What changed
Adds conditions to Parliament's support for the RFCS final phase, requiring optimized capital disbursement and targeted funding for breakthrough technologies in vulnerable regions. #2 Adds a rejection of concentrating research resources in established hubs, emphasizing geographical inclusivity for competitiveness and cohesion. #3 The other change is wording: removes "European" before "Commission". #1
2 changes of substance, plus 1 wording-only. Each change below carries a one-line ✦ note from the same model. Written from the two texts only — read the highlighted passages before relying on it.
The changes to the text itself, in document order. Cover page, citations (“having regard to …”), standard resolution paragraphs and punctuation-only edits are left out — they are in “Show every difference”.
Change #2 Substance under “EXPLANATORY STATEMENT”
Adds a condition that Parliament's support for the General Approach depends on optimizing capital disbursement and calibrating the 2027–2034 funding cycle toward breakthrough technologies in regions with acute structural dependencies.
In respect of the latest amendments to the RFCS legal basis, as proposed by the European Commission in December 2025, the Council of the European Union has agreed a General Approach. It is recommended that the European Parliament supports this General Approach which defines a final phase of the RFCS during which the annual budget will be increased to €120 million to support RFCS research calls from 2027 until 2034. The RFCS research programme would then come to an end around 2038, having disbursed all the remaining assets. The amendments are in line with the European Steel and Metals Action Plan of March 2025. While acknowledging the proposed operational timeline, the European Parliament conditions its support on the optimization of capital disbursement during the final phase. It is imperative that the 2027–2034 funding cycle is directly calibrated toward the deployment of breakthrough technologies in regions facing the most acute structural dependencies and transformation pressures.
Change #3 Substance under “EXPLANATORY STATEMENT”
Adds a rejection of the trade-off between scientific excellence and industrial revitalization, stating that concentrating resources in established hubs is inefficient and detrimental to internal market cohesion.
Several other changes are proposed that will more closely align the management of the RFCS research programme with the Horizon Europe research programme, including on financial guarantees and increased funding rates to match Horizon Europe. In accordance with the provisions of this Protocol No.37, the assets of the RFCS shall be used exclusively for research, outside the research framework programme, in the sectors related to the coal and steel industry. Therefore, in the opinion of the European Parliament, the RFCS research programme should remain industry-led, and the European Commission should ensure that this is the case when evaluating proposals in response to future calls following this reform. The Parliament rejects the perceived trade-off between scientific excellence and the industrial revitalization of vulnerable regions. Sustaining European competitiveness requires geographical inclusivity; a strategy that concentrates resources within established technology hubs while neglecting the primary industrial base is both structurally inefficient and detrimental to the cohesion of the internal market.