Activities of Mauri PEKKARINEN related to 2021/0048(NLE)
Plenary speeches (1)
Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the proposal for a Council regulation establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe
Amendments (33)
Amendment 202 #
Recital 3
(3) To deliver on priorities and impact, European partnerships should be developed through a broad involvement of relevant stakeholders across Europe including industry, SMEs and start-ups, research organisations, bodies with a public service mission at local, regional, national or international level, and civil society organisations such as foundations that support and/or carry out research and innovation. They should also be one of the measures to strengthen cooperation between private and/or public sector partners at the international level including by joining up research and innovation programmes and cross-border investment in research and innovation bringing mutual benefits to people and businesses while ensuring that the Union can uphold its interests in strategic areasdevelop its strategic autonomy alongside an open economy.
Amendment 212 #
Recital 12
(12) Following the identification of synergies between them, joint undertakings should aim to determine budget shares which should be used for complementary or joint activities between joint undertakings. Moreover, this Regulation aims at achieving improved efficiencies and harmonisation of the rules through intensified operational collaboration and by exploring economies of scale, including the establishment of apossibility of establishing common back office functions, which should provide horizontal support functions to the joint undertakings. The common back officefunctions should make it easier to achieve greater impact and harmonisation on common points while retaining a certain degree of flexibility to meet the specific needs of each joint undertaking. The structure should be established using service level agreements to be concluded jointly by the joint undertakings. The common back office functions should cover coordination and administrative support functions in areas where its screening has proved efficient and cost-effective and should take into account the compliance with the requirement of accountability of each individual authorising officer. The legal setup should be designed to best serve the common needs of the joint undertakings, to ensure their close collaboration and to explore all possible synergies among the European partnerships and, as a consequence, between the various parts of the Horizon Europe programme as well as between the other programmes managed by the joint undertakings.
Amendment 215 #
Recital 14
(14) Horizon Europe introduces a more strategic, coherent and impact-driven approach to European partnerships, building on the lessons learned from the Horizon 2020 interim evaluation. In line with the new ambition, this Regulation aims at a more effective use of institutionalised European partnerships notably by focusing on clear objectives, outcomes and impact that can be achieved by 2030, and by ensuring a clear contribution to the related Union policy priorities and policies. The joint undertaking should implement their missions and objectives in a clear, simple and flexible way in order to increase attractiveness towards industry, SMEs, research organisations and all relevant stakeholders. Close collaboration and synergies with other relevant initiatives at Union, national and regional level, in particular with other European partnerships, are key in achieving greater impact and ensuring take up of results. In assessing the overall impact, broader investments beyond the contributions from partners and triggered by the joint undertakings that contribute to achieving their objectives should be taken into account.
Amendment 220 #
Recital 15
(15) This Regulation is based on the principles and criteria set out in the Horizon Europe Regulation, including excellence, openness and transparency, a strong leverage effect and long-term commitments of all the involved parties. One of the objectives of this Regulation is to ensure the openness of the initiatives to a broad range of entities, including newcomers. The partnerships should be open to any entity that is willing and capable to work towards the common goal, and promote broad and active participation of stakeholders in their activities, membership and governance, and to ensure that the results would be for the benefit of all Europeans, notably through a broad dissemination of results and pre- deployment activities across the Union.
Amendment 223 #
Recital 18
(18) In line with the ambitions set out in the Horizon Europe Regulation, one of the preconditions of setting up institutionalised partnerships is ensuring partner’s contributions throughout the lifetime of the initiatives. In this context, private partners should deliver a significant part of their contributions in the form of in-kind contributions to operational costs of the joint undertaking. Joint undertakings should be able to seek measures to facilitate these contributions through their work programmes, notably by reducing funding rates. These measures should be based on the specific needs of a joint undertaking and the underlying activities. In justified cases, it should be possible to introduce additional conditions that require the participation of a member of the joint undertaking or their constituent or affiliated entities, targeting activities where the industrial partners of the joint undertaking can play a key role, such as large-scale demonstrations and flagship projects, and contribute more via lower funding rates. The level of participation of members should be monitored by the executive director in order to empower the governing board to take appropriate actions, ensuring a balance between commitment from partners and openness. In duly justified cases, the capital expenditure for, e.g., large scale demonstrators or flagship projects, may be considered as an eligible cost in line with the applicable legal framework.
