the Union added value of the support and help prevent excessive sectoral or geographical concentration, while facilitating effective access to ECF funding for a broad range of beneficiaries across the Union.

Amendment 13

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 17 b (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(17 b) This Regulation establishes new categories of first-time applicants and less experienced applicants, which should receive particular attention and targeted support, as such entities often face difficulties in successfully competing for funding under centrally managed Union programmes. Persistent disparities in participation and success rates contribute to competitiveness and research gaps in many regions and Member States across the Union. The implementation of the ECF should therefore ensure transparent monitoring of participation and success rates across Member States and regions, with a view to identifying structural barriers to access and ensuring that Union funding delivers clear Union added value and is distributed in a balanced and effective manner.

Amendment 14

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 24

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(24) Projects and activities under the Clean Transition and Industrial Decarbonisation window shall promote energy efficiency, integrated renewable energy, new energies, energy renovations, and innovative heating and cooling solutions.(24) Projects and activities under the Clean Transition and Industrial Decarbonisation window shall promote energy efficiency, integrated renewable energy, new energies, energy renovations, and innovative heating and cooling solutions that are accessible to all, particularly to low and middle-income households and SMEs, which are the most impacted by the massive increase in energy costs of the recent years.

Amendment 15

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 28

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(28) While Europe’s digital transformation is accelerating, the many critical dependencies on non-Union suppliers (from raw materials, advanced semiconductors, and AI chips to systems, infrastructures and services) require European alternatives that anchor the digital transformation in Europe’s economy, with our shared values as the essential differentiator, including by leveraging the power of open-source technologies. Support for digital leadership is driven by regulatory and non-regulatory Union policy initiatives in the digital area such as the AI Act, AI Continent and AI Action Plan, the Apply AI Strategy, the Cloud and AI Development Act, the Data Union Strategy, the Digital Networks Act, the EU Quantum Strategy and the Quantum Act, the Cyber-Solidarity Act, the Cyber-Resilience Act and the Cybersecurity Act, the White Paper for European Defence-Readiness 2030, and the revision of the EU Chips Act, and by future policy initiatives. The digital areas to invest in include a number of critical frontier technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-powered digital twins, robotics, semiconductors, autonomous or quantum technologies. They also include key infrastructures such as digital identity, cloud, high performance and quantum computing, communication, advanced underwater observation infrastructure, and sensing infrastructures, digital connectivity networks, including submarine cables, as well as cybersecurity, defence or space capacities. Fostering their uptake across private and public sectors makes our entire economy more competitive, secure, sovereign, and sustainable, fortifying societal resilience and preparedness. Moreover, interoperable digital technologies are driving the modernisation of the public sector, serving for the integration of the single market, which is our most valuable stepping stone for European digital start-ups to become globally competitive. Technological progress and innovation in every economic sector, and thus their productivity and competitiveness, are essentially driven by the integration of sector-specific digital developments and use of digital solutions that should be supported across the ECF.(28) While Europe’s digital transformation is accelerating, the many critical dependencies on non-Union suppliers (from raw materials, advanced semiconductors, and AI chips to systems, infrastructures and services) require European alternatives that anchor the digital transformation in Europe’s economy, with our shared values as the essential differentiator, including by leveraging the power of open-source technologies. Support for digital leadership is driven by regulatory and non-regulatory Union policy initiatives in the digital area such as the AI Act, AI Continent and AI Action Plan, the Apply AI Strategy, the Cloud and AI Development Act, the Data Union Strategy, the Digital Networks Act, the EU Quantum Strategy and the Quantum Act, the Cyber-Solidarity Act, the Cyber-Resilience Act and the Cybersecurity Act, the White Paper for European Defence-Readiness 2030, and the revision of the EU Chips Act, and by future policy initiatives. The digital areas to invest in include a number of critical frontier technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-powered digital twins, robotics, semiconductors, and quantum technologies. They also include key infrastructures such as digital identity, cloud, high performance and quantum computing, communication, advanced underwater observation infrastructure, and sensing infrastructures, digital connectivity networks, including submarine cables, as well as cybersecurity, defence or space capacities. Fostering their uptake across private and public sectors makes our entire economy more competitive, secure, sovereign, and sustainable, fortifying societal resilience and preparedness. Moreover, interoperable digital technologies are driving the modernisation of the public sector, serving for the integration of the single market, which is our most valuable stepping stone for European digital start-ups to become globally competitive. Technological progress and innovation in every economic sector, and thus their productivity and competitiveness, are essentially driven by the integration of sector-specific digital developments and use of digital solutions that should be supported across the ECF.

Amendment 16

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 43

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(43) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council applies to this basic act. It lays down the rules on the establishment and the implementation of the general budget of the Union, including the rules on grants, prizes, non-financial donations, procurement, indirect management, financial instruments and budgetary guarantees. In accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council,17 Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95,18 Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/9619 and Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939,20 the financial interests of the Union are to be protected through proportionate measures, including the prevention, detection, correction and investigation of irregularities and fraud, the recovery of funds lost, wrongly paid or incorrectly used and, where appropriate, the imposition of administrative sanctions. In particular, in accordance with Regulations (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 and (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union. In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) is competent to investigate and prosecute fraud and other criminal offences affecting the financial interests of the Union as provided for in Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council.21 In accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, any person or entity receiving Union funds is to fully cooperate in the protection of the Union’s financial interests, to grant the necessary rights and access to the Commission, OLAF, the European Court of Auditors and, as appropriate, to the EPPO, and to ensure that any third parties involved in the implementation of Union funds grant equivalent rights.(43) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council applies to this basic act. It lays down the rules on the establishment and the implementation of the general budget of the Union, including the rules on grants, prizes, non-financial donations, procurement, indirect management, financial instruments and budgetary guarantees. In accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95, Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 and Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, the financial interests of the Union are to be protected through proportionate measures, including the prevention, detection, correction and investigation of irregularities and fraud, the recovery of funds lost, wrongly paid or incorrectly used and, where appropriate, the imposition of administrative sanctions. In particular, in accordance with Regulations (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 and (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union. In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is competent to investigate and prosecute fraud and other criminal offences affecting the financial interests of the Union as provided for in Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council. In accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, any person or entity receiving any type of Union funding, including through financial instruments, budgetary guarantees or blending operations, is to fully cooperate in the protection of the Union’s financial interests, to grant the necessary rights and access to the Commission, OLAF, the European Court of Auditors and, as appropriate, to the EPPO, and to ensure that any third parties involved in the implementation of Union funds grant equivalent rights, including where activities involve non-EU countries, in order to ensure full accountability regardless of the geographical location of the expenditure. The Commission should ensure effective cooperation with OLAF and the EPPO, including the timely reporting of suspected cases of fraud or serious irregularities, and promote appropriate electronic reporting of financial information to facilitate effective oversight and public transparency.
17 Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2013/883/oj).17 Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2013/883/oj).
18 Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities financial interests (OJ L 312, 23.12.95, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1995/2988/oj).18 Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities financial interests (OJ L 312, 23.12.95, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1995/2988/oj).
19 Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities' financial interests against fraud and other irregularities (OJ L 292,15.11.96, p. 2, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1996/2185/oj).19 Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities' financial interests against fraud and other irregularities (OJ L 292,15.11.96, p. 2, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1996/2185/oj).
20 Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’) (OJ L 283, 31.10.2017, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/1939/oj).20 Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’) (OJ L 283, 31.10.2017, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/1939/oj).
21 Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the fight against fraud to the Union's financial interests by means of criminal law (OJ L 198, 28.7.2017, p. 29, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2017/1371/oj).21 Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the fight against fraud to the Union's financial interests by means of criminal law (OJ L 198, 28.7.2017, p. 29, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2017/1371/oj).

Amendment 17

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 43 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(43 a) The Commission should ensure that the implementation of the ECF is carried out in full respect of the EU values, and that effective safeguards are in place to prevent conflicts of interest and undue influence that could undermine the protection of the Union budget. ECF should be implemented in full respect of the Union framework for the protection of the budget, including Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092. In addition, the control framework should enable full traceability of operations and recipients and ensure that the data necessary for checks, audits and investigations are complete, reliable and made available through the single electronic data interchange area and the single gateway referred to in Article 31 on access to Union funding of this Regulation. In order to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of Union funds, the final recipient of support under the ECF should be understood as any entity that effectively receives the Union funding. Where grants are implemented through financing not linked to costs or simplified cost options, the work programme or award documentation should specify the methodology for partial payments, reductions, suspensions and recoveries where conditions for payment are not met, including the application of proportionality principles and the treatment of partial achievement, without prejudice to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

Amendment 18

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 43 b (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(43 b) The simplification and acceleration measures provided for by this Regulation, including the use of simplified forms of financing and the possibility to apply accelerated and targeted actions for competitiveness, should not reduce transparency, equal treatment or jeopardise the protection of the Union budget. Those measures should be based on a documented risk assessment and be accompanied by proportionate safeguards, including appropriate audit and control arrangements and reliable performance information. Given that the ECF brings together resources from several Union programmes and allows for the reallocation of resources between different objectives in response to emerging needs, the Commission should ensure a high level of transparency regarding the allocation and use of funds. In this context, reinforced reporting to the European Parliament and the Council and appropriate public access to information on spending and reallocations should be ensured, in order to enable effective democratic scrutiny and accountability.

Amendment 19

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 45

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(45) To promote the resilience of the Union economy, notably by reducing strategic dependencies, the ECF should enable Union preference for support to manufacturing and developing strategic technologies and sectors located in the Union, notably for actions related to Union strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security, in line with Union law and its international commitments. It is essential that European funding contributes to the uptake of strategic technologies developed in the Union and funded through European funding. To support the development and manufacturing in the Union of strategic technologies funded by the Union, the ECF should allow to condition its support through control restrictions, asset transfers restrictions and supply restrictions to the use of specific products and technologies.(45) To promote the resilience of the Union economy, notably by reducing strategic dependencies, the ECF should enable Union preference for support to manufacturing and developing strategic technologies and sectors located in the Union, notably for actions related to Union strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security, in line with Union law and its international commitments. It is essential that European funding contributes to the uptake of strategic technologies developed in the Union and funded through European funding. To support the development and manufacturing in the Union of strategic technologies funded by the Union, the ECF should allow to condition its support through control restrictions, asset transfers restrictions and supply restrictions to the use of specific products and technologies. To that end, clear and transparent guidelines setting out the procedures under which such restrictions may be applied, should be developed.

Amendment 20

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 46

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(46) ECF activities should be open for cooperation with third countries where this is in the interest of the Union. To that extent, the Union may associate, fully or partially, third countries to the activities under the ECF. Association should be subject to a fair balance as regards contributions and benefits of the third countries and ensure the protection of the financial and, where relevant, security interest of the Union.(46) ECF activities should be open for cooperation with third countries where this is in the interest of the Union. To that extent, the Union may associate, fully or partially, third countries to the activities under the ECF. Association should be subject to a fair balance as regards contributions and benefits of the third countries and ensure the protection of the financial and, where relevant, security interests of the Union, including by guaranteeing full and real-time access and investigatory and audit rights for OLAF, EPPO and ECA. Associated third countries should also commit to upholding international law and relevant EU standards, and the implementation of ECF activities in such countries should ensure appropriate transparency and accountability.

