Brussels, 19 September 2023
The European Commission has informed Member States of its plan to launch the Joint European Forum for Important Projects of Common European Interest (JEF-IPCEI). The forum aims to increase the effectiveness of IPCEIs and to identify relevant strategic technologies for potential future IPCEIs.
IPCEIs enable Member States to pool resources and cooperate to support breakthrough innovations or large-scale infrastructure projects in key sectors and technologies, which would only take place with public support due to the significant investment risks such projects entail. At the same time, IPCEIs ensure that positive spill-over effects benefit the EU economy at large, while preserving fair competition in our internal market. To date, the Commission has approved up to €26.7 billion of State support for six IPCEIs in the batteries, hydrogen and microelectronics ecosystems, involving 255 innovative projects from 21 Member States. This public support is expected to unlock another €50 billion in private investments.
The JEF-IPCEI will bring together experts from Member States and the Commission services, as well as representatives from the industry, academia and other stakeholders where relevant. The Commission is proposing the forum, which will have its first meeting in October 2023, to focus on identifying and prioritizing strategic technologies for the EU economy that could be relevant candidates for future IPCEIs. In addition, it should serve as a platform for Member States to share experiences and lessons learnt, and to set best practices for a quick and solid selection, assessment and implementation of IPCEI projects. The Commission is also proposing participants to develop standardised monitoring and evaluation procedures to assess effectively the results and possible shortcomings in the implementation phase of IPCEI projects.
The establishment of JEF-IPCEI follows other initiatives of the Commission, announced in its the Green Deal Industrial Plan, with the objective to improve and speed up the IPCEI processes and increase the impact potentials of the instrument. In May 2023, the Commission published a Code of Good Practices based on the knowledge, experience and lessons learned in previous and on-going IPCEI procedures. The aim of this Code is to ensure a more transparent, inclusive, faster and streamlined design and assessment of IPCEI projects. The Code covers the full lifecycle of an IPCEI (emergence, design, pre-notification, notification, publication and reporting). This Code is addressed to Member States, companies benefitting from aid based on the IPCEI rules, and the Commission services. The Code will be particularly useful for Member States with little or no experience with the IPCEI instrument.
More information on the work of the JEF-IPCEI will be available on the Commission’s competition website, and on a dedicated Forum’s website once first results can be shared.
Source – EU Commission