Amendment 225 #
Recital 19
(19) In line with the principle of fair sharing of contributions among the members of joint undertakings, financial contributions to the administrative costs of the joint undertakings should be divided equally between the Union and the members other than the Union. Members other than Union should agree among themselves on the fair distribution of administrative expenses of their respective joint undertakings. Administrative expenses for the joint undertakings should not exceed 5% of their budget. Deviations from that principle should only be considered in exceptional and duly justified cases such as where the size or the membership structure of a member of the joint undertaking other than the Union would result in contributions per constituent or affiliated entity, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), of such a high level that they would seriously jeopardise the incentive to become or remain a constituent or affiliated entity of the member of the joint undertaking. In such cases, the minimum percentage of annual financial contribution to the administrative costs of the joint undertaking from members other than the Union should be 20% of the total annual administrative costs and the contributions from SMEs should be significantly lower than those from larger constituent or affiliated entities. Once a critical mass of membership that allows for a contribution higher than 20% of the total annual administrative costs is reached, annual contributions per constituent or affiliated entity should be maintained or increased with the aim to gradually increase the share of the members other than Union in the overall contribution to the annual administrative costs of the joint undertaking. The members of the joint undertaking other than the Union should endeavour to increase the number of constituent or affiliated entities in order to maximise the contribution to 50% of the administrative costs of the joint undertaking over its lifetime.
Amendment 231 #
Recital 22
(22) It is appropriate that the members other than the Union commit to the implementation of this Regulation by means of a letter of commitment. Those letters of commitment should be legally valid throughout the lifetime of the initiative and closely monitored by the joint undertaking and the Commission. Joint undertakings should create a legal and organisational environment that enables members to deliver on their commitments while ensuring continuous openness of the initiative and transparency during their implementation, notably for priority setting and for participation in calls for proposals. Joint undertakings should, where appropriate, identify calls for proposal where a coordinating role for SME participants is promoted.
Amendment 241 #
Recital 25
(25) The governance of joint undertakings should ensure that their decision-making processes are fit to keep pace with fast-changing socio-economic and technological environment and global challenges. Joint undertakings should benefit from the expertise, advice and support from all relevant stakeholders, including but not limited to universities and other research organisations, representatives of industry and SMEs, in order to effectively implement their tasks and ensure synergies at Union and national level. Therefore, joint undertakings should be empowered to set up advisory bodies with a view to providing them with expert advice and carrying out any other task of an advisory nature that is necessary for the achievement of the joint undertakings' objectives. In setting up the advisory bodies, joint undertakings should ensure a balanced representation of experts within the scope of the activities of the joint undertaking, including with respect to gender balance. The advice provided by these bodies should bring in scientific perspectives as well as those of national and regional authorities and of other stakeholders of joint undertakings.
Amendment 256 #
Recital 32
(32) Participation in indirect actions funded by the joint undertakings under Horizon Europe should comply with the rules set out in the Horizon Europe Regulation. However, in order to encourage the participation of SMEs, joint undertakings should be able to apply different reimbursement rates for the Union funding within an action depending on the type of participant. The reimbursement rates should be indicated in the work programme. The joint undertakings should ensure consistent application of those rules based on relevant measures adopted by the Commission. The joint undertakings should use the corporate model grant agreement prepared by the Commission. In relation to the period to object to transfers of ownership of results referred to in [Article 36(4)] of the Horizon Europe Regulation, the duration of innovation cycles in the areas covered by the respective joint undertakings should be taken into account.
Amendment 260 #
Recital 33
(33) One of the main purposes of joint undertakings is to foster the Union’s competitiveness, economic capacities and in particular its scientific and technological sovereignty. Moreover, the post pandemic recovery highlights the need to invest in key technologies such as 5G and 6G, AI, cloud, cybersecurity and green tech and the valorisation, deployment and commercialisation of these technologies in the Union. Results generated by all participants will play an important role in this respect and all participants will benefit from the Union funding through the results generated in the project and access rights thereto, even those participants not having received Union funding. Therefore, to protect the Union interests, the right for joint undertakings to object to transfers of ownership of results or to grants of an exclusive licence regarding results should also apply to participants not having received Union funding. In exercising this right to object the joint undertaking should strike a fair balance between the Union interests and protection of fundamental rights on the results of the participants without funding in accordance with the principle of proportionality, taking into account that these participants did not receive any Union funding for the action from which the results were generated.