Amendment 21

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 47

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(47) The ECF should be open and facilitate synergies with other Union activities that support policy areas closely linked with competitiveness, the including the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, external policies and programmes in shared management with Member States. This should allow for the combination and cumulation of funding for actions supporting the objectives of more than one Union policy area. Cooperation between the Commission and Member States should be established to ensure consistency and complementarities between the ECF and the Regulation (EU) [XXX] [National and Regional partnership plans] Moreover, support from the Regulation (EU) [XXX] [National and Regional Partnership Plans ] and from the ECF to projects that have been awarded the Competitiveness Seal should be facilitated, taking advantage of the assessment conducted prior to the attribution of the Seal and without prejudice to the State aid rules. The criteria for awarding the Competitiveness Seal should be designed in a manner that can enable to seal to also act as a quality guarantee providing assurances to institutional investors that the project has been appropriately vetted. The Competitiveness Seal should be awarded to high quality projects contributing to the objectives of the ECF. The ECF may be implemented jointly with other Union programmes or other co-donors or co-investors, and those partners should be able to participate in evaluation committees for jointly funded award procedures. The implementation of all those synergy activities should be simple. Reporting and record-keeping requirements for recipients should be reduced, where possible to a single contractual reporting and payment stream with a single set of rules for all support provided.(47) The ECF should be open and facilitate synergies with other Union activities that support policy areas closely linked with competitiveness, including the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, external policies and programmes in shared management with Member States. This should allow for the combination and cumulation of funding for actions supporting the objectives of more than one Union policy area. Respective measures to prevent double funding of the same cost should be developed. Close cooperation between the Commission and Member States should be established to ensure consistency and complementarities between the ECF and the Regulation (EU) [XXX] [National and Regional partnership plans] Moreover, support from the Regulation (EU) [XXX] [National and Regional Partnership Plans ] and from the ECF to projects that have been awarded the Competitiveness Seal should be facilitated, taking advantage of the assessment conducted prior to the attribution of the Seal and without prejudice to the State aid rules. The criteria for awarding the Competitiveness Seal should be designed in a manner that can enable to seal to also act as a quality guarantee providing assurances to institutional investors that the project has been appropriately vetted. The Competitiveness Seal should be awarded to high quality projects contributing to the objectives of the ECF. The ECF may be implemented jointly with other Union programmes or other co-donors or co-investors, and those partners should be able to participate in evaluation committees for jointly funded award procedures. The implementation of all those synergy activities should be streamlined enabling reporting and record-keeping requirements for recipients to be reduced, where possible to a single contractual reporting and payment stream with a single set of rules for all support provided, while ensuring accountability, transparency and traceability of Union funds.

Amendment 22

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 48

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(48) Union support should focus on the achievement of policy objectives. In all cases, ECF funding should be provided in the form best able to achieve its objectives, while limiting administrative burden for recipients to the absolute minimum. When implementing the budget, the ECF should provide the full toolbox of Union support and ensure synergies between its supported policies, in particular by allowing for simplified common award procedures to pursue objectives of more than one policy. As such, the elimination of burdensome financial reporting through the widest possible use of financing not linked to cost should be pursued as a major simplification measure.(48) Union support should focus on the achievement of clearly defined policy objectives. In all cases, ECF funding should be provided in the form best able to achieve its objectives, while limiting administrative burden for recipients to the necessary minimum. When implementing the budget, the ECF should provide the full toolbox of Union support and ensure synergies between its supported policies, in particular by allowing for simplified common award procedures to pursue objectives of more than one policy. As such, the elimination of burdensome financial reporting through the widest possible use of financing not linked to cost should be pursued as a major simplification measure, where appropriate and provided that the estimated cost of actions remains below the thresholds defined in this Regulation and that justification of its appropriateness is provided. Simplification measures should not reduce transparency, equal treatment or the level of protection of the Union budget and shall be based on a documented risk assessment and accompanied by proportionate safeguards, including appropriate audit and control arrangements, reliable performance information and reinforced reporting to the European Parliament and the Council. Efficiency gains resulting from simplification should lead to demonstrable reductions in the administrative costs of the Fund, and the Commission should report annually to the discharge authority on such cost savings.

Amendment 23

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 48 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(48 a) To ensure transparency and sound financial management in the use of financing not linked to costs, the Commission or any other granting authority under this Regulation should apply clear and robust methodologies, ensuring cost plausibility, it should prevent overcompensation and double funding, and put in place effective monitoring and audit arrangements, while ensuring that the European Parliament can fully exercise its budgetary oversight prerogatives. Projects involving multiple sources of Union and national financing, long implementation periods, large consortia or higher levels of financial risk may present increased risks of overcompensation, irregularities, double funding and fraud and may therefore require more detailed financial reporting and verifiable expenditure data.

Amendment 24

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 50

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(50) The ECF should be implemented through work programmes as set out in this Regulation. Work programmes could be adopted under an annual or multi-annual format. The latter could in particular be considered for the purposes of Union support provided for budgetary guarantees and financial instruments, with a view to provide predictability to implementing partners. The designated mode of implementation reflects the identified needs for directionality, flexibility, predictability and efficiency, required to meet the objectives of the Regulation. In accordance with Regulation (EU Euratom) 2024/2059, the work programmes and the call documents will set out more technical implementation details for the budget across the set of policies supported by the ECF, including specific eligibility and award criteria depending on the instrument of budget implementation, be it grant, or procurement, and the specific policy objectives pursued. In accordance with Article 136 of the Financial Regulation, eligibility restrictions should apply to high-risk suppliers, for security reasons. Work programmes are also the appropriate place to allocate budget in accordance with evolving policy priorities, and they should set out contributions, specific conditions and expected results.(50) The ECF should be implemented through work programmes as set out in this Regulation. Work programmes could be adopted under multi-annual format, with yearly updates as necessary. Member States and the Parliament should be involved and the adoption of the work programmes should be done through the delegated act procedure in accordance with Article 290 TFEU. The multi-annual format for the purposes of Union support provided for budgetary guarantees and financial instruments is necessary to provide predictability to implementing partners. The designated mode of implementation reflects the identified needs for directionality, flexibility, predictability and efficiency, required to meet the objectives of the Regulation. In accordance with Regulation (EU Euratom) 2024/2059, the work programmes and the call documents will set out more technical implementation details for the budget across the set of policies supported by the ECF, including specific eligibility and award criteria depending on the instrument of budget implementation, be it grant, or procurement, and the specific policy objectives pursued. In accordance with Article 136 of the Financial Regulation, eligibility restrictions should apply to high-risk suppliers, for security reasons. Work programmes are also the appropriate place to allocate budget in accordance with evolving policy priorities, and based on objective, duly justified and transparent criteria. They should set out contributions, specific conditions and expected results.

Amendment 25

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 51

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(51) For financial instruments and the budgetary guarantee to effectively crowd in private money, implementing partners need to be closely associated. This ensures policy steer and alignment, as well as project pipeline generation. The experience and lessons learnt with the implementation of the InvestEU Programme emphasise the importance of investment guidelines in creating this buy-in and providing the necessary predictability and visibility to the implementing partners and investors, in order for them to set up their organisational capacity and originate the pipeline of investments, while allowing the necessary flexibility to ensure an adequate policy steer during implementation. Investment guidelines should include detailed description of the policy areas of intervention and investment focus with a view to ensuring additionality and incentivise crowding in private and public investment in support of the Union’s policy objectives and strategic projects. The investment guidelines should be prepared in consultation with implementing partners to benefit from their market knowledge, and enable them to invest in Union priority areas and incentivise them for more risk taking. To cater for evolving needs and developments, the investment guidelines may be reviewed in the context of the MFF mid-term review.(51) For financial instruments and the budgetary guarantee to effectively crowd in private money, implementing partners need to be closely associated. This ensures policy steer and alignment, as well as project pipeline generation. The experience and lessons learnt with the implementation of the InvestEU Programme emphasise the importance of investment guidelines in creating this buy-in and providing the necessary predictability and visibility to the implementing partners and investors, in order for them to set up their organisational capacity and originate the pipeline of investments, while allowing the necessary flexibility to ensure an adequate policy steer during implementation. Investment guidelines should include a detailed description of the policy areas of intervention and investment focus, with a view to ensuring additionality and incentivising the crowding-in of private and public investment in support of the Union’s policy objectives and strategic projects. The investment guidelines should be prepared in consultation with implementing partners to benefit from their market knowledge and enable them to invest in Union priority areas and incentivise them for more risk taking. Relevant performance indicators and provisions on transparency and accountability should be established in order to ensure the effective protection and sound management of Union funds. To cater for evolving needs and developments, the investment guidelines may be reviewed in the context of the MFF mid-term review. The Commission should ensure, by including appropriate obligations in its agreements with implementing partners, that those partners apply an adequate level of accountability, transparency and traceability in the management of Union funds, and fully respect the rights and competences of OLAF, EPPO and the ECA.

Amendment 26

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 56

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(56) A horizontal, cross-cutting funding toolbox should be set at the service of all policy windows, offering every form of support allowed by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2059, such as financial instruments, including support provided in the form of equity. The choice of the specific funding instrument and in particular whether support will be repayable or not, shall depend on the nature of the actions to be funded (for example underlying market failures, the specific need, the nature of the industry, the stage of development or type of the beneficiary). Union support should derisk projects to the degree necessary for the private sector to invest and for the project to be successfully delivered. Co-financing rates should be as low as possible and as high as needed to realise the supported project. A mix of funding tools could be used, including blending operations and combination of funding. The ECF should also provide each policy area with advice on the most appropriate funding tool to be used for its specific actions, depending on, inter alia, the development stage, the specific industry needs and underlying market failures.(56) A horizontal, cross-cutting funding toolbox should be set at the service of all policy windows, offering every form of support allowed by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2059, such as financial instruments, including support provided in the form of equity. The choice of the specific funding instrument and in particular whether support will be repayable or not, shall depend on the nature of the actions to be funded (for example underlying market failures, the specific need, the nature of the industry, the stage of development or type of the beneficiary). Union support should derisk projects to the degree necessary for the private sector to invest and for the project to be successfully delivered. Co-financing rates should be as low as possible and as high as needed to realise the supported project. A mix of funding tools could be used, including blending operations and combination of funding. The ECF should also provide each policy area with advice on the most appropriate funding tool to be used for its specific actions, depending on, inter alia, the development stage, the specific industry needs and underlying market failures. The implementation of all funding instruments under this Regulation should be carried out ensuring full transparency, traceability of funds and accountability, and respecting the competences and rights of ECA. The Commission should adopt sufficient measures to prevent double funding and to enable the European Parliament to exercise its budgetary oversight prerogatives.

Amendment 27

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 57

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(57) Multistakeholder consultations, including those of researchers and industry, the social partners, as well as investors, end-users and civil society, from SME, small to large organisations, should contribute to the priorities of the ECF. Those consultations should be structured via advisory boards including the ECF Stakeholder Board whose task should be to provide insights and advise the Commission on policy trends, on investment needs, and on the implementation of the ECF from the perspective of project promoters, with the aim to ensure that feedback from stakeholder communities is reflected in the design of work programmes.(57) Multistakeholder consultations, including those of Member States, researchers, industry, implementing partners, social partners, as well as investors, end-users and civil society, from SME, small to large organisations, from across all regions of the Union, should contribute to the priorities of the ECF. Those consultations should be structured via advisory boards including the ECF Stakeholder Board whose task should be to provide insights and advise the Commission on policy trends, on investment needs, and on the implementation of the ECF from the perspective of project promoters, with the aim to ensure that feedback from stakeholder communities is reflected in the design of work programmes and that the ECF remains aligned with the Union’s objectives. The selection and work of such advisory boards should be carried out in accordance with the applicable rules on transparency, integrity, accountability, prevention of conflicts of interest and fair geographical representation, including appropriate safeguards and transparent selection procedures for members. Where appropriate, balanced representation should be promoted. Their composition, procedures and recommendations should be properly documented and traceable.

