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REPORT (06417/2026 – C100063/2026 – 2025/0398(NLE))

On the draft Council decision on the adoption of the Research Programme of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel, on the multiannual technical guidelines for this programme, on the multiannual financial guidelines for managing the assets of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel, and repealing Decisions 2003/77/EC and 2008/376/EC

A-10-2026-0130

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy · Rapporteur: Borys Budka

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 4 Sept 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament approves the Council draft decision on the Research Programme of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel, including technical and financial guidelines, and repealing Decisions 2003/77/EC and 2008/376/EC. It calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the approved text and to consult again if it intends to amend it substantially.

Committee position. The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy recommends that Parliament approve the Council draft, with conditions on capital disbursement and industry-led management.

Key points

  1. Approves the Council draft decision on the Research Programme of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel and its technical and financial guidelines.
  2. Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the approved text and to consult again if it intends to amend it substantially.
  3. Supports the General Approach defining a final phase with an increased annual budget of €120 million for research calls from 2027 until 2034, with the programme ending around 2038.
  4. Conditions support on optimizing capital disbursement and calibrating the 2027–2034 funding cycle toward deployment of breakthrough technologies in regions with acute structural dependencies.
  5. Insists the RFCS research programme remain industry-led and that the Commission ensure this when evaluating proposals.
  6. Rejects a trade-off between scientific excellence and industrial revitalization, demanding geographical inclusivity in funding.
  7. Calls on the Commission to assess, before final disbursement, a successor mechanism for sector-specific coal and steel research to prevent a permanent gap.

Who is affected

  • Coal and steel industries and researchers in coal basins and steel valleys across Europe, who rely on RFCS funding.
  • Regions with structural dependencies on coal and steel, which need support for technological resilience and just transition.

Figures and deadlines

  • Annual budget increased to €120 million for RFCS research calls from 2027 until 2034.
  • RFCS research programme to end around 2038 after disbursing all remaining assets.

Legal basis: Second paragraph of Article 2 of Protocol No 37 on the financial consequences of the expiry of the ECSC Treaty and on the Research Fund for Coal and Steel