Amendment 267 #
Recital 39
(39) In the context of the European Commission’s priority of “A European Green Deal”13 supported by the revised Union Bioeconomy Strategy14 , the EU Biodiversity Strategy15 , the Clean Planet for All Communication16 , the Circular Economy Action Plan17 and the new Farm to Fork communication18 , the European bio-based sector, including SMEs, regions and primary producers should become climate neutral, more circular and more sustainable while remaining competitive on the global scale. A strong, resource efficient and competitive bio-based innovation ecosystem can decrease dependency on and accelerate the substitution of non-renewable fossil raw materials and mineral resources. It can develop renewable bio-based products, materials, processes and nutrients, including bioenergy, from waste and biomass through sustainability and circularity-driven innovation. Such ecosystem can also create value from local feedstock – including waste, residues and side-streams – to deliver jobs, economic growth and development throughout the Union not only in urban areas but also in rural and coastal territories where biomass is produced and that are often peripheral regions that rarely benefit from industrial development. _________________ 13 https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities- 2019-2024/european-green-deal_en 14 COM(2018)673 final 15 COM/2020/380 final 16https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52018 DC0773&from=EN 17 COM(2020)98 final 18 COM(2020)381 final
Amendment 337 #
Recital 88
(88) In the context of the European Commission’s priorities for 2019-2024 “A Europe fit for the digital age”, “An economy that works for people” and the policy objectives set out in the context of its Communications on “Shaping Europe’s digital future”, Europe needs to develop the critical digital infrastructures based on 5G networks and build its knowledge base and technological capacities towards 6G with a time horizon 2030. In this context the Commission has emphasized the strategic importance of a European Partnership for Smart Networks and Services to provide secure connectivity-based services to consumers and businesses. Those priorities can be achieved by bringing together the key players, that is to say industry, academia and public authorities, under the umbrella of a European partnership that builds on the achievements of the 5G PPP initiative, which successfully developed 5G technology and standards.
Amendment 358 #
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) strengthening and integrating the Union’s scientific and technological capacities to support the creation and diffusion of high-quality new knowledge notably with a view to deliver on global challenges, securing and enhancing Union competitiveness, sustainability and contributing to the a reinforced European Research Area;
Amendment 360 #
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) securing sustainability-driven global leadership of Union value chains and Union open strategic autonomy in key technologies and industries in line with the industrial strategy for Europe as updated in May 2021 and the SME strategy; ;
Amendment 404 #
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) provide financial support, mainly in the form of grants, to research and innovation indirect actions, selected following open, transparent and competitive calls, unless otherwise specified in their work programme;
Amendment 415 #
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
(e a) identify calls, where appropriate, where a coordinating role is reserved for SME participants;
Amendment 464 #
Article 11 – paragraph 2
2. Unless specified otherwise in Part Two, the private members shall report by 31 March0 June each year to their respective governing board on the value of the contributions referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 made in each of the previous financial years. For the purpose of valuing these contributions, the costs shall be determined in accordance with the usual cost accounting practices of the entities concerned, to the applicable accounting standards of the country where the entity is established, and to the applicable International Accounting Standards and International Financial Reporting Standards. The costs shall be certified by an independent external auditor appointed by the entity concerned. The valuation method may be verified by the joint undertaking concerned should there be any uncertainty arising from the certification. In duly specified cases, the governing board may authorise the use of lump-sums or unit costs for valuing the contributions.
Amendment 471 #
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Joint undertakings shallmay, within one year following the adoption of this Regulation, conclude service level agreements on common back office functions, unless specified otherwise in Part Two and subject to the need to guarantee an equivalent level of protection of the Union’s financial interest when entrusting budgetary implementation tasks to joint undertakings. Such functions shallmay include the following areas, subject to confirmation of viability and following screening of resources:
Amendment 474 #
Article 12 – paragraph 2
2. The common back office functions referred to in paragraph 1 shallmay be provided by one or more selected joint undertakings to all others. Interrelated functions shall be kept within the same joint undertaking in order to ensure a coherent organisational structure.