Amendment 28

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 62

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(62) Where necessary and duly justified, the ECF should provide a targeted intervention mechanism to deliberately provide Union support to certain actions of strategic and economic importance. Where certain important projects could not be successfully implemented within the timeline for completion of regular competitive award procedures, the ECF should also provide for the possibility of directly taking-up excellent projects that remained unfunded under any Union programme or continue to financially support well-working projects seamlessly in their next steps along the investment journey, without imposing additional administrative burden for the recipients. In addition, in line with the approach taken by the relevant sectoral legislation, such as the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) or Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) and referenced in the Clean Industrial Deal (CID) communication and the Single Market Strategy, cases in which specific projects are considered to be of public interest or presumed to be of overriding public interest may be identified in separate existing or future legislation.(62) Where necessary and duly justified, the ECF should provide a targeted intervention mechanism to deliberately provide Union support to certain actions of strategic and economic importance. Where certain important projects could not be successfully implemented within the timeline for completion of regular competitive award procedures, the ECF should also provide for the possibility of directly taking-up excellent projects that remained unfunded under any Union programme or continue to financially support well-working projects seamlessly in their next steps along the investment journey, without imposing additional administrative burden for the recipients. The conditions for providing direct support should be defined in advance in a clear manner, in accordance with the principles of transparency and accountability. The ECF Stakeholder Board should be consulted before such targeted intervention measures are adopted. In addition, in line with the approach taken by the relevant sectoral legislation, such as the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) or Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) and referenced in the Clean Industrial Deal (CID) communication and the Single Market Strategy, cases in which specific projects are considered to be of public interest or presumed to be of overriding public interest may be identified in separate existing or future legislation.

Amendment 29

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 67 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(67 a) An indicative minimum target for the mobilisation of investment relative to the Union’s budgetary exposure should be established in order to enable effective monitoring and assessment of the impact of the instrument, ensure value for money and support the discharge authority in evaluating whether the budgetary guarantee has generated an adequate leverage effect.

Amendment 30

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 69

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(69) To avoid undue administrative burden and ensure a swift deployment and support to the market in continuity across programming periods, the implementation of the ECF InvestEU Instrument will build on the existing community of the InvestEU Programme pillar assessed implementing partners, contractual arrangements and relevant financial products. Moreover, to ensure sound financial management, a faster roll-out and simplification to entrusted entities, the implementation of the ECF InvestEU Instrument should build on existing agreements, templates for legal and contractual arrangements, as well as established monitoring and reporting tools. This improves the impact of Union support and allows for more focus on efficiently supporting final recipients. The Commission may rely on and reuse in full or in part the agreements with implementing partners concluded under Regulation (EU) 2021/253, and on assessments made by itself or other entities in the context of agreements under that Regulation.(69) To avoid undue administrative burden and ensure a swift deployment and support to the market in continuity across programming periods, the implementation of the ECF InvestEU Instrument will build on the existing community of the InvestEU Programme pillar assessed implementing partners, contractual arrangements and relevant financial products. Moreover, to ensure sound financial management, a faster roll-out and simplification to entrusted entities, the implementation of the ECF InvestEU Instrument should build on existing agreements, templates for legal and contractual arrangements, as well as established monitoring and reporting tools. This improves the impact of Union support and allows for more focus on efficiently supporting final recipients. The Commission may rely on and reuse in full or in part the agreements with implementing partners concluded under Regulation (EU) 2021/253, and on assessments made by itself or other entities in the context of agreements under that Regulation, where appropriate and without compromising financial safeguards. Implementing partners should ensure the same level of accountability, transparency, and traceability when managing Union funds, and should fully respect the rights of OLAF, EPPO and the ECA. They should also regularly report to the Commission on their methodologies for the selection of beneficiaries and on the measures taken to ensure the achievement of Union policy objectives and to prevent fraud, conflicts of interest or other irregularities.

Amendment 31

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 70

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(70) To provide implementing partners with broader access to the ECF InvestEU Instrument, the Commission should be able to conclude agreements in indirect management with all the categories of entities listed under Article 62(1), point (c), Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2059. To unlock private capital, bodies established in a Member State, governed by the private law of a Member State or Union law should also be eligible to be exceptionally entrusted, following a positive pillar assessment, with the implementation of financial instruments or budgetary guarantees, including when combined with grants or with other forms of non-repayable support in blending operations, to the extent that such bodies are provided with adequate financial guarantees. Such bodies should be selected taking due account of the nature of the financial instrument or budgetary guarantee to be implemented, the experience and the financial and operational capacity of those bodies, and their rules and procedures for verifying the economic viability of projects of final recipients. The selection should be transparent, justified on objective grounds and should not give rise to a conflict of interests.(70) To provide implementing partners with broader access to the ECF InvestEU Instrument, the Commission should be able to conclude agreements in indirect management with all the categories of entities listed under Article 62(1), point (c), Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2059. To unlock private capital, bodies established in a Member State, governed by the private law of a Member State or Union law should also be eligible to be exceptionally entrusted, following a positive pillar assessment, with the implementation of financial instruments or budgetary guarantees, including when combined with grants or with other forms of non-repayable support in blending operations, to the extent that such bodies are provided with adequate financial guarantees, operational independence and robust risk management systems. Such bodies should be selected taking due account of the nature of the financial instrument or budgetary guarantee to be implemented, the experience and the financial and operational capacity of those bodies, and their rules and procedures for verifying the economic viability of projects of final recipients. The selection should be transparent, justified on objective grounds and should not give rise to a conflict of interests. The Commission should ensure that management fees charged by implementing partners are set at a reasonably low level. The Commission shall report to the European Parliament and the Council on the level on management fees in accordance with Article 84b of this Regulation.

Amendment 32

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 77

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(77) A Project Advisory should be established to support objectives of the ECF, building on the of InvestEU Advisory Hub. It should unify advisory support to private and public entities across Europe, offering tailored services to potential beneficiaries and contribute to development of a pipeline of potential investment operations under the ECF. At the same time, role of business support services such as the EU for Business Network, among others, should be to make European businesses become more innovative and competitive, grow and scale in the Single Market and to raise awareness and contribute to capacity building on avenues for accessing capital market-based funding. To avoid undue administrative burden and ensure a swift deployment and support to the market in continuity, the ECF may rely on the existing community of the InvestEU Programme pillar assessed advisory partners.(77) A Project Advisory should be established to support the objectives of the ECF, building on the experience of the InvestEU Advisory Hub. It should unify advisory support to private and public entities across Europe, offering tailored services to potential beneficiaries and contribute to the development of a pipeline of potential investment operations under the ECF. To improve access to Union support, project advisory and business support services should pay particular attention to applicants and beneficiaries with less experience in managing Union funds, including in less developed and outermost regions, while preserving excellence, equal treatment and sound financial management. At the same time, the role of business support services such as the EU for Business Network, among others, should be to make European businesses become more innovative and competitive, grow and scale in the Single Market and to raise awareness and contribute to capacity building on avenues for accessing capital market-based funding. To avoid undue administrative burden and ensure a swift deployment and support to the market in continuity, the ECF may rely on the existing community of the InvestEU Programme pillar assessed advisory partners.

Amendment 33

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 83 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(83 a) The Commission should ensure that performance and financial-management data reported by implementing partners, entrusted entities and Member States is subject to independent verification on a risk-proportionate basis. Irrespective of whether data has been reported by third parties, the Commission holds the final responsibility for providing reliable performance information to the budgetary and discharge authority.

Amendment 34

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 85

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(85) In order to achieve the general and specific objectives of the ECF, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of changes to the maximum amount of the budgetary guarantee and the provisioning rate, as well as in respect of certain measures in support of space policy. It is of particular importance that the Commission carries out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.24 In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.(85) In order to achieve the general and specific objectives of the ECF, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of changes to the maximum amount of the budgetary guarantee and the provisioning rate, as well as in respect of certain measures in support of space policy. For the purpose of predictability and transparency, maximum details and content should be laid down in this Regulation, while subsequent delegated acts should be strictly limited to technical implementation details. It is furthermore of particular importance that the Commission carries out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work for the adoption of delegated acts, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.24 In particular, to ensure transparent and equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council should receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts should systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.
24 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/agree_interinstit/2016/512/oj.24 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/agree_interinstit/2016/512/oj.

Amendment 35

Proposal for a regulation

Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point d

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(d) A ‘Resilience and Security, Defence Industry, and Space’ window – implemented through activities set out in Chapter II and Chapter VII, including the specific programme for defence research and innovation referred to in paragraph 1, and contributing to the specific objectives set out in Article 3(2), point (d).(d) A ‘Resilience and Security, Defence Industry, and Space’ window – implemented through activities set out in Chapter II and Chapter VII, including the specific programme for defence research and innovation referred to in paragraph 1, and contributing to the specific objectives set out in Article 3(2), point (d), to adequately address priorities and challenges.

Amendment 36

Proposal for a regulation

Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 21 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(21 a) 'Less experienced applicants' means legal entities, and their predecessors, which, during the five years preceding the call deadline, have not been awarded funding under a centrally managed Union programme or have submitted eligible proposals without being selected for funding.

Amendment 37

Proposal for a regulation

Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 21 b (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(21 b) 'First-time applicants' means legal entities, and their predecessors, that, prior to the call deadline, have never submitted a proposal under a centrally managed Union programme.

Amendment 38

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(g) strengthening the competitiveness of SMEs and small mid-cap companies established in the Union and their ability to grow and scale up, in particular by improving their access to finance, including private investment, micro-finance and support to social enterprises as facilitating access to Union funding, through faster, simplified and harmonised procedures; reducing and ensuring a proportionate reporting burden;(g) strengthening the competitiveness of SMEs and small mid-cap companies established in the Union and their ability to grow and scale up, in particular by improving their access to finance, including private investment, micro-finance and support to social enterprises as facilitating access to Union funding, through streamlined, simplified and harmonised procedures; ensuring that businesses, research organisations and public entities across all Member States can effectively participate in the Programme; reducing and ensuring a proportionate reporting burden without compromising traceability of Union funds and budgetary oversight;

Amendment 39

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point k

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(k) ensuring a just transition to a sustainable, decarbonised and digital economy that is fair and supporting workers and communities.(k) ensuring a just transition to a sustainable, decarbonised and digital economy that contributes to regional growth and supporting workers and communities., including sectors requiring enhanced transition efforts, in particular in the energy-intensive industries.

Amendment 40

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point k a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(k a) safeguarding a balanced distribution of opportunities across the Union, allowing entities established in less developed and transition regions to have effective access to all forms of support under this Regulation. This may be supported through higher co-financing rates, dedicated advisory support and capacity-building measures, fostering cooperation, and promoting integration into sustainable, inclusive and resilient Union value chains, unlocking the full high-value potential of all market operators and regions;

Amendment 41

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 – paragraph 2 – introductory part

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
2. Under the general objectives set out in paragraph 1, the ECF shall in particular pursue the following specific objectives:2. Under the general objectives set out in paragraph 1, the ECF shall in particular pursue the following specific objectives, ensuring balanced distribution of opportunities across the Union .

Amendment 42

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 – paragraph 1 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
1 a. Of the amount referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall aim to ensure that a dedicated amount is awarded to projects involving entities established in Transition and Widening countries under Regulation (EU) [XXX] [Horizon Europe]. Where, by 31 December 2030, the level of funding awarded to entities established in one or more Transition and Widening countries remains significantly low, the Commission may take appropriate measures to facilitate participation, including targeted calls or other implementation measures, dedicated advisory support, or other actions aimed at strengthening the project pipeline.

