Parliament Committee Backs €264 Billion European Competitiveness Fund

The European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee adopted its report on the proposed European Competitiveness Fund on 10 November, backing a €264.35 billion budget in current prices for 2028-2034. The report passed by 61 votes to 13, with 12 abstentions. A separate decision to open negotiations with EU governments passed by 56 votes to 26, with four abstentions.

The dossier is jointly led by Dan Nica, a Romanian member of the Socialists and Democrats group, and Christian Ehler, a German member of the European People’s Party. The vote establishes the committee’s position; it does not constitute final adoption of the fund or release money to projects.

The report proposes dedicated support for energy infrastructure and critical raw materials alongside wider investment in industrial decarbonisation, digital technologies, health, biotechnology, security, defence and space. According to the adopted report as described by 2EU Brussels, the proposed total includes a €10.11 billion reserve, with €13 billion earmarked for energy infrastructure and €10 billion for critical raw materials.

The proposed fund is intended to connect research, industrial investment and the commercial deployment of new technologies. Its design will determine how EU support reaches businesses and other eligible organisations in strategic sectors, and how funding is distributed between competing priorities.

The committee’s proposed €264.35 billion envelope is €30.05 billion above the Commission’s original €234.3 billion proposal. These are proposed EU-wide amounts, not approved national allocations. The report also seeks an InvestEU guarantee ceiling of €150 billion; a guarantee ceiling is not equivalent to a cash budget or an amount already awarded to beneficiaries.

Horizon Europe remains a separate programme with its own regulation. Its proposed research budget should not be confused with the competitiveness fund’s envelope.

The file brings Parliament’s industrial priorities into the negotiations on the EU’s next long-term budget. The committee seeks more targeted support for energy infrastructure, critical raw materials and the commercialisation of research, while the final financial commitments remain part of negotiations with member states.

Access to funding, including for organisations in Romania, will depend on the fund’s final rules, eligibility criteria and the assessment of applications. The EU-wide figures do not establish automatic allocations for Romania or any other member state. Agence Europe reports that the committee text retains excellence as the primary funding criterion while calling for excessive geographical concentration to be avoided.

The committee’s decision to enter negotiations is expected to be announced during Parliament’s 23-26 November plenary session and can be challenged through the applicable parliamentary procedure. Parliament and the Council must then agree the legislation, while the fund’s financial envelope remains tied to the negotiations on the EU’s 2028-2034 long-term budget.

The Council adopted a partial position in June, leaving financial issues to the wider budget talks. Until the legislative and budget agreements are concluded, the proposed amounts and funding arrangements are not final.