Amendment 475 #
Article 12 – paragraph 4
4. Without prejudice to the reassignment to other tasks within the joint undertaking, or to other administrative arrangements, which do not impact contracts of employment, staff assigned to the common functions transferred to the common back office, hosted by another joint undertaking, may be transferred to that joint undertaking. Where a member of the staff concerned expresses his or her refusal in writing, the contract of that member of staff, may be terminated by the joint undertaking under the conditions referred to in Article 47 of the CEOS.
Amendment 476 #
Article 12 – paragraph 5
5. Staff referred to in paragraph 4, who is transferred to the joint undertaking hosting the common back officefunctions, shall keep the same type of contract and function group and grade, and shall be deemed to have served their entire service in that joint undertaking.
Amendment 496 #
Article 16 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) ensure close and timely monitoring of the progress of the joint undertaking’s research and innovation programme and individual actions in relation to the priorities of the CommissUnion and the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda and take corrective measures where needed to ensure that the joint undertaking meets its objectives;
Amendment 519 #
Article 16 – paragraph 2 – point y
(y) adopt by the end of 20225 a plan for the phasing-out of the joint undertaking from Horizon Europe funding upon recommendation of the executive director;
Amendment 553 #
Article 19 – paragraph 2
2. There shall be a balanced representation of experts among the members of the scientific advisory body, within the scope of the activities of the joint undertaking, including with respect to gender balance. Collectively, the members of the scientific advisory body shall have the necessary competences and expertise covering the technical domain in order to make science-based recommendations to the joint undertaking, taking into account the socio-economic impact, including impact on competitiveness and technological sovereignty, of such recommendations and the objectives of the joint undertaking.
Amendment 575 #
Article 20 – paragraph 5
5. The chairperson of the states’ representatives group may invite other persons to attend its meetings as observers, in particular representatives of relevant federal or regional authorities within the Union, representatives of industry and SME associations and representatives of other bodies of the joint undertaking.
Amendment 593 #
Article 22 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. In accordance with [Article 13(1)] of the Horizon Europe Regulation and by way of derogation from [Article 30] of that Regulation, the joint undertakings may apply different reimbursement rates for the Union funding within an action depending on the type of participant, namely SMEs and non-profit legal entities, and the type of action. The reimbursement rates shall be indicated in the work programme.
Amendment 608 #
Article 34 – paragraph 1
1. The joint undertaking shall provide the Union institutions and Union bodies, offices or agencies access to all information related to the indirect actions it funds. Such information shall include results of beneficiaries participating in indirect actions of the joint undertaking or any other information deemed necessary for developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating Union policies or programmes. Such access rights are limited to non-commercial and non-competitive use and shall comply with applicable confidentiality rules as well as the principles of necessity and proportionality.
Amendment 711 #
Article 65 – paragraph 2
2. The Technical Committee shall be co-chaired by a representative of the founding members, rotating on a two- yearly basis, andand shall be co-chaired by a representative of the Commission. It shall report to the Governing Board and its secretariat shall be provided by the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking’s programme office.
Amendment 926 #
Article 124 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) Support research and innovation for establishing design and production capabilities in Europe for strategic application areas;
Amendment 929 #
Article 124 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) build a dynamic Union-wide ecosystem based on digital value-chains with simplified access to newcomers start- ups and SMEs;
Amendment 934 #
Article 126 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) the private members consisting of the following industrial associations andrepresenting their constituent entities: the AENEAS Association, registered under French law, with its registered office in Paris, France; the ARTEMIS Industry Association (ARTEMISIA) registered under Dutch law, with its registered office in Eindhoven, the Netherlands; the EPoSS e.V. Association, registered under German law, with its registered office in Berlin, Germany.
Amendment 950 #
Article 133 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Each participating state shall have a right of veto on all issues concerning the use of its own national financial contributions to the joint undertaking on the basis of national strategic priorities.
Amendment 975 #
Article 159 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) align strategic roadmaps of a wider range of industrial players, including start- ups and SMEs and including not only the telecommmunication industry, but also actors from the Internet of Things, cloud, as well as components and devices;