Amendment 43

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 – paragraph 5

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
5. The financial envelope referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and the additional resources referred to in Article 5 may also be used for technical and administrative assistance for the implementation of the ECF, such as preparatory, monitoring, control, audit and evaluation activities, corporate information technology systems and platforms, information and communication activities, including corporate communication on the political priorities of the Union, and all other technical and administrative assistance or staff-related expenses incurred by the Commission for the management of the ECF.5. The financial envelope referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and the additional resources referred to in Article 5 may also be used for technical and administrative assistance for the implementation of the ECF, such as preparatory, monitoring, control, audit and evaluation activities, including the design and operation of systems and methodologies to ensure the quality and, where appropriate, independent verification of performance and financial-management data, and interoperability with the single electronic data interchange area and single gateway referred to in Article 31 on Access to Union funding of this Regulation, corporate information technology systems and platforms, and information, communication activities and other technical and administrative assistance incurred by the Member States in the promotion and capacity development supporting the successful application of SMEs under the ECF.

Amendment 44

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 – paragraph 5 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
5 a. The Commission shall ensure separate accounting of expenditure incurred under paragraph 5 for monitoring, control, audit and evaluation, including corporate IT systems used for those purposes. The Commission should transmit annually to the European Parliament and the Council in accordance with Article 84b of this Regulation a breakdown of the expenditure referred to in the first subparagraph, distinguishing at least between (a) monitoring and performance reporting, (b) ex ante and ex post controls, (c) audit and anti-fraud activities, and (d) evaluation.

Amendment 45

Proposal for a regulation

Article 5 – paragraph 2

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
2. Resources allocated to Member States under shared management may, at their request, in accordance Article X of Regulation (EU) [XXX][NRPF regulation], be made available to the ECF. The Commission shall implement those resources directly or indirectly in accordance with Article 62(1), point (a) or (c) of Regulation, (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. They shall be additional to the amount referred to in Article 4. Those resources shall be used for the benefit of the Member State concerned. Where the Commission has not entered into a legal commitment under direct or indirect management for additional amounts thus made available to the ECF, the corresponding uncommitted amounts may, at the request of the Member State concerned, be transferred back to one or more respective chapters of the Plan or their successors.2. Resources allocated to Member States under shared management may, at their request, in accordance Article X of Regulation (EU) [XXX][NRPF regulation], be made available to the ECF. The Commission shall implement those resources directly or indirectly in accordance with Article 62(1), point (a) or (c) of Regulation, (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. They shall be additional to the amount referred to in Article 4. Those resources shall be used for the benefit of the Member State concerned. Where the Commission has not entered into a legal commitment under direct or indirect management for additional amounts thus made available to the ECF, the corresponding uncommitted amounts may, at the request of the Member State concerned, be transferred back to one or more respective chapters of the Plan or their successors. Shared-management spending must be designed, implemented and monitored in line with the partnership principle, while fully safeguarding Parliament’s roles as legislator, budgetary and discharge authority.

Amendment 46

Proposal for a regulation

Article 5 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
Article 5a
Competitiveness across Europe
1. The Commission shall ensure supportive measures for start-ups first-time applicants and less experienced applicants and applicants from less developed regions in order to ensure a balanced distribution of opportunities from of ECF funding.
2. The Commission shall develop robust monitoring systems to track the geographical distribution of funding across regions, including the creation of a European Competitiveness Scoreboard and an ECF Dashboard identifying innovation and competitiveness performance across regions and Member states.
3. When significant concentration is identified, the Commission shall trigger appropriate supportive measures.
4. Where applicable, award criteria shall be laid down in the work programmes referred to in Article 15, taking into account, to the extent possible, the following elements:
(a) an assessment of the expected results of the proposals and their impact on achieving the objectives set out in Article 3, with particular attention to SMEs, start-ups and to regions lagging behind in competitiveness and innovation performance;
(b) the ability of the proposals to support specific activities under Chapters III, IV, V, VI and VII, Sections 1, 3 and 4, taking into account the nature of the activities, ensuring pan-Union coverage and the participation of partners from peripheral regions of the Union, in particular from less developed, transition, insular and outermost regions;
(c) in the case of collaborative actions and consortia, the participation of partners from less developed and transition regions, including peripheral Member States, insular and outermost regions, and the establishment of research or production activities in those regions, with a view to promoting Union value chains and ensuring a balanced territorial impact of the ECF;
(d) the ability of the proposal to disseminate technology and knowledge across Member States.
5. The work programme shall lay down rules for dealing with proposals of equal merit (ex aequo), including weighting factors relating to geographical diversity and the participation of partners from less developed innovation and competitiveness regions . The work programmes may include specific calls enabling first-time applicants, less experienced applicants and entities from less developed innovation and competitiveness regions to join existing consortia under Chapters IV to VII, including, where appropriate, the possibility to add additional beneficiaries during project implementation in order to enhance flexibility, responsiveness and Union-wide impact.
6. Complementary measures shall be put in place by the Commission:
(a) Targeted technical assistance for first-time and less experienced applicants to which access should be facilitated by the contact points referred to in article 25a, paragraph 7.
(b) establish indicative thresholds, based on objective and transparent criteria, for the allocation of funding to first-time and less experienced applicants under certain calls or instruments of the ECF;
(c) support the integration of entities from different Member States into Single Market value chains, as referred to in Article 16, including by promoting the multinational composition of consortia and participation across the value chain.
7. The measures referred to in paragraph 3 and 6 may be financed by the ECF.

Amendment 47

Proposal for a regulation

Article 6 – paragraph 1

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
1. The ECF shall be implemented in synergy with other Union programmes. An action that has received a Union contribution from another programme may also receive another contribution under the ECF. The rules of the relevant Union programme shall apply to the corresponding contribution or a single set of rules may be applied to all contributions and a single legal commitment may be concluded. If the Union contribution is based on eligible costs, the cumulative support from the Union budget shall not exceed the total eligible costs of the action and may be calculated on a pro-rata basis in accordance with the documents setting out the conditions for support.1. The ECF shall be implemented in synergy with other Union programmes. An action that has received a Union contribution from another programme may also receive another contribution under the ECF. provided that the contributions do not cover the same costs. The rules of the relevant Union programme shall apply to the corresponding contribution or a single set of rules may be applied to all contributions and a single legal commitment may be concluded. If the Union contribution is based on eligible costs, the cumulative support from the Union budget shall not exceed the total eligible costs of the action and may be calculated on a pro-rata basis in accordance with the documents setting out the conditions for support. The Commission shall, on a risk-based basis, ensure that cross-checks against available Union databases and programme systems are performed prior to signature of the legal commitment for actions involving cumulation or blending, and that a single audit trail is maintained across contributing instruments, including when different granting authorities are involved.

Amendment 48

Proposal for a regulation

Article 6 – paragraph 2

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
2. Award procedures under the ECF may be jointly conducted under direct or indirect management with Member States, Union institutions, their departments, bodies and agencies, third countries international organisations, international financial institutions, or other third parties, provided the protection of the financial interests of the Union as well as of the security and defence interests of the Union and its Member States is ensured. Such procedures shall be subject to a single set of rules and lead to the conclusion of single legal commitments. For that purpose, the partners may make resources available to the ECF in accordance with Article 5 of this Regulation, or the partners may be entrusted with the implementation of the award procedure, where applicable in accordance with Article 62(1), point (c), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. In joint award procedures representatives of the partners to the joint award procedure may also be members of the evaluation committee referred to in Article 153(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.2. Award procedures under the ECF may be jointly conducted under direct or indirect management with Member States, Union institutions, their departments, bodies and agencies, third countries international organisations, international financial institutions, or other third parties, provided the protection of the financial interests of the Union as well as of the security and defence interests of the Union and its Member States is ensured. Such procedures shall be subject to a single set of rules and lead to the conclusion of single legal commitments. For that purpose, the partners may make resources available to the ECF in accordance with Article 5 of this Regulation, or the partners may be entrusted with the implementation of the award procedure, where applicable in accordance with Article 62(1), point (c), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. In joint award procedures representatives of the partners to the joint award procedure may also be members of the evaluation committee referred to in Article 153(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. Such procedures must not entail audit risks.

Amendment 49

Proposal for a regulation

Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point 1 (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(1) The Commission shall ensure coordination measures that enable the prevention and detection of double funding and the consistent application of eligibility and control standards across the Programme, including by facilitating data exchange, subject to applicable data-protection and security rules. Where an action receives combined or cumulative funding from the Union budget, the Commission shall ensure that the action is assigned a unique identifier and that the granting authority performs ex ante cross-checks and risk-based ex post checks to prevent double funding and to ensure traceability across programmes.

Amendment 50

Proposal for a regulation

Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point 2 (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(2) Where representatives of partners participate in evaluation committees under paragraph 2, the granting authority shall ensure documented management of conflicts of interest, including prior declarations of interests, risk-based checks and, where appropriate, replacement of members.

Amendment 51

Proposal for a regulation

Article 7 – title

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
CoordinationCompetitiveness Coordination Tool

Amendment 52

Proposal for a regulation

Article 7 – paragraph 3 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 a. To ensure coordination in an effective, efficient and timely manner, a Competitiveness Coordination Tool is established.

Amendment 53

Proposal for a regulation

Article 7 – paragraph 3 b (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 b. The Competitiveness Coordination Tool shall serve as a structured governance and coordination mechanism to:
(a) align Union-level funding, national reforms, and investment efforts around shared competitiveness objectives;
(b) support the design, implementation, and monitoring of coordinated reform and investment pathways linked to the European Competitiveness Fund, including multi-country and cross-border projects with European added value.

Amendment 54

Proposal for a regulation

Article 7 – paragraph 3 c (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 c. The Competitiveness Coordination Tool shall operate through a regular coordination cycle, including strategic dialogues, analytical assessments, and implementation reviews, involving the Commission, Member States, and relevant Union bodies.

Amendment 55

Proposal for a regulation

Article 7 – paragraph 3 d (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 d. The European Parliament shall be closely involved in the functioning of the Competitiveness Coordination Tool. To this end:
(a) representatives designated by the European Parliament shall participate as observers in the strategic coordination meetings of the Tool;
(b) the Commission shall regularly inform the European Parliament of the priorities, activities, and outcomes of the Tool, including through structured dialogues with the competent parliamentary committees;
(c) the Commission shall transmit to the European Parliament analytical reports, implementation assessments, and any strategic guidance produced under the Tool, in a timely manner.

Amendment 56

Proposal for a regulation

Article 7 – paragraph 3 e (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 e. The Commission shall ensure coherence between the implementation of the Competitiveness Coordination Tool and the positions, priorities, and requests expressed by the European Parliament pursuant to paragraph 7(a). Where the Commission decides not to follow, in whole or in part, such positions, priorities, or requests, it shall duly justify its decision in writing, including an explanation of the legal, economic, or operational reasons for the divergence. Such justification shall be presented to the European Parliament in the context of the structured dialogues referred to in paragraph 7(c) and shall be reflected in the annual report referred to in paragraph 9.

Amendment 57

Proposal for a regulation

Article 7 – paragraph 3 f (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 f. The Commission shall report annually to the European Parliament and the Council on the functioning of the Competitiveness Coordination Tool, including its contribution to policy coherence, investment effectiveness, and the achievement of Union competitiveness objectives, and on how the European Parliament’s positions have been taken into account.

