On A revamped long-term budget for the Union in a changing world

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AMENDMENTS

The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy presents to the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, the following:

Amendment 1

Motion for a resolution

Recital H a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

Ha. whereas, the Budapest Declaration on the new European competitiveness deal committed the Union and its Member States to achieving the objective to spend at least 3 % of the Union’s GDP on research and development by 2030, an objective first set for 2010 under the Lisbon Strategy;

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Amendment 2

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11. Emphasises that funding for research and innovation should be significantly increased, should be focused on the Union’s strategic priorities and should continue to be determined by the principle of excellence; considers that there should be sufficient resources across the MFF and at national level to fund all high-quality projects;

11. Emphasises that in order to put research and innovation at the heart of our economy, the Union needs to significantly increase investment in research and innovation across the Union, in particular by fostering public research and development spending including at national level, and leveraging private research and development spending, including via a more attractive internal market for startups, scale-ups and venture capital, with a particular focus on strategic sectors; emphasises the importance of efficient funding processes, guaranteeing predictability and efficient use of public resources, to attract private investment in cutting-edge research and innovation; notes that in order to achieve its policy objectives, the Union and its Member States need to fund the best possible science (including basic science), research and innovation and complete the European Research Area, by most notably introducing the Fifth Freedom1a and by continuing research cooperation through Euratom; considers that under the next MFF the 10th Framework Programme should receive an overall budget in line with the 3 % of GDP spending target and sufficient to fund at least 75 % of the high-quality proposals, which would be a budget of at least EUR 220 billion; underlines that the 10th Framework Programme has to be an independent funding programme encompassing all Union funding and financing for excellent research, technology development and innovation activities across the Union; emphasises that in order to ensure budgetary stability, the budget for this Framework Programme should be ring-fenced in the MFF and any decommitments stemming from this Programme or its predecessors should automatically return to the Programme or its successors;

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1a Letta, Enrico, ‘Much more than a market – Speed, Security, Solidarity – Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU Citizens’, April 2024.

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Amendment 3

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11a. Believes that the continued presence of nuclear technology in the Union and the continued interest in the use of nuclear power as part of the national energy mix in some Member States, which currently means that about 24 % of electricity production in the Union stems from nuclear production, requires that the Union be a world leader with regard to knowledge of, research and development into and expertise on these technologies, including on their safety, through the Euratom Research and Training Programme and the continued involvement of the Union in the ITER project; stresses that the budgets for these programmes should reflect the new realities of the significant development towards the commercialisation of fusion technology; underlines, against the backdrop of the project’s delays and unspent appropriations in the current MFF, that the funding structure for the Union’s contribution to the ITER project should reflect the inherent uncertainty in the long-term financial planning of such a high-tech, ambitious project, in order to ensure that the Union’s budget can be used optimally in each financial year as well as over the full MFF period; expresses deep concern regarding Russia’s continued membership of the ITER project, considering Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine and the ongoing threat which Russia poses to a free and democratic European continent;

Or. en

Amendment 4

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 12

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

12. Stresses that the next MFF should include much greater funding for energy, transport and digital infrastructure, with priority given to cross-border connections and national links with European added value; considers that such infrastructure goes hand in hand with a deepening of the single market;

12. Stresses that the deepening of the Energy Union will be crucial in order to deliver affordable, clean and secure energy to European citizens and businesses, in particular through the ramp-up of renewables in line with the Renewable Energy Directive; notes that this will require European investment in critical and cross-border energy infrastructures and in improving energy efficiency and further decarbonising the energy system; underlines that the investments should be directed at ensuring open strategic autonomy of the Union with regard to its energy supply to increase energy security and provide affordable energy, as well as achieve the Union’s climate-neutrality target; calls for the funding for energy infrastructure provided by CEF Energy to be significantly increased under the next MFF in order to support the transition of the EU energy system to a more resilient, cheaper, cleaner and smarter future and to meet the growing demands for transformative investments in critical projects; underlines that the investments should reflect the national choices made for the energy mix and should improve flexibility and efficiency, mitigate price volatility and enhance the security of energy supply; notes that for cross-border infrastructure projects, the investments should continue to follow the priorities set out in the TEN-E Regulation and focus on supporting Projects of Common Interest in order to ensure further deployment and integration of clean energy to deliver affordable and secure energy to consumers and businesses; recommends that funding to facilitate cross-border cooperation in renewable energy be continued in addition to funding for promoting energy system integration and system efficiency through support for the modernisation and development of electricity grid interconnections and increased investments in hydrogen transport infrastructures, in CO2 transport infrastructure, off-shore grids and Projects of Mutual Interest with third countries, particularly with Ukraine and the neighbourhood; underlines, furthermore, the importance of the Modernisation Fund for accelerating the transition to climate-neutrality in the 13 beneficiary Member States by providing funding for the ramping up of renewables and energy storage, promoting energy efficiency and modernising energy networks;

