European Parliament backs post-2027 Research Fund for Coal and Steel

On 19 May 2026, the European Parliament approved the Council of the European Union’s position on the draft decision establishing the Research Fund for Coal and Steel after 2027, by a large majority. Although Parliament was only consulted on the dossier, MEPs endorsed the continuation of the Fund until 2034, going beyond the European Commission’s original proposal, which had set 2030 as the end date. Parliament also approved the planned distribution of the Fund’s annual budget of €120 million.

At the same time, Parliament linked its support for the proposed timetable to the condition that capital disbursement be optimised in the final phase of the programme. MEPs stressed that it is imperative for the 2027–2034 funding cycle to be directly geared towards the deployment of breakthrough technologies in regions under the greatest structural dependence and transformation pressure.

The vote marks a strong political signal in favour of maintaining dedicated EU support for research and innovation in the coal and steel sectors, while sharpening the focus on industrial transformation and targeted regional impact.

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