Amendment 58

Proposal for a regulation

Article 7 – paragraph 3 g (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 g. The detailed modalities for the organisation and operation of the Competitiveness Coordination Tool, including stakeholder involvement and transparency arrangements, shall be laid down by the Commission in accordance with this Regulation.

Amendment 59

Proposal for a regulation

Article 7 – paragraph 3 h (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 h. A Competitiveness across Europe Coordination Committee shall be established for matters concerning the specific objectives set out in Article 3(1), point (ka), and Article 5a. This Committee shall bring together representatives of the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission and shall regularly assess whether the objectives and measures laid down in Article 3(1), point (ka), and Article 5a are being fulfilled.

Amendment 60

Proposal for a regulation

Article 11 – paragraph 2 – point a

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(a) ensure a fair balance as regards the contributions and benefits of the third country participating in the ECF;(a) ensure a fair balance as regards the contributions and benefits of the third country participating in the ECF, including adequate provisions for audit, control and anti-fraud cooperation;

Amendment 61

Proposal for a regulation

Article 11 – paragraph 2 – point d

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(d) guarantee the rights of the Union to ensure sound financial management and to protect its financial interests;(d) guarantee the rights of the Union to ensure sound financial management and to protect its financial interests through sound transparency and reporting requirements.

Amendment 62

Proposal for a regulation

Article 11 – paragraph 3

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3. For the purposes of point (d), the third country shall grant the necessary rights and access required under Regulations (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 and (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013, and guarantee that enforcement decisions imposing a pecuniary obligation on the basis of Article 299 TFEU, as well as judgements and orders of the Court of Justice of the European Union, are enforceable. and ensure that its competent authorities cooperate with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in the investigations and prosecutions of criminal offences affecting the Union’s financial interests in accordance with applicable international agreements or other applicable rules.3. For the purposes of point (d), the third country shall grant the necessary rights and access required under Regulations (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 and (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 to the Commission, the European prosecutor's Office (EPPO), the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Court of Auditors, including access to classified information necessary for the performance of their respective mandates, and guarantee that enforcement decisions imposing a pecuniary obligation on the basis of Article 299 TFEU, as well as judgements and orders of the Court of Justice of the European Union, are enforceable. and ensure that its competent authorities cooperate with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in the investigations and prosecutions of criminal offences affecting the Union’s financial interests in accordance with applicable international agreements or other applicable rules. Where a non-EU country participates in the programme pursuant to an international agreement, it must grant audit rights and access to the ECA, the EPPO and the OLAF.

Amendment 63

Proposal for a regulation

Article 12 – paragraph 2

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
2. The ECF shall be implemented in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, under direct management or under indirect management with entities referred to in Article 62(1), point (c) of that Regulation.2. The ECF shall be implemented in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, under direct management or under indirect management with entities referred to in Article 62(1), point (c) of that Regulation while fully safeguarding Parliament’s roles as budgetary and discharge authority.

Amendment 64

Proposal for a regulation

Article 12 – paragraph 3 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 a. The Commission shall ensure that information on the final recipients of Union funding under the ECF, including beneficial ownership where applicable, is published in a searchable and machine-readable format, while respecting Union data protection rules.

Amendment 65

Proposal for a regulation

Article 12 – paragraph 4 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
4 a. In addition, and beyond indicators set out in Regulation (EU) [XXX] of the European Parliament and of the Council [Performance Regulation], the Commission shall implement the ECF on basis of a regular analysis of programme implementation, participation trends and access barriers, including relevant programme management data and network analytics. On that basis, the Commission shall take preventive and corrective measures to ensure broad participation, avoid unjustified concentrations and achieve a wide pan-Union impact. To that effect, the Commission shall in particular:
(a) support the integration of entities from different Member States into Single Market value chains, including through promoting multinational composition of consortia or in the value chain;
(b) create a geographical scoreboard for projects funded by ECF, which should be updated every year. The Commission shall regularly involve Member States in the design and monitoring of those measures.
The Commission shall regularly involve Member States in the design and monitoring of those measures.

Amendment 66

Proposal for a regulation

Article 12 – paragraph 5

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
5. In certain duly substantiated circumstances, Union funding may be granted without a call for proposals in accordance with Article 198 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, including with point (e).5. In certain exceptional and duly substantiated circumstances, Union funding may be granted without a call for proposals in accordance with Article 198 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, including with point (e). Where this possibility is used, the work programme or the award documentation shall contain a specific justification describing the duly substantiated circumstances, and shall specify the safeguards applied to ensure transparency, equal treatment and absence of conflicts of interest. The Commission shall report annually to the European Parliament and the Council on the use of paragraph 5 in accordance with Article 84b of this Regulation.

Amendment 67

Proposal for a regulation

Article 12 – paragraph 8

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
8. Where Union funding is provided in the form of a grant, including when combined in blending operations with other forms of repayable support not supported by the Union budget, funding shall be provided in accordance with Title VIII of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 and in the form of financing not linked to costs in accordance with Article 125(1), point (a), of that Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, or, where necessary, simplified cost options. Funding may be also provided in the form of actual eligible cost reimbursement where the objectives of an action cannot be achieved otherwise or where this form is necessary to enable other sources of funding, including financing from Member States.8. Where Union funding is provided in the form of a grant, including where it is combined in blending operations with other forms of repayable support not financed from the Union budget, such funding shall be awarded and implemented in accordance with Title VIII of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. Where duly justified in the work programme or in the award documentation, Union support provided to a beneficiary under the ECF shall take one of the following forms:
(a) financing not linked to costs provided that the total estimated cost of the action does not exceed EUR [XXX] (amount lower than the amount in b) below);
(b) simplified cost options including unit costs, lump sums or flat-rate financing, provided that the total estimated cost of the action does not exceed EUR [XXX] (amount higher than the amount in point (a) above); These thresholds could be further adapted in this Regulation based on the project sizes of the different policy windows. Where the total estimated cost of an action exceeds the threshold referred to in point (b) of the second subparagraph above, Union support shall be provided in the form of reimbursement of actual eligible costs.

Amendment 68

Proposal for a regulation

Article 12 – paragraph 8 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
8 a. Conditions for the use of financing not linked to costs and simplified cost options
1. The use of financing not linked to costs or simplified cost options shall be subject to prior justification in the work programme or award documentation. Such justification shall demonstrate the appropriateness of the chosen form of funding.
2. The work programme shall define objective, measurable and verifiable conditions for payment, including the evidence required to demonstrate the achievement of outputs, results or milestones.
3. In cases referred to in paragraph 1, the work programme shall specify:
(a) the methodology for determining the amount of Union support;
(b) the objectively verifiable milestones, targets or other conditions triggering payment, including the correlation between the relevant milestones, targets and conditions and the funding received;
(c) the procedure for verifying their fulfilment, including, where appropriate, independent verification;
(d) the consequences of partial or non-fulfilment, including proportional reductions of the grant and recoveries, where applicable;
(e) reporting obligation on the unit or total costs, as relevant, of the supported activities when financing not linked to costs is applied;
(f) the obligation to inform the granting authority of variations greater than 10% between the amount granted and the estimated amount of expenditure incurred at the end of the implementation period; such variations shall, where appropriate, lead to the recovery of the amounts exceeding 10% of the above-mentioned difference or a reassessment of milestones and targets previously agreed.
4. The use of financing not linked to costs and other simplified cost options shall not affect the application of the relevant rules concerning exclusion, conflicts of interest, avoidance of double funding, or the audit and investigation rights of OLAF, ECA and EPPO.
5. The Commission shall on the basis of the information collected under point 3 (e) create a Benchmarking Tool that should collect and compare the unit costs of milestones and targets. This information should feed into the drawing up of work programmes.

Amendment 69

Proposal for a regulation

Article 12 – paragraph 9

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
9. In accordance with Article 153(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, for actions implementing research and innovation activities, the evaluation committee may be composed partially or fully of independent external experts.9. In accordance with Article 153(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, for actions implementing research and innovation activities, the evaluation committee may be composed partially or fully of independent external experts. The Commission shall aim to ensure geographical diversity in the composition of evaluation committees and panels of independent experts established under this Regulation. Where external experts are used, the granting authority shall ensure documented management of conflicts of interest, transparency of selection of experts, and an appropriate level of independence and expertise commensurate with the risk and size of the action. The granting authority shall perform regular, risk-based checks to verify compliance with the information provided in the declaration of conflicts of interest submitted by external experts. With full respect of data protection rules, the names of the independent external experts shall be made available to the discharge authority upon request.

Amendment 70

Proposal for a regulation

Article 12 – paragraph 12

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
12. In addition to the grounds set out in Article 132 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, award procedures and resulting legal commitments shall allow for termination where the objectives of the action are unlikely to be achieved at all or within the set timelines, or the action has lost its policy relevance12. In addition to the grounds set out in Article 132 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, award procedures and resulting legal commitments shall allow for termination where the objectives of the action are unlikely to be achieved at all or within the set timelines, or where the action has lost its policy relevance.

Amendment 71

Proposal for a regulation

Article 12 – paragraph 12 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
12 a. Integrity screening and due diligence
1. The Commission shall ensure that support under this Regulation is not granted to, or for the benefit of, persons or entities subject to Union restrictive measures adopted under Article 215 TFEU, or to any other person or entity where awarding Union support would be prohibited under applicable Union law.
2. Applicants, beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors, implementing partners, financial intermediaries and final recipients shall provide, upon request and in accordance with applicable law, information on their beneficial ownership and control structure, including changes occurring during implementation, for the purpose of protecting the Union’s financial interests.
3. Implementing partners and financial intermediaries shall apply proportionate anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and tax avoidance due diligence in accordance with applicable Union and national law and shall include, in their procedures, checks for the Union support managed by them under this Regulation.
4. The Commission shall ensure that legal commitments and agreements provide for termination, suspension, reduction and recovery where paragraphs 1 to 3 are breached, without prejudice to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

Amendment 72

Proposal for a regulation

Article 13 – paragraph 4

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
4. Union institutions, bodies and agencies involved in the implementation of the Union budget shall have access to information, including classified information, necessary for the purpose of carrying out the award procedures, implementing actions, including reporting and payments, as well as checks, reviews, audits, and investigations.4. Union institutions, bodies and agencies, involved in the implementation and oversight of the Union budget shall have access to information, including classified information, necessary for the purpose of carrying out award procedures, implementing actions, reporting and payments and for budgetary control and other checks, reviews, audits, and investigations, including by the Commission, the European Parliament, OLAF, EPPO and ECA, within the exercise of their respective competences, in accordance with applicable security rules.

Amendment 73

Proposal for a regulation

Article 13 – paragraph 5 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
5 a. The Commission shall ensure that practical arrangements for access to classified information for audit and investigative purposes are established and implemented in a timely manner, including secure access modalities and appropriate handling procedures, in order to avoid limiting effective scrutiny and audit.

Amendment 74

Proposal for a regulation

Article 13 – paragraph 5 b (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
5 b. Technical and administrative expenditure under Article 5 shall not grow disproportionately to the operational budget of the Fund. The Commission shall demonstrate that efficiency gains from simplification and digitalisation have resulted in measurable cost reductions compared to the preceding programming period, and shall provide the European Parliament and the Council with an annual breakdown of such expenditure, distinguishing at least between (a) monitoring and performance reporting, (b) control and audit, (c) information technology systems, and (d) information and communication activities.

