28 Amendments of Dominique RIQUET related to 2023/0199(COD)
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The EU industry has proven its inbuilt resilience but is being challenged. High inflation, labour shortages, post- COVID supply chains disruptions, the Russian war in Ukraine, rising interest rates, and spikes in energy costs and input prices are weighing on the competitiveness of the EU industry. and have put forward the need for the Union to secure its open strategic autonomy and reduce its dependence on non-EU countries. Several strategic dependencies have already been identified in the energy intensive industries, health and digital ecosystems.39a This is paired with strong, but not always fair, competition on the fragmented global market. The EU has already put forward several initiatives to support its industry, such as the Green Deal Industrial Plan,40 the Critical Raw Materials Act41 , the Net Zero Industry Act42 , the new Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework for State aid,43 and REPowerEU.44 While these solutions provide fast and targeted support, the EU needs a more structural answer to the investment needs of its industries, safeguarding cohesion and the level playing field in the Single Market and to reduce the EU’s strategic dependencies. _________________ 39a Commission Staff Working document on Strategic dependencies and capacities (SWD(2021)352) and Commission Staff Working Document on EU strategic dependencies and capacities: second stage of in-depth reviews (SWD(2022) 41) 40 Communication on A Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age, COM(2023) 62 final. 41 COM(2023) 160 final 42 COM(2023) 161 final 43 Communication on a Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework for State Aid measures (OJ C 101, 17.3.2023, p. 3). 44 Regulation (EU) 2023/435 as regards REPowerEU (OJ L 63, 28.2.2023, p. 1).
Amendment 91 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The uptake and scaling up in the Union of deep and digital technologies, clean technologies, and biotechnologies will be essential to reduce the Union’s strategic dependencies, seize the opportunities and meet the objectives of the green and digital transitions, thus securing the sovereignty and strategic autonomy of the Union and promoting the competitiveness of the European industry and its sustainability. Therefore, immediate action is required to support the development or manufacturing in the Union of such technologies, safeguarding and strengthening their value chains thereby reducing the Union’s strategic dependencies, and addressing existing labour and skills shortages in those sectors through trainings and apprenticeships and the creation of attractive, quality jobs accessible to all.
Amendment 98 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) There is a need to support critical technologies in the following fields: deep and digital technologies, clean technologies, and biotechnologies (including the respective critical raw materials value chains), in particular projects, companies and sectors with a critical role for EU’s competitiveness and resilience and its value chains. By way of example, deep technologies and digital technologies should include microelectronics, high-performance computing, quantum technologies (i.e., computing, communication and sensing technologies), cloud computing, edge computing, and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity technologies, robotics, 5G and advanced and secure connectivity and virtual realities, including actions related toincluding 5G and satellite-based connectivity, and actions related to virtual realities, deep and digital technologies for the development of defence and aerospace applications. Clean technologies should include, among others, renewable energy; electricity and heat storage; heat pumps; electricity grid; renewable fuels of non- biological origin; sustainable alternative fuels; electrolysers and fuel cells; carbon capture, utilisation and storage; energy efficiency; hydrogen and its related infrastructure; smart energy solutions; technologies vital to sustainability such as water purification and desalination; advanced materials such as nanomaterials, composites and future clean construction materials, and technologies for the sustainable extraction and processing of critical raw materials. BThe health ecosystem, in particular biotechnology should be considered to include technologies such as biomolecules and its applications, pharmaceuticals and medical technologies vital for health security, including active pharmaceutical ingredients, medicine and vaccine production, crop biotechnology, and industrial biotechnology, such as for waste disposal, and biomanufacturing. The Commission may issue guidance to further specify the scope of the technologies in these three fields considered to be critical in accordance with this Regulation, in order to promote a common interpretation of the projects, companies and sectors to be supported under the respective programmes in light of the common strategic objective of reducing critical dependencies. Moreover, technologies in any of these three fields which are subjects of an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) approved by the Commission pursuant to Article 107(3), point (b) TFEU should be deemed to be critical, and individual projects within the scope of such an IPCEI should be eligible for funding, in accordance with the respective programme rules, to the extent that the identified funding gap and the eligible costs have not yet been completely covered.
Amendment 118 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) The scale of investments needed for the transition require a full mobilisation of funding available under existing EU programmes and funds, inclusive those granting a budgetary guarantee for financing and investment operations and implementation of financial instruments and blending operations. Such funding should be deployed in a more flexible manner, to provide timely and targeted support for critical technologies that reduce the Union dependency in strategic sectors. Therefore, a Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’) should give a structural answer to the Union investment needs by helping to better channel the existing EU funds towards critical investments aimed at supporting the development or manufacturing of such critical technologies, while preserving a level playing field in the Single Market, thereby preserving cohesion and aiming at a geographically balanced distribution of projects financed under the STEP in accordance with the respective programme mandates.