Or. en

Amendment 5

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 13 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

13a. Stresses that, in order to compete with other major global players, the European economy must also become more competitive and resilient on the supply side by investing more in the Union’s open strategic autonomy through enhanced industrial policy with a focus on strategic sectors and critical technologies to reduce dependence on third countries; recalls that European industrial policy has to complete the green and digital twin transition of European industry; recalls the last term’s debates on a European Sovereignty Fund; in that regard considers that a new Competitiveness Fund should deliver on investments to ensure the strategic autonomy of the Union by fostering the sustainable industrial competitiveness and resilience of the Union, in particular through investments in strategic industrial sectors and projects, and that its priorities should be based on the Union’s industrial policy; underscores that the Fund needs to provide new and targeted funding to fill a funding gap in the current MFF, rather than an umbrella for existing funding programmes; underlines that its primary aim should be to facilitate private investments in industrial capacity in the Union by levelling the playing field with conditions for industrial investments in other parts of the world; notes that, in this regard, the Fund might be built on the experience of InvestEU and the Innovation Fund, for example through the use of the ‘auction as a service’ approach.

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Amendment 6

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 13 b (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

13b. Insists that in order to ensure open strategic autonomy and competitiveness in the space sector and reduce dependence on non-EU actors in space activities, the EU needs increased investments to deliver its space policy; underlines that the Union’s space policy has become increasingly important due to the changing geopolitical climate and fundamental changes to the global space industry, including through the emergence of NewSpace Europe and increased commercialisation; highlights, in this context, the need to invest in space-based technologies, particularly communication technologies and earth observation, and in technologies related to access to space; believes that Member States will not be able to efficiently meet these investment challenges alone, and that European intervention and cooperation is therefore increasingly important in this field and must be strengthened, including through ESA; believes that the investments, as currently provided by the European Union space programme, InvestEU, the European Defence Fund and Horizon Europe, in space system development and deployment should be increased significantly as compared with the current MFF in order to strengthen European open strategic autonomy in space; underlines, in this regard, the need for continued investments to ensure the leading role of the Copernicus and Galileo satellite systems, while significantly ramping up investments in European space-based, secure communication systems such as IRIS2 and space civil security-related systems, including space situational awareness systems; highlights the important work of the EU Agency for the Space Programme to ensure the proper and strategic implementation of these investments; notes that further investments in access to space should also be included, including investments in launch infrastructure and in advanced launch technology development, and that investments should as far as possible promote the reform of the European space market into a more competition-driven market with due support for new European space players; underlines that investments in space systems under the next MFF must prioritise integrating cybersecurity by design, ensuring resilience across the entire life cycle of space infrastructure from development to decommissioning;

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Amendment 7

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 16

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

16. Stresses that, in order to compete with other major global players, the European economy must also become more competitive and resilient on the supply side by investing more in the Union’s open strategic autonomy through enhanced industrial policy and a focus on strategic sectors and critical technologies to reduce dependence on third countries;

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Or. en

Amendment 8

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

23. Underlines that industry will be central in the transition to net zero and that support will be needed in helping some industrial sectors and their workers to adapt; stresses that the transition must leave no one behind, requiring investment in regions that are heavily fossil-fuel dependent and increased support for households, in particular through the Social Climate Fund;