Amendment 75

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 2

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
2. The members of the ECF Strategic Stakeholders Board shall be appointed by the Commission, following an open call for nominations or for expressions of interest, or both, whichever the Commission finds more appropriate, and taking into account the need for balance in sector, organisation type, including private investors, and size, expertise, gender, age and geographical distribution. The term of members the Board shall be limited to four years, renewable once. Members of the Board should act with integrity and probity.2. The members of the ECF Strategic Stakeholders Board shall be appointed by the Commission, following an open call for nominations or for expressions of interest, or both, whichever the Commission finds more appropriate, and taking into account the need for balance in public and private participants, sector, organisation type, including researchers and academics, regional actors, private investors, and size, including SMEs, expertise, gender, age, geographical distribution, and other suitable criteria to ensure fair representation of all stakeholders. The term of members the Board shall be limited to two years, renewable twice. Members of the Board shall act with integrity and probity, demonstrating absence of conflict of interest, both at personal and professional level, by providing yearly declaration of assets, performing their duties impartially and in the sole interest of the ECF and not seeking or taking instructions from any public or private body. They shall be remunerated by the Union. The Strategic Stakeholders Board shall elect a chairperson from among its members and it shall be assisted by a secretariat, administratively located in the Commission.

Amendment 76

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 3

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3. The Commission shall establish the detailed rules on selection and composition, remuneration, rules of procedure, conflicts of interest and confidentiality for the ECF Stakeholder Board. Members of the Board shall be bound by these terms.3. The Commission shall establish the detailed rules on selection and composition, remuneration, rules of procedure, conflicts of interest and confidentiality for the ECF Stakeholder Board. Members of the Board shall be bound by these terms. Members of the ECF Strategic Stakeholders Board shall declare any financial interests and potential conflicts of interest related to activities financed by the Fund.

Amendment 77

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 6

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
6. The composition of the Investment Committee shall ensure that it has a wide knowledge of the sectors covered by the ECF and a wide knowledge of the geographic markets in the Union, and shall ensure that the Investment Committee as a whole is gender-balanced.6. The composition of the Investment Committee shall ensure that it has a wide knowledge of the sectors covered by the ECF and a wide knowledge of the geographic markets in the Union and shall ensure that the Investment Committee as a whole is gender and geographical balanced.

Amendment 78

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 8

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
8. The Advisory Board on ECF InvestEU Instrument shall be composed of one representative of each implementing partner and one representative of each Member State. the Advisory Board on ECF InvestEU Instrument shall, provide advice on the design of financial products and on the strategic and operational direction in its area of competence. It shall also provide advice on the coordination with the EIC to ensure complementarity with other Union funding or private investments. The Advisory Board shall be chaired by a representative of the Commission.deleted

Amendment 79

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 9

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
9. The Commission shall establish the detailed rules on selection and composition, remuneration, rules of procedure, conflicts of interest and confidentiality for the Investment Committee and the Advisory Board on ECF InvestEU Instrument.9. The Commission shall establish the detailed rules on selection and composition, remuneration, rules of procedure, conflicts of interest and confidentiality for the Investment Committee. Members of the Investment Committee shall be bound by these rules.

Amendment 80

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 10

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
10. The Commission and Implementing partners shall establish regular Policy Review Dialogues to discuss progress with the implementation of the financial products and engage on relevant policy developments.10. The Commission and Implementing partners shall establish regular Policy Review Dialogues to discuss progress with the implementation of the financial products and engage on relevant policy developments. The European Parliament and the Council should be invited to participate in these dialogues.

Amendment 81

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 11

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
11. The Commission shall ensure that stakeholders are consulted in the development of the work programmes, with the creation of one or several thematic platforms per window.11. The Commission shall ensure that stakeholders are consulted in the development of the work programmes, with the creation of one or several thematic platforms per window. and specific formats such as for the ECF InvestEU Instrument.

Amendment 82

Proposal for a regulation

Article 14 – paragraph 11 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
11 a. The Commission shall clarify the applicable governance and accountability arrangements, and the interaction with the Boards established in articles 41 and 56. The Commission shall establish and publish a governance and accountability framework describing the respective roles, responsibilities and interactions of the bodies established under this Regulation, as well as involvement of the Member States, including the Strategic Stakeholders Board , the Space and Defence Advisory Board and the Defence Industrial Advisory Board, and shall report annually on their activities in accordance with Article 84b of this Regulation.

Amendment 83

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point h a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(h a) the performance framework for major actions or families of actions, including result and impact indicators, baselines and targets, in coherence with Regulation (EU) [Performance Regulation].

Amendment 84

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point h b (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(h b) an indicative target for the share of funding to be allocated to entities established in less-developed and transition regions, together with measures to promote the participation of such entities, including outreach activities, simplified application procedures for smaller-scale actions, and partnerships with regional innovation ecosystems.

Amendment 85

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 – paragraph 3

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt the work programmes implementing the specific objectives referred to in Article 3(2), points (a), (b), (c) and (d) and for the horizontal activities in Chapter III. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 83(2).3. The Commission shall, by means of delegated acts, adopt the work programmes implementing the specific objectives referred to in Article 3(2), points (a), (b), (c) and (d) and for the horizontal activities in Chapter III. In preparing the work programmes, the Commission shall ensure proper involvement of Member States and take into account the input of advisory boards referred to in Article 14(2) and, where relevant, thematic platforms referred to in Article 14(11), with a view to contributing to the effective use of Union financial resources and preventing double funding. Those delegated acts shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 84.

Amendment 86

Proposal for a regulation

Article 16 – paragraph 1 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
1 a. The Commission shall facilitate pan-EU integration of value chains, including by promoting geographically diverse composition of consortia.

Amendment 87

Proposal for a regulation

Article 18 – paragraph 1

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
1. By way of derogation from Article 196(2) of the Financial Regulation, financial contributions may, where necessary for the implementation of manufacturing projects essential to support the general resilience objective as indicated on Article 3(1), or activities required to ensure the security, resilience or service continuity to support the objective referred to in Article 3(2), point (d), cover actions that started prior to the date of the submission of the proposal for those actions .1. By way of derogation from Article 196(2) of the Financial Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, financial contributions may, where necessary for the implementation of manufacturing projects essential to support the general resilience objective as indicated on Article 3(1), or activities required to ensure the security, resilience or service continuity to support the objective referred to in Article 3(2), point (d), cover actions that started prior to the date of the submission of the proposal, only where this is duly justified, and provided that: (a) the action could not be effectively implemented without such financial contribution and Union support demonstrates additionality; (b) the eligible period prior to submission is limited to what is strictly necessary and is specified in the work programme or award documentation; and (c) Union support does not finance costs already financed from other public sources.

Amendment 88

Proposal for a regulation

Article 18 – paragraph 2 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
2 a. In line with the principle of transparency, the Commission shall report annually, in accordance with Art. 84b of this Regulation, on the use of this Article, including the number of actions concerned, amounts committed and paid and the justification categories.

Amendment 89

Proposal for a regulation

Article 19 – paragraph 2 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
2 a. The Commission shall ensure that support under this Article is implemented in a manner that respects equal treatment and non-discrimination among the EU entities from individual Member States, and that minimises market distortions, including through transparent selection criteria and appropriate safeguards against double funding.

Amendment 90

Proposal for a regulation

Article 20 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(c a) the work programme is based on a documented risk assessment and specifies appropriate safeguards and quantitative limits applicable to the use of the measures provided for in this Article, including any maximum amount or share of the annual allocation that may be implemented under this Article.

Amendment 91

Proposal for a regulation

Article 20 – paragraph 2 – point a – point 2

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(2) set out an amount up to which proposals may be identified and invited that have been awarded a seal referred to in Article 8 of this Regulation but have not received Union funding due to lack of budget. The applicants may be invited to resubmit their proposal without a call; where the proposal is resubmitted without substantial change, the granting authority may decide to fully rely on the prior positive evaluation and any previously conducted controls and submitted supporting documents; the reasons for the award of the individual action shall be duly substantiated in the award decision and the list of actions shall be published in the Annual Activity Report referred to in Article 74(9) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509; or,(2) set out an amount up to which proposals may be identified and invited that have been awarded a seal referred to in Article 8 of this Regulation but have not received Union funding due to lack of budget. The applicants may be invited to resubmit their proposal without a call; where the proposal is resubmitted without substantial change, the granting authority may decide to fully rely on the prior positive evaluation and any previously conducted controls and submitted supporting documents; the reasons for the award of the individual action shall be duly substantiated in the award decision and the list of actions shall be published in the Annual Activity Report referred to in Article 74(9) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 and reported to the European Parliament and the Council in accordance with Art. 84 (b) of this Regulation. Where the granting authority relies on a previous evaluation or on controls previously carried out, it shall verify and document that the scope and conditions of the action remain similar and that the eligibility, exclusion and conflict-of-interests checks, including checks on beneficial owners where applicable, have been updated prior to signature;

Amendment 92

Proposal for a regulation

Article 20 – paragraph 2 – point a – point 3

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(3) specify an action and beneficiaries, or a policy area and categories of beneficiaries, and set out an amount up to which proposals may be invited for extension of actions under the ECF or other Union programmes, in order to continue or add additional activities or entities, and/or to further develop results; where actions and beneficiaries are not individually identified in the work programme, the reasons for the award of the individual action shall be duly substantiated in the award decision and the list of actions shall be published in the Annual Activity Report referred to in Article 74(9) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. The award may take the form of an amendment to the original action by adding new activities and increasing the maximum Union contribution.(3) specify an action and beneficiaries, or a policy area and categories of beneficiaries, and set out an amount up to which proposals may be invited for extension of actions under the ECF or other Union programmes, in order to continue or add additional activities or entities, and/or to further develop results; where actions and beneficiaries are not individually identified in the work programme, the reasons for the award of the individual action shall be duly substantiated in the award decision and the list of actions shall be published in the Annual Activity Report referred to in Article 74(9) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 and reported to the European Parliament and the Council in accordance with Art. 84 (b) of this Regulation. The award may take the form of an amendment to the original action by adding new activities and increasing the maximum Union contribution.

Amendment 93

Proposal for a regulation

Article 20 – paragraph 2 – point b – point 1

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(1) limit the requirements for the award decision and signature of legal commitments to a preliminary evaluation of award and exclusion criteria; the award decision shall be taken based solely on a self-declaration of applicants and tenderers on selection and eligibility criteria without request for corresponding supporting documents during pre-evaluation; the final evaluation, including for selection and eligibility criteria, and the requests for any relevant supporting documents shall be conducted within three months of the signature of the legal commitment; and,(1) limit the requirements for the award decision and signature of legal commitments to a preliminary evaluation of award and exclusion criteria, including checks that cannot be deferred, in particular conflicts of interest, using available Union systems in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509; the award decision shall be taken based solely on a self-declaration of applicants and tenderers on selection and eligibility criteria without request for corresponding supporting documents during pre-evaluation; the final evaluation, including for selection and eligibility criteria, and the requests for any relevant supporting documents shall be conducted within three months of the signature of the legal commitment; no payment shall be made before the granting authority or contracting authority has verified compliance with exclusion criteria and conflict-of-interest rules and obtained the minimum supporting evidence necessary to mitigate risks of fraud, irregularities and double funding; and,

Amendment 94

Proposal for a regulation

Article 20 – paragraph 2 – point c

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(c) By way of derogation from Article 9 of this Regulation, the work programme may specify that an award procedure takes the form of an inducement intervention to allow for a temporary and conditional waiver of compliance with a specified part of the eligibility criteria during the award procedure and parts of the implementation of the action, in particular regarding the place of establishment; compliance with the temporarily waived eligibility criteria shall instead be achieved and evaluated during the implementation of the action within a timeframe specified in the legal commitment. If the temporarily waived eligibility criteria are not complied with at the specified date, the action shall be considered ineligible in its entirety and any Union funding shall be fully recovered; for inducement interventions no pre-financing shall be paid.(c) By way of derogation from Article 9 of this Regulation, the work programme may specify that an award procedure takes the form of an inducement intervention to allow for a temporary and conditional waiver of compliance with a specified part of the eligibility criteria during the award procedure and parts of the implementation of the action, in particular regarding the place of establishment; compliance with the temporarily waived eligibility criteria shall instead be achieved and evaluated during the implementation of the action within a timeframe specified in the legal commitment. Payments shall be made only once the granting authority has verified compliance with the relevant eligibility criteria. If the temporarily waived eligibility criteria are not complied with at the specified date, the action shall be considered ineligible in its entirety and any Union funding shall be fully recovered; no pre-financing or interim payment shall be made before the granting authority has verified compliance with the eligibility criteria whose application was deferred; the legal commitment shall include the verification as a condition preceding any payment.

