Activities of Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ related to 2022/2063(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Implementation report on the European Innovation Council (short presentation)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of the European Innovation Council
Amendments (26)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the European Innovation Council (EIC) is the EU’s flagship innovation programme to identify, develop and scale up breakthrough, and in particular deep tech, innovations; whereas it was set up to foster Europe’s technological strategic autonomy as well as to improve the functioning of the European venture capital market in the context of the earlier stages of company development;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the EIC Pilot and EIC Enhanced Pilot successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the EIC; tested the feasibility of the EIC, despite the investment conditions for the companies were not clear upfront;1a _________________ 1a European Commission, Directorate- General for Research and Innovation, Evaluation study on the European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot : final report, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/261324
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the EIC Fund under its original structure, as put in place in 2020 under the EIC Pilot, was functioning appropriatelyable to deliver a relevant share of the selected operations despite the recurrent delays and incidences in signing the blended finance instrument;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Is concerned about the announcement in early 2022 of changes to the structure of the Fund compared to the situation under the EIC Pilot, while the companies from the first two cut-offs from 2021 had been already selected for funding;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights that Article 216(1) of the Financial Regulation expressly empowers the Commission to apply direct management of investments either by the Commission directly (Article 216(1b)) or through ‘a dedicated investment vehicle’ (Article 216(1a)); stresses that this form of implementation allows for more flexibility and more strategic consideration in investment decisions and portfolio management than indirect management; rejects the notionhighlights that transferring the management of the Fund to the European Investment Bank (EIB) and an external fund manager will call for a close monitoring per operation to allow for the flexibility and strategic consideration needed to make the EIC a success and not to become another EIB backed VC fund;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes with concern that under the transitional arrangement for the investments announced in the EIC 2022 work programme, substantial investment and grant decisions need to be approved by the College of Commissioners and are thereby accompanied by another level of scrutiny; regards this as an unacceptableinefficient and temporary situation;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Is dismayconcerned by the delays in the implementation of the blended finance action under the EIC Accelerator, as more than a year after the first cut-off date, no equity or grantblended finance agreement had been signed; emphasises that the delays were completely and only the result of conflicts between different Directorates-General of the Commission about the management of the EIC Fund; deplores the fact that these inter-service conflicts put at risk 96 European deep tech companies;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Is deeply concerned about the apparco- investment policy for the EIC Fund never to be the lead investor in an equity round, in particular in combination with the requirement for companies to bring in matching co-investment from external investors; believes this goes against the objectivestrategic objectives and main logic of the EIC;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recognises that an external lead investor brings added value because this lead investor may have highly specialised knowledge of the market segment relevant for a specific investment, and that the EIC Fund, owing to its size and general nature, may not be able to match this specialised knowledge, however, acknowledges that this should not be an upfront requirement but an objective of the EIC fund during the lifetime of the grant project;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Firmly rejects the notion that the EIC Fund cannot be the sole investor or the lead investor; emphasises that the ability to invest even when the market is not ready to do so is one of the key justifications for the existence of the EIC; concludes that the investment policy of the EIC Fund should reflect this to decisively encourage this kind of operations;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes with concern that evaluators are giving mixedconfusing signals to stakeholders regarding the appropriate risk and bankability of EIC Accelerator proposals, affecting specially to the participation of under-represented regions and woman-led companies; recalls that one of the core principles of the EIC is the ability to take risk; recalls further that point 1.1.2 of Annex I to Council Decision (EU) 2021/764 identifies providing funding to non-bankable projects as a core objective of the EIC Accelerator; is deeply convinced that the EIC Accelerator can only be successful if there is a clear policy and communication on the appropriate risk for and bankability of EIC Accelerator projects;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Shows concerns on the EIC accelerator submission process, that has been made longer and more complex by using several steps and an own EIC platform, outside the official Funding & Tender opportunities Portal;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Notes with concern that data on participation in Horizon Europe/EIC first rounds of calls for proposals show a worrying reduction in SME participation in the program; for this reason, stresses out that the EIC instruments should remain open to all types of innovators and that an appropriate balance should be ensured in the selection of projects and the disbursement of funding; further calls on the Commission to consider, in the context of the midterm evaluation, reintroducing the 20 % 'quota' of resources for SMEs as provided for in Horizon2020 and to include SME participation among the award criteria for project selection;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11 c. Recalls that according to Article 48 of the Regulation establishing Horizon Europe, the EIC Accelerator may also provide, under certain conditions, grant- only supports to SMEs, including start- ups, which are considered as crucial for the development of business projects that do not necessarily imply the sale of share capital; therefore, considers that instruments such as the grant-only support play an important role in supporting new markets creating innovation and must find adequate space in the implementation of the EIC;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – introductory part
Paragraph 12 – introductory part
12. Calls on the Commission to re- assess its implementation of the EIC Fund in the frame of the Horizon Europe program and to find a newproper management mode that reflects the ambitious and transformative nature of the EIC as the investor of reference to breakthrough innovation in Europe; urges the Commission to include in this new approach: ;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point a
Paragraph 12 – point a
(a) maintaining theEnsure a role ofor the Investment Committee andEIC Fund Board, to closely monitor the fulfilment of the EIC Ffund Boardinvestment guidelines, while relying on the EIB team and the external fund managers for day-to-day portfolio management of the operations;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point b
Paragraph 12 – point b
(b) aAn investment strategy for equity investmentsthe EIC fund that would encourage the EIC fund to take risk as sole investor based on milestones reflecting the merits of the innovation as well as the strategic objectives of the Union, using convertible instruments for companies that need patient capital and working hand in hand with them, during the lifetime of their grant implementation, to look for co- investors for their next investment round. This approach will increase the ability of the EIC Fund to take risk in a faster process, with the benefit of the support to the companies in their search for private investment, especially important in order to boost the successful participation of under-represented regions and women-led companies, which face even more difficulties to finance their start-ups;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Calls on the Commission to implement the activities of the European Innovation Council in line with the provisions of Articles 9 and 48 of the Regulation establishing Horizon Europe, respecting in particular the provisions relating to project risks and bankability, openness to all types of innovation including incremental innovation, support for all types of innovators, including SMEs and Mid-Caps, and the use of all forms of support provided, including the grant-only support;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Calls on the Commission to include in the Work Programme targeted measures to improve participation of companies from underrepresented countries and to enhance participation of female innovators and measures to monitor their progress;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13 b. Calls on the Commission to include measures to improve the participation of SMEs and to make the EIC accelerator accessible and attractive for innovative SMEs, by the simplification of the application process to decrease barriers for SMEs;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13 c. Calls on the Commission to revise the EIC accelerator current submission process and its time to grant, aligning the EIC platform to the evaluation criteria of the EIC accelerator. Such revision should aim to a fast and simple instrument fit for the needs of European deep-tech start- ups, reaching a target time to grant of 4 to 5 months;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 d (new)
Paragraph 13 d (new)
13 d. Recommends that an InvestEU compartment is explored outside of the EIC fund, for companies which just need a matching fund to complete their upscaling rounds. The companies in these situations are typically out of the scope of the EIC but they still find a second financing gap for upscaling even with a market ready technology worth to be supported through InvestEU;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 e (new)
Paragraph 13 e (new)
13 e. Calls on the Commission to clarify rules and procedures regarding the interpretation of non-bankability and co- investment criteria, enhancing communication and better involving national contact points;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 f (new)
Paragraph 13 f (new)
13 f. Calls on the Commission to improve the synergies and collaboration with the EIT;