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DRAFT REPORT (6417/2026 – 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

ITRE-PR-785328

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.

The draft resolution approves the Council draft on the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) research programme and its guidelines, with conditions on capital disbursement and alignment with Horizon Europe. It calls for the RFCS to remain industry-led, for a successor mechanism to be assessed, and for the Commission to ensure geographical inclusivity in funding.

Committee position. The rapporteur recommends that Parliament approve the Council draft, but conditions support on optimizing capital disbursement and ensuring the programme remains industry-led and geographically inclusive.

Key points

  1. Approves the Council draft decision on the RFCS research programme and guidelines.
  2. Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the approved text.
  3. Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it substantially amends the text.
  4. Supports the General Approach defining a final phase with an increased annual budget of €120 million for 2027–2034, with the programme ending around 2038.
  5. Conditions support on optimizing capital disbursement and calibrating the 2027–2034 cycle toward breakthrough technologies in regions with acute structural dependencies.
  6. Rejects the trade-off between scientific excellence and industrial revitalization, demanding geographical inclusivity in funding.
  7. Insists the RFCS research programme remain industry-led, with the Commission ensuring this in proposal evaluations.
  8. Calls for the Commission to assess a successor mechanism for sector-specific coal and steel research before final disbursement.

Who is affected

  • Coal and steel industries and researchers in coal basins and steel valleys across Europe.
  • European Commission, which manages the RFCS and must ensure industry-led research and assess a successor mechanism.

Figures and deadlines

  • €120 million annual budget for RFCS research calls from 2027 until 2034.
  • RFCS research programme to end around 2038.

Legal basis: Article 2, second paragraph, of Protocol No 37 to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union