Amendment 95

Proposal for a regulation

Article 20 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
(c a) the granting authority shall, prior to taking any award decision under paragraph 2, carry out and document a specific risk assessment covering fraud, conflict of interests, irregularities, double funding and overcompensation, and shall set out the mitigating control measures to be applied, including the use of digital data mining and risk-scoring tools.

Amendment 96

Proposal for a regulation

Article 20 – paragraph 3 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 a. Where one or more of the measures referred to in paragraph 2 are applied, the granting authority or contracting authority shall ensure that the award decision is based on a documented evaluation that is proportionate to the risks of the action and that ensures a complete audit trail. For that purpose: (a) an evaluation committee shall be established in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 and shall produce an evaluation report; (b) where the evaluation requires specific technical, financial or security-related expertise, or where the amount and nature of the Union contribution so warrant, the evaluation committee shall be assisted by independent external experts or be composed partially or fully of such experts in accordance with Article 153(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509; (c) all members of the evaluation committee and any external experts shall sign declarations of absence of conflict of interest and confidentiality; (d) the evaluation report shall include a dedicated section describing: (i) which measure or measures under paragraph 2 were applied; (ii) the reasons why the conditions in paragraph 1 were met; and (iii) the main risks identified and the mitigating controls put in place, including any ex-post verifications; (e) in the case of accelerated interventions under paragraph 2, point (b), the final evaluation referred to in point (b)(1) shall be carried out, whenever possible, by staff and/or experts other than those involved in the preliminary evaluation. This paragraph shall apply without prejudice to Article 13.

Amendment 97

Proposal for a regulation

Article 20 – paragraph 3 b (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 b. Without prejudice to Article 13 and to legitimate confidentiality, the granting authority or the contracting authority shall publish, within 60 days of the signature of the legal commitment, a notice containing at least the name of the recipient, the title of the action, the policy window, the form of Union support, and the amount of Union support for each action financed under this Article. Where publication is restricted for duly justified reasons, the granting authority or the contracting authority shall publish a non-confidential summary and shall record in the file the reasons for restricting publication.

Amendment 98

Proposal for a regulation

Article 20 – paragraph 3 c (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 c. The application of accelerated or targeted interventions under this Article shall not compromise transparency, competition, equal treatment or the protection of the Union’s financial interests. The Commission shall report annually to the European Parliament and the Council, in accordance with Article 84(b) of this Regulation, on the use of the measures provided for in paragraph 2, including the justification for the derogations, the amounts committed and paid, the number and type of interventions, control results, detected irregularities, recoveries and imposed administrative or financial penalties.

Amendment 99

Proposal for a regulation

Article 20 – paragraph 3 d (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 d. Actions justified by imperative public interest under this Article shall be shall be duly justified with a clear link to the public interest objectives pursued and shall be subject to appropriate transparency and scrutiny by the European Parliament through the annual reporting under Art. 84b of this Regulation.

Amendment 100

Proposal for a regulation

Article 20 – paragraph 3 e (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 e. Where one or more of the measures referred to in paragraph 2 are applied, the granting authority or contracting authority shall ensure that the award decision is based on a documented evaluation that is proportionate to the risks of the action and that ensures a complete audit trail. For that purpose: (a) an evaluation committee shall be established in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 and shall produce an evaluation report; (b) where the evaluation requires specific technical, financial or security-related expertise, or where the amount and nature of the Union contribution so warrant, the evaluation committee shall be assisted by independent external experts or be composed partially or fully of such experts in accordance with Article 153(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509; (c) all members of the evaluation committee and any external experts shall sign declarations of absence of conflict of interest and confidentiality; (d) the evaluation report shall include a dedicated section describing: (i) which measure or measures under paragraph 2 were applied; (ii) the reasons why the conditions in paragraph 1 were met; and (iii) the main risks identified and the mitigating controls put in place, including any ex post verifications; (e) in the case of accelerated interventions under paragraph 2, point (b), the final evaluation referred to in point (b)(1) shall be carried out, whenever possible, by staff and/or experts other than those involved in the preliminary evaluation. This paragraph shall apply without prejudice to Article 13.

Amendment 101

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 2

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
2. The ECF InvestEU Instrument shall address market failures or suboptimal investment situations. The ECF InvestEU Instrument may in particular provide loans, guarantees, counter-guarantees, capital market instruments, any other form of funding or credit enhancement, including subordinated debt, or equity or quasi-equity investments, provided directly or indirectly through financial intermediaries, funds, investment platforms or other vehicles to be channelled to final recipients.2. The ECF InvestEU Instrument shall address market failures or suboptimal investment situations. The ECF InvestEU Instrument may in particular provide loans, guarantees, counter-guarantees, capital market instruments, any other form of funding or credit enhancement, including subordinated debt, or equity or quasi-equity investments, provided directly or indirectly through financial intermediaries, funds, investment platforms or other vehicles to be channelled to final recipients. The Commission shall ensure that financial instruments supported under the ECF InvestEU Instrument are subject to regular value-for-money assessments.

Amendment 102

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 4 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
4 a. The budgetary guarantee under the ECF InvestEU Instrument shall aim to achieve a minimum expected multiplier effect. The Commission shall establish and publish, by the entry into force of the first work programme, a target multiplier indicating the minimum volume of investment expected to be mobilised per euro of budgetary guarantee, taking into account the risk profile of the operations concerned. The Commission shall report annually against this target. Where the realised multiplier falls significantly below the target for two consecutive years, the Commission shall review the investment guidelines and, where appropriate, propose corrective measures.

Amendment 103

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 5

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
5. The investment guidelines set out by the Commission shall define in more detail the scope of intervention in support of the general and specific objectives set out in Article 3. The investment guidelines shall be prepared in close dialogue with the potential implementing partners.5. The investment guidelines set out by the Commission shall define in more detail the scope of intervention in support of the general and specific objectives set out in Article 3. The investment guidelines shall be prepared in close dialogue with the potential implementing partners and the relevant format of the Strategic Stakeholder Board.

Amendment 104

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 6 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
6 a. The Commission shall, when concluding guarantee agreements with implementing partners, ensure that management fees are set at reasonably low level.

Amendment 105

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 7 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
7 a. The Commission shall report annually to the European Parliament and the Council, in accordance with Article 84b of this Regulation, on the management fees and other costs charged by implementing partners under the ECF InvestEU Instrument, in an aggregated manner sufficient to assess value for money, including benchmarking of such fees against comparable market rates for similar risk profiles and asset classes, without prejudice to legitimate confidentiality. Where management fees consistently exceed the benchmarked range, the Commission shall take corrective action, including renegotiation of agreements or reallocation of volumes to more cost-effective implementing partners.

Amendment 106

Proposal for a regulation

Article 21 – paragraph 7 b (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
7 b. Large financing or investment operations supported under the ECF InvestEU Instrument shall be subject to enhanced risk-based audit procedures.

Amendment 107

Proposal for a regulation

Article 22 – paragraph 1

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
1. The ECF InvestEU Instrument shall serve as the Union’s integrated platform for delivering targeted financial support to companies across all development phases start-ups, scale-ups, including those actively pursuing manufacturing, industrial and market deployment. It shall ensure that high-potential European companies developing or deploying innovative solutions can access the capital and resources to grow in the Union, thus strengthening the integration of the Single market and the Savings and Investment Union.1. The ECF InvestEU Instrument shall serve as the Union’s integrated platform for delivering targeted financial support to companies and public entities across all development phases start-ups, scale-ups, including those actively pursuing manufacturing, industrial and market deployment. It shall ensure that high-potential European companies and public entities developing or deploying innovative solutions can access the capital and resources to grow in the Union, thus strengthening the integration of the Single market and the Savings and Investment Union.

Amendment 108

Proposal for a regulation

Article 22 – paragraph 3

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3. The facility shall intervene where market investors cannot provide sufficient financing for European high-growth, innovative and strategic companies, including if needed to protect the Union's strategic assets, interests, autonomy or economic security.3. The facility shall intervene where market investors cannot provide sufficient financing for European high-growth, innovative and strategic projects, including if needed to protect the Union's strategic assets, interests, autonomy or economic security. The facility should intervene also in cases of ambitious public projects that will deliver high-impact results in the areas of relevant policies.

Amendment 109

Proposal for a regulation

Article 25 – paragraph 3 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 a. The Commission shall publish, for each implementing partner selected under this Regulation, a non-confidential summary of the outcome of the pillar assessment and of the reasons for selection, including the measures ensuring the avoidance of conflicts of interest, without prejudice to legitimate confidentiality and Article 13.

Amendment 110

Proposal for a regulation

Article 26 – paragraph 4

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
4. The Commission may conclude advisory agreements with advisory partners and service providers in line with the needs of each policy windows. The Commission and the advisory partners, including the EIB Group, shall cooperate closely with a view to ensuring efficiency, synergies and effective geographic coverage across the Union, while taking account of existing structures and work.4. The Commission may conclude advisory agreements with advisory partners and service providers in line with the needs of each policy window. The Commission and the advisory partners, including the EIB Group, shall cooperate closely with a view to ensuring efficiency, synergies and effective geographic coverage across the Union, while taking account of existing structures and work. The Commission shall conclude an advisory agreement with the EIB Group and may conclude additional advisory agreements with other advisory partners and service providers in line with the needs of each policy window.

Amendment 111

Proposal for a regulation

Article 26 – paragraph 5

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
5. Irrespective of the instrument of budget implementation for the acquisition or provision of advisory services, providers and recipients of the services shall be selected in accordance with the principles of transparency and equal treatment, avoidance of conflict of interest, including conflicting professional interests.5. Irrespective of the instrument of budget implementation for the acquisition or provision of advisory services, providers and recipients of the services shall be selected in accordance with the principles of transparency and equal treatment, avoidance of conflict of interest, including conflicting professional interests and geographical representation.

Amendment 112

Proposal for a regulation

Article 26 – paragraph 6 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
6 a. Project advisory shall primarily focus on providing technical assistance to less experienced entities or first-time applicants in order to achieve effective use of Union financial resources.

Amendment 113

Proposal for a regulation

Article 26 – paragraph 6 b (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
6 b. The Commission shall ensure that project advisory services are accessible across the Union, including in less developed, outermost and innovation-widening regions, in order to facilitate fair access to Union support.

Amendment 114

Proposal for a regulation

Article 26 – paragraph 6 c (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
6 c. Each Member State shall appoint at least one national contact point to facilitate access to Project Advisory, in particular for start-ups and first-time applicants. Member States may also establish one or more sub-national contact points. The Commission, its advisory partners and other service providers shall cooperate with these national and sub-national contact points to ensure the timely dissemination of information and facilitate access to advisory services. The functioning of such contact points shall constitute eligible actions for funding under Article 4(2)(a).

