11 Nov 2026
ITRE votes on EP's position on the ECF
At its meeting on 10 November 2026, the European Parliament's Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE) adopted its position on the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), with 61 votes to 13, with 12 abstentions.
ITRE proposes to increase the overall ECF budget to a €264.35 billion in current prices (from €234.3 in the Commission proposal), with detailed binding minimum allocations per policy window and sub-sections. MEPs suggest introducing a new €10.11 billion flexibility reserve, to allow the Fund respond to unforeseen challenges.
With regard to research and innovation, MEPs advocate a specific programme for defence research, development and innovation. They suggest to focus it into three distinct instruments: an agile, upstream defence research programme, a blended-finance instrument for defence start-ups and scale-ups developing disruptive technologies, and an instrument to fund collaborative applied research tied to capability priorities.
MEPs also propose a clear definition of the notion of “competitiveness”, centered around the ability of European companies to compete successfully in global markets. They also add definitions of the key concepts of strategic dependencies and resilience.
The committee also proposes to replace the Commission’s single “Strategic Stakeholders Board” with several new, independent governance bodies. The text also advocates to create “Horizon Europe Pathway actions”, a dedicated mechanism to translate Horizon Europe research results into market deployment.
MEPs also voted to open negotiations with EU governments by 56 votes to 26, and with four abstentions. The committee position and the mandate for negotiations are expected to be announced for approval at 23-26 November plenary sessions.
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