Amendment 124 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The STEP should identify resources which should be implemented within the existing Union programmes and funds, the InvestEU, Horizon Europe, European Defence Fund and Innovation Fund. This should be accompanied by providing additional funding of EUR 104 billion. Of this, EUR 5,8 billion should be used to increase the endowment of the Innovation Fund46 and EUR 34,2 billion to increase the total amount of the EU guarantee available for the EU compartment under the InvestEU Regulation to EUR 710,5 billion,47 taking into account the relevant provisioning rate. EUR 0.5 billion should be made available to increase the financial envelope under the Horizon Europe Regulation,48 which should be amended accordingly; and EUR 13.5 billion to the European Defence Fund.49 _________________ 46 Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading (OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32). 47 Regulation (EU) 2021/523 establishing the InvestEU Programme (OJ L 107, 26.3.2021, p. 30). 48 Regulation (EU) 2021/695 establishing Horizon Europe (OJ L 170, 12.5.2021, p. 1). 49 Regulation (EU) 2021/697 establishing the European Defense Fund (OJ L 170, 12.5.2021, p. 149.)
Amendment 136 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) A new publicly available website (the ‘Sovereignty Portal’) should be set up by the Commission to provide information on available support to companies and project promoters seeking funds for STEP investments. To that end, it should display in an accessible and user-friendly manner the funding opportunities for STEP investments available under the EU budget. This should include information about directly managed programmes, such as Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe programme, the EU4Health programme, and the Innovation Fund, and also other programmes such as InvestEU, the RRF, and cohesion policy funds. Moreover, the Sovereignty Portal should help increase the visibility for STEP investments towards investors, by listing the projects that have been awarded a Sovereignty Seal. The Portal should also list the national competent authorities responsible for acting as contact points for the implementation of the STEP at national level. The Commission should ensure the complementarity of the Portal with other similar platforms, including the NZIA Platform, and avoid red tape and administrative burden thereof.
Amendment 140 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) While the STEP relies on the reprogramming and reinforcement of existing programmes for supporting strategic investments reducing the Union dependencies, it is also an important element for testpreparing the feasibility and preparation of new interventions as a step towardsestablishment of a European Sovereignty Fund. The evaluation in 2025 will assess the relevance of the actions undertaken and serve as basis for assessing the need for an upscaling of the supp, provide an update on the state of the dependencies of the European Union and the most strategic sectors to strengthen its autonomy in a comprehensive way. This assessment will serve as a basis for the establishment of a European Sovereignty Fund to be integrated into the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framewortk towards strategic sectorargeting key dependencies and increasing European investments in innovative projects with a strong economic potential for the Single Market and its competitiveness.
Amendment 148 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) Directive 2003/87/EC54 should be amended to allow for additional financing with a financial envelope for the period 2024-2027 of EUR 5,8 billion. The Innovation Fund supports investments in innovative low-carbon technologies, which is a scope that is to be covered by the STEP. The increase in volume of the Innovation Fund should therefore allow to provide financing responding to the objective of supporting the development or manufacturing in the Union of critical clean technologies. In line with the objectives of ensuring cohesion and promoting the Single Market, and in order to support the green transition and the development of clean technologies throughout the Union, the additional financial envelope should be made available through calls for proposals open to entities from Member States whose average GDP per capita is below the EU average of the EU-27 measured in purchasing power standards (PPS) and calculated on the basis of Union figures for the period 2015-2017. _________________ 54 Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading (OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32).
Amendment 177 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation, and its European Innovation Council (EIC) provides for support for innovations with potential breakthrough and disruptive nature with scale-up potential that may be too risky for private investors. Additional flexibility should be provided for under Horizon Europe, so that t to improve the participation of SMEs and their access to finance, in particular to the EIC. The EIC Accelerator canshould provide equity- only support to non-bankable SMEs, including start-ups, and non- bankable SMEs and small mid-caps, carrying out innovation in the technologies supported by the STEP and regardless of whether they previously received other types of support from the EIC Accelerator. The implementation of the EIC Fund is currently limited to a maximum investment amount of EUR 15 million except in exceptional cases and cannot accommodate follow-on financing rounds or larger investment amounts. Allowing for equity- only support for non-bankable SMEs and small mid-caps would address the existing market gap with investments needs in the range of EUR 15 to 50 million. Moreover, experience has shown that the amounts committed for the EIC Pilot under Horizon2020 are not fully used. These unused funds should be made available for the purposes of the EIC Accelerator under Horizon Europe. The Horizon Europe Regulation should also be amended to reflect the increased envelope for the European Defence Fund.