23. Underlines that industry will be central in the transition to net zero and that support will be needed in helping some industrial sectors and their workers to adapt; stresses that this transition will take place in the context of global competition characterised by the relatively high costs of doing business in Europe and unfair anti-competition efforts by the Union’s global competitors; considers that innovation, and in particular clean tech innovation, is the only way to keep European industry competitive, securing economic growth and quality jobs, while at the same time decarbonising; underlines in this regard the importance of a strengthened Innovation Fund as part of the MFF; believes the Innovation Fund should continue to serve the clear objective of decarbonising European industry and should form, together with the anticipated Competitiveness Fund and the investments in the digital and space sectors, a coherent and easy-to-access suite of funding programmes to support the competitiveness of European industry; believes that the transition must leave no one behind, requiring investment in regions that are heavily fossil-fuel dependent and increased support for households, in particular through the Social Climate Fund;

Or. en

Amendment 9

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

23a. Underlines that for the Union to fully benefit from the digital transition it needs to invest in its technology leadership and sovereignty, including through standardisation and the development of a European technology stack to support the EU’s digital autonomy and influence in international standards; notes that the full deployment of scalable and user-centered digital technologies will make our EU public sector and administration more efficient, improve the quality of life of EU citizens and increase the competitiveness of EU companies; highlights that the rapid evolution of digital infrastructure shows the need for reliable, future-ready connectivity that combines terrestrial, satellite and next-generation mobile networks (i.e. 5G and 6G) into a seamless, secure system capable of supporting large-scale, high-speed communication networks; strongly believes that in order to achieve this, the Union should prioritise the development of innovative, trusted and adaptable networks; furthermore emphasises that the continued acceleration of the digital transition underlines the importance of ongoing Union spending on the deployment, use (digital skills) and innovation with digital technologies, as well as on the data infrastructure as the backbone of an internal market for digital products and services; notes that, given the speed of technological development, the next MFF needs to have enough flexibility to include new priorities as they arise, while ensuring streamlined access to funding for stakeholders; calls for an increased budget for digital infrastructure investments; considers that the objectives of both the Digital Europe Programme and CEF Digital remain relevant, but that rationalising the programming landscape for digital investments could be considered, in particular to foster the development of a European technology stack; highlights the need to ensure robust cybersecurity for all digital technologies and infrastructures, and the need for this to remain a horizontal priority in Union spending in order to safeguard critical investments and foster trust in digital and technological advancements;

Or. en

Amendment 10

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 24

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

24. Points to the profound technological shift under way, with new technologies such as artificial intelligence both creating opportunities, in terms of economic potential and improvements to the citizens’ lives, and posing reliability and ethical challenges; stresses that the next MFF must support the development and safe application of such technologies and help people to hone the skills they need to work with and use them;

24. Points to the profound technological shift under way, with new technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum both creating opportunities, in terms of economic potential and improvements to the citizens’ lives, and posing reliability and ethical challenges; stresses that the next MFF must increase support for research and development related to these technologies and the safe application of such technologies; notes the importance of further investments to help people to hone the skills they need to work with and use these technologies;

Or. en

Amendment 11

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 59 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

59a. Believes that to ensure that the implementation of any potential horizontal policies or mainstreaming efforts set out for the MFF, for example related to competitiveness or the green and digital twin transition, is effective and does not create unnecessary administrative complexity for the final recipients of Union funds, their programme-specific implementation should be left to sectoral legislation;

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Amendment 12

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 91 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

91a. Stresses the importance of parliamentary scrutiny over the implementation of the Union budget under the MFF and in compliance with sectoral legislation; in that context underlines that agreements allowing for the participation of the specific third countries1a in EU programmes should allow for full parliamentary scrutiny, through a consent procedure, on the participation of a specific partner country in a specific EU programme; underlines that this is of particular importance where the participation is not part of a single international agreement on the political relation between the EU and the third country;

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1a These specific countries include members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) which are members of the European Economic Area (EEA), acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates, European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) countries, and like-minded third countries, including the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

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ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR FOR OPINION HAS RECEIVED INPUT

The rapporteur declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.