Amendment 115

Proposal for a regulation

Article 26 – paragraph 6 d (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
6 d. 30% of the budget allocated to the Project Advisory shall be used to implement actions targeted to start-ups, first-time applicants and less experienced applicants.

Amendment 116

Proposal for a regulation

Article 27 – paragraph 1

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
1. “EU for Business” Network shall be established to help Union businesses become more competitive and innovate, grow and scale in the Single Market and beyond, with a particular emphasis on SMEs, startups, scaleups and small mid-cap companies. The network shall have a Union-wide and geographically balanced coverage, taking into account the specificities of all types of regions in the Union, including the less developed regions and the Union outermost regions.1. “EU for Business” Network shall be established to help Union businesses become more competitive and innovate, grow and scale in the Single Market and beyond, with a particular emphasis on SMEs, startups, scaleups and small mid-cap companies. The network shall have a Union-wide and geographically balanced coverage, taking into account the specificities of all types of Member States and regions in the Union, including the less developed regions and the Union outermost regions.

Amendment 117

Proposal for a regulation

Article 31 – paragraph 1 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
1 a. The single electronic data interchange area referred to in paragraph 1 shall, where technically feasible and subject to applicable data-protection and security rules, support: (a) the use of unique identifiers for actions and beneficiaries; (b) the capture of information necessary to enable traceability, audit and anti-fraud controls, including to prevent double funding; and (c) interoperability with relevant Union systems used for budget protection and transparency under Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

Amendment 118

Proposal for a regulation

Article 31 – paragraph 2

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
2. The ECF may support any additional activities to facilitate and accelerate access to Union funding, and other funding, financing and investments, as well as to ensure valorisation and uptake of results through tools and instruments such as proof of concept, deployment grants, advisory and business support services, and any dedicated platform.2. The ECF may support any additional activities to facilitate and accelerate access to Union funding, and other funding, financing and investments, as well as to ensure valorisation and uptake of results through tools and instruments such as proof of concept, deployment grants, advisory and business support services, and any dedicated platform, promoting balanced opportunities and enhancing competitiveness across all Member States, regions and the Union as a whole.

Amendment 119

Proposal for a regulation

Article 39 – paragraph 4 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
4 a. When preparing work programmes implementing this Article, the Commission shall document the evidence base and criteria used to identify priority technologies and types of projects and shall make that documentation available upon request to the European Parliament and the Council, without prejudice to Article 13 and to legitimate confidentiality.

Amendment 120

Proposal for a regulation

Article 41 – paragraph 1

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
1. A Space and Defence Advisory Board is set up and may advice the Commission on the coordination and complementarity between space and defence activities as laid down Article 3(2)(d), sub-points (1) and (2) and related financial tools to increase efficiency of investments and effectiveness of results. The members of the Advisory Board referred to in paragraph 1 shall be appointed by Member States1. A Space and Defence Advisory Board is set up and may advise the Commission and the Strategic Stakeholder Board on the coordination and complementarity between space and defence activities as laid down in Article 3(2)(d), sub-points (1) and (2), and related financial tools to increase the efficiency of investments and the effectiveness of results. The members of the Advisory Board referred to in paragraph 1 shall be appointed by Member States in accordance with the principles of transparency and equal treatment and the avoidance of conflicts of interest, including conflicting professional interests. The Commission shall clarify the applicable governance and accountability arrangements, including the interaction with the Boards established in Articles 14 and 56.

Amendment 121

Proposal for a regulation

Article 44 – paragraph 3

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3. Support provided through the activities referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, may be provided in any form, including through collaborative research as well as innovation activity support to single entities and financial instruments.3. Support provided through the activities referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, may be provided in any form, including through collaborative research as well as innovation activity support to single entities and financial instruments. Beneficiaries shall provide information on the use of Union funds and progress of activities, in a manner proportionate to the size and risk profile of the support. Such information shall be made publicly available where appropriate.

Amendment 122

Proposal for a regulation

Article 56 – paragraph 3

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3. The Defence Industrial Board shall be composed of representatives of the Member States, of the Commission and of the High Representative/Head of the Agency. Each Member State shall nominate one representative and one alternate representative.3. The Defence Industrial Board shall be composed of representatives of the Member States, of the Commission and of the High Representative/Head of the Agency. Each Member State shall nominate one representative and one alternate representative in accordance with the principles of transparency and equal treatment and the avoidance of conflicts of interest, including conflicting professional interests. Members of the Defence Industrial Board shall acquire an appropriate level of security clearance from their respective Member State, in accordance with their responsibilities.

Amendment 123

Proposal for a regulation

Article 56 – paragraph 3 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 a. The Board shall adopt its rules of procedure, including provisions on conflicts of interest, confidentiality and reporting, subject to applicable security requirements.

Amendment 124

Proposal for a regulation

Article 56 – paragraph 3 b (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 b. The Board shall provide written advice or summaries of advice. Such outputs shall be made available, upon request, to the European Parliament and the Council, subject to Article 13.

Amendment 125

Proposal for a regulation

Article 56 – paragraph 3 c (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
3 c. The Commission shall clarify the applicable governance and accountability arrangements, including the interaction with the Boards established in Articles 14 and 41.

Amendment 126

Proposal for a regulation

Article 84 – paragraph 4 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
4 a. Before adopting delegated acts under this Article, the Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of their potential impact on the implementation and financial governance of the Fund.

Amendment 127

Proposal for a regulation

Article 84 a (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
Article 84a
Protection of the financial interests of the Union:
1. The Commission shall take appropriate measures to ensure that, when actions financed under this Regulation are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective controls and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative and financial penalties in accordance with the Financial Regulation.
2. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) may carry out investigations related to all types of funding under this Regulation, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, with a view of establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activities affecting the financial interests of the Union. Furthermore, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is competent to investigate and prosecute fraud and other criminal offences affecting the financial interests of the Union.
3. Any person or entity receiving Union funds under this Regulation shall fully cooperate in the protection of the Union’s financial interests. It shall grant, where legally possible, the necessary rights and access to the Commission, OLAF, ECA and as appropriate the EPPO, in the exercise of their competences, and shall ensure that any third parties involved in the implementation of Union funds grant equivalent rights.
4. Where funds are managed by implementing partners, the Commission shall ensure, by including relevant provisions in its agreements with the implementing partners, that the above-mentioned rights of OLAF, ECA and as appropriate the EPPO are fully respected.

Amendment 128

Proposal for a regulation

Article 84 b (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
Article 84b
Reporting by the Commission to the European Parliament and to the Council
1. Without prejudice to Regulation (EU) [Performance Regulation] and Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, the Commission shall transmit to the European Parliament and the Council, by 30 June each year, an annual report on the implementation of the ECF for the preceding financial year, enabling the exercise of budgetary control and discharge responsibilities stipulated in the Treaties.
2. The annual report shall include, at least, the following information on the implementation of the ECF:
(a) the evolution of performance indicators, including result and impact indicators for each major action or family of actions;
(b) financial implementation by policy window, component, instrument, management mode, as well as any reallocations between policy windows or financial years, the form of support, including the number of actions where financing not linked to costs was used, simplified cost options and actual costs;
(c) lessons learnt from the application of the Benchmarking Tool referred to in Article 12(8a);
(d) information on the geographical distribution of ECF support per policy window among Member States, associated countries and, where applicable, third countries, including the type of funding instrument used;
(e) the use of additional resources referred to in Article 5, including reflows, recoveries and repayments, and their allocation;
(f) the activities of the stakeholder and advisory boards established under this Regulation.
3. The annual report shall also include specific information on:
(a) actions awarded a Competitiveness Seal and, where available, subsequent public support;
(b) the use of accelerated or targeted interventions under Article 20, including the number of procedures, the objective, form and beneficiaries of these interventions , amounts committed and paid; (c) the use of derogations and exceptions from Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 and other applicable budgetary rules, including in particular:
i. direct contract award procedures and negotiated procedures without prior publication,
ii. direct grants and other derogations from competitive award procedures, iii. any other exceptional measures deviating from the standard rules applicable to procurement, grants, financial instruments or budgetary guarantees; (d) for each category of actions referred to in point(c):
i. the legal basis relied upon,
ii. the justification for its application,
iii. the number of cases concerned and the corresponding financial amounts, iv. information on beneficiaries or contractors and subcontractors, in accordance with applicable transparency and data-protection rules.
4. The annual report shall further include specific information on the ECF InvestEU Instrument, including information on signed and disbursed operations, expected and realised mobilisation of investment, the risk profile of the budgetary guarantee, guarantee calls and provisioning movements, and management fees and other costs charged by implementing partners**, as well as:
(a) every two years an ex-post assessment of whether ECF InvestEU operations have complemented or displaced private capital that would otherwise have been available on comparable terms;
(b) administrative cost savings achieved through simplification and digitalisation measures compared to the preceding programming period.
5. The annual report shall also cover:
(a) information on errors, irregularities, suspected and established fraud, and the main results of audits and controls; brief summary of the fraud mechanism investigated;
(b) the number and main types of cases leading to exclusion, early detection or other protective measures under Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, including where applied by entrusted entities and implementing partners;
(c) a summary of detected cases of conflicts of interest and the mitigating measures adopted;
(d) the number of waivers and recoveries and outstanding recoveries, the amounts recovered during the year, and the average time taken to implement recoveries and financial corrections, with this information made available in machine-readable format.

Amendment 129

Proposal for a regulation

Article 84 c (new)

Text proposed by the CommissionAmendment
Article 84c
Implementation report and ex-post evaluation
1. The Commission shall carry out an interim evaluation of the ECF no later than four years after the start of the programme implementation and an ex-post evaluation no later than four years after the end of the period referred to in Article 4(1).
2. The interim evaluation shall assess the extent to which the ECF has achieved its objectives, the efficiency and added value of its spending, the appropriateness of the simplification measures applied and the geographical balance.
3. The ex-post evaluation shall assess the long-term impact, sustainability and value for money of the ECF.
4. Both evaluations shall be transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council and made publicly available.
Annex: declaration of input 1 paragraph

The rapporteur for opinion declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not include in his opinion input from interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies, to be listed in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

Procedure pages

How the committees handled the text, and how their members voted on it.

Procedure – committee asked for opinion 1 paragraph
TitleEstablishing the European Competitiveness Fund (’ECF’), including the specific programme for defence research and innovation activities
ReferencesCOM(2025)0555 – C10-0165/2025 – 2025/0555(COD)
Committee(s) responsible Date announced in plenaryITRE 23.10.2025
Opinion by Date announced in plenaryCONT 23.10.2025
Rapporteur for opinion Date appointedOndřej Knotek 19.12.2025
Discussed in committee5.3.2026
Date adopted15.4.2026
Result of final vote+: –: 0:15 10 1
Final vote by roll call by the committee asked for opinion 3 paragraphs

15 · For

ECR
Dick Erixon, Bert-Jan Ruissen, Şerban Dimitrie Sturdza
EPP
Georgios Aftias, Caterina Chinnici, Raúl de la Hoz Quintano, Monika Hohlmeier, Kinga Kollár, Jacek Protas, Andreas Schwab, Tomáš Zdechovský
Patriots
Angéline Furet, Virginie Joron, Ondřej Knotek, Tomáš Kubín

10 · Against

Renew
Gilles Boyer, Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy
S&D
José Cepeda, Giuseppe Lupo, Carla Tavares, Lara Wolters
The Left
Sebastian Everding, Pasquale Tridico
Greens
Daniel Freund, Rasmus Nordqvist

1 · Abstained

ESN
Arno Bausemer