Amendment 188 #
1. To strengthen European sovereignty and security, reduce its strategic dependencies, accelerate the Union’s green and digital transitions and enhance its competitiveness, reduce its strategic dependencies, favour a level playing field in the Single Market for investments throughout the Union, and promote inclusive access to attractive, quality jobs, the Platform shall pursue the following objectives:
Amendment 208 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(ba) facilitate access to finance for project promoters, streamlining the procedures and reducing the administration burden thereof.
Amendment 209 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. The technologies referred to in point (a) of the first paragraph, shall be deemed to be critical where they meet at least one of the following conditcontribute to reduce or prevent strategic dependencies of the Unions:.
Amendment 210 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point a
Amendment 215 #
Amendment 229 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) a Union guarantee referred to in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/523 with the indicative amount of EUR 710 500 000 000 That guarantee shall be implemented in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/523;
Amendment 236 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) an amount of EUR 5 0800 000 000 in current prices of the financial envelope referred to in the sixth subparagraph of Article 10a(8) of Directive 2003/87/EC. That amount shall be implemented within the Innovation Fund in accordance with the rules of Article 10a(8) of Directive 2003/87/EC and Commission Delegated Regulation [2019/856].
Amendment 238 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) An amount of EUR 13 500 000 000 in current prices of the financial envelope referred to in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/697. That amount shall be implemented in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/697.
Amendment 290 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 1
1. By 31 DecemberJune 2025, the Commission shall provide the European Parliament and the Council with an evaluation report on the implementation of the Platform, on the state of the dependencies of the Union and the strategic sectors for the its sovereignty.
Amendment 294 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 2
2. The evaluation report shall, in particular, assess to which extent the objectives have been achieved, the efficiency of the use of the resources and the European added value. It shall also consider the continued relevance of all objectives and actions, in view of their potential upscaling.
Amendment 296 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3
Article 8 – paragraph 3
3. Where appropriate, tThe evaluation shall be accompanied by a proposal for amendments of this Regulation, in view of the creation of a European Sovereignty Fund. In case the Commission does not present a European Sovereignty Fund, it shall provide the justification in a report to the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.
Amendment 302 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point 1
In addition to the allowances referred to in the first to fifth subparagraphs of this paragraph, the Innovation Fund shall also implement a financial envelope for the period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2027 of EUR 5 0800 000 000 in current prices for supporting investments contributing to the STEP objective referred to in Article 2, point (a)(ii) of Regulation .../...63 [STEP Regulation]. This financial envelope shall be made available to support investments only in Member States whose average GDP per capita is below the EU average of the EU-27 measured in purchasing power standards (PPS) and calculated on the basis of Union figures for the period 2015-2017 _________________ 63 Regulation …/… of the European Parliament and of the Council … [insert full title and OJ reference].
Amendment 338 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point a
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point a
Regulation (EU) 2021/523
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – first subparagraph
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – first subparagraph
The EU guarantee for the purposes of the EU compartment referred to in Article 9(1), point (a), shall be EUR 336 652 310 073 in current prices. It shall be provisioned at the rate of 40 %. The amount referred to in Article 35(3), first subparagraph, point (a), shall be also taken into account for contributing to the provisioning resulting from that provisioning rate.;
Amendment 345 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b
Regulation (EU) 2021/523
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – second subparagraph
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – second subparagraph
An amount of EUR 218 827 310 073 in current prices of the amount referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be allocated for the objectives referred to in Article 3(2).;
Amendment 355 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 6
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 6
Regulation (EU) 2021/523
Article 13 – paragraph 4
Article 13 – paragraph 4
4. At least 75 % of the EU guarantee under the EU compartment as referred to in Article 4(1), first subparagraph, amounting to at least EUR 25 237 489 232 554, shall be granted to the EIB Group. The EIB Group shall provide an aggregate financial contribution amounting to at least EUR 6 309 8872 308 138. That contribution shall be provided in a manner and form that facilitates the implementation of the InvestEU Fund and the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 15(2).;
Amendment 372 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 12
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 12
Regulation (EU) 2021/523
Annex I – point (e)
Annex I – point (e)
(e) up to EUR 710 500 000 000 for objectives referred to in Article 3(2), point (e).
Amendment 385 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point a
Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point a
Regulation (EU) 2021/697
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. In accordance with Article 12(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, the financial envelope for the implementation of the Fund for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027 shall be EUR 911 453 000 000 in current prices.
Amendment 387 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point b
Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point b
Regulation (EU) 2021/697
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) EUR 3 151484 000 000 for research actions;
Amendment 388 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point b
Article 18 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point b
Regulation (EU) 2021/697
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) EUR 6 3027 969 000 000 for development actions.