The Recovery and Resilience Facility under NGEU will fund national recovery and resilience plans, which will help strengthening the new European Research Area.
The EU institutions keep busy preparing the start of the upcoming EU programmes, the new European Research Area (ERA), and implementing the NextGenerationEU (NGEU) recovery instrument. During the informal Council meeting of research ministers on 2-3 February, the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU hosted a launch event to kick-off Horizon Europe (cf. also SwissCore article). The ministers then discussed the reinforcing of the new ERA, with a focus on the development of scientific careers, which will be addressed in Council Conclusions. Just the day after, the European Commission (EC) launched the new ERA Forum for Transition, an informal expert group of Member States representatives. The Forum was already foreseen in the EC’s Communication on the new ERA back in September 2020 (see SwissCore article) and defined as a “Commission-driven forum for discussion with Member States of the four priorities of the new European Research Area”. It is foreseen that the new body will help to focus the new ERA process by preparing the research and innovation angle of the national recovery and resilience plans (RRPs) under NGEU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), and to implement the EU’s industrial strategy.
After the political breakthroughs on the multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2021-2027 and the new EU programmes in late 2020 (see SwissCore article), the Council on 11 February agreed on the regulation establishing the RRF, accounting for €672.5 billion, the largest part of the €750 billion NGEU recovery instrument (in 2018 prices). The RRF went into force on 19 February and forms the basis for the national RRPs, which are currently under preparation and will outline the strategies how the Member States plan to use the RRF funds. EU Member States will have to submit their national RRPs until end of April. The EC and the Council then in turn will need to approve the plans until end of July 2021.
The Member States’ national plans are based on country-specific recommendations that the EU provides in the context of the European Semester. Education, research and innovation play a key role. Thus, the national RRPs will contribute to further strengthening Widening Countries and the ERA – as well as the European Education Area. In its Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2021, the EC encourages Member States to include so-called ‘European flagships’ into their national RRPs to address issues that are common to all Member States and to boost the digital and green transitions, making the EU more resilient. For instance, the European flagship ‘Power up’ aims to accelerate the development and use of renewables, including a strong focus on hydrogen by supporting the instalment of 6 gigawatt of electrolyser capacity and the production and transportation of 1 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen across the EU by 2025.
The European Parliament (EP) and the Council, in their negotiations on the RRF, had further substantiated the green and digital priorities: A minimum of 37% of expenditure on investments and reforms under the national plans will have to be related to climate (European Green Deal) and a minimum of 20% to the digital transformation. The RRF foresees large, non-repayable sums for countries that are hard-hit by the crisis: e.g. €66 billion for Spain, €68 billion for Italy, and €29 billion for Poland (in current prices).
In order for the EU to start borrowing the funds for the NGEU, including for the RRF, the Own Resources decision will have to be ratified by Member States’ parliaments. On 16 February, the Portuguese Presidency informed the Council on the status of the ratification, asking for a speedy conclusion of the process. The EC informed the Council on its borrowing strategy for NGEU and announced to present a Communication on its borrowing and lending operations in April.
The national recovery and resilience plans are again discussed today during the internal market and industry ministers’ informal video conference. Member States are exchanging on how the national plans can contribute to the EU’s industrial policy goals. The latter is currently under revision and shall be better aligned with the need for greater resilience, assuring the strategic autonomy of the EU’s industry and supporting the green and digital transitions. Tomorrow, on 26 February, it is the research ministers’ turn to discuss how their national RRPs can contribute to the strengthening of the new ERA. The ministers will also be briefed by the EC on the activities of the new ERA Forum for Transition, which will be involved in the preparation of the Pact for Research and Innovation that is foreseen to be adopted in 2021. The pact was also proposed by the EC in the Communication on the new ERA and supported by the Council in its Conclusions of 1 December 2020. It is intended to form the centrepiece of the future ERA governance framework and will act as the reference document for research and innovation at EU and Member States level.
The informal Council meeting will also exchange on the proposal for a Council regulation establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe, which the EC adopted on 23 February. This ‘Single Basic Act’ aims to set the provisions common to the institutionalised European Partnerships under article 187 TFEU, aligning their rules and procedures while increasing openness and transparency.