Activities of Beatrice COVASSI related to 2023/0199(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’) (debate)
Amendments (16)
Amendment 96 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) There is a need to support critical technologies in the following fields: deep and digital technologies, clean technologies, and biotechnologies (including the respective critical raw materials value chains), in particular projects, companies and sectors with a critical role for EU’s competitiveness and resilience and its value chains. By way of example, deep technologies and digital technologies should include microelectronics, high-performance computing, quantum technologies (i.e., computing, communication and sensing technologies), cloud computing, edge computing, and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity technologies, robotics, 5G and advanced connectivity (e.g. fiber-to- the-home/fiber-to-the-building technologies) and virtual realities, including actions related to deep and digital technologies for the development of defence and aerospace applications. Clean technologies should include, among others, renewable energy; electricity and heat storage; heat pumps; electricity grid; renewable fuels of non- biological origin; sustainable alternative fuels, including biofuels; electrolysers and fuel cells; carbon capture, utilisationinfrastructure and storage; energy efficiency; biolubricants; hydrogen and its related infrastructure; smart energy solutions; technologies vital to sustainability such as water purificationcutting-edge solutions implemented for leak detection and repair inspections carried out along renewable gases and water transport and distribution networks; technologies vital to sustainability such as water storage, smart use, purification, (decentralized) water recycling solutions and desalination; advanced materials such as nanomaterials, composites and future clean construction materials, and technologies for the sustainable extraction and processing of critical raw materials. Biotechnology should be considered to include technologies such as biomolecules and its applications, pharmaceuticals and medical technologies vital for health security, crop biotechnology, and industrial biotechnology, such as for waste disposal, and biomanufacturing. The Commission may issue guidance to further specify the scope of the technologies in these three fields considered to be critical in accordance with this Regulation, in order to promote a common interpretation of the projects, companies and sectors to be supported under the respective programmes in light of the common strategic objective. Moreover, technologies in any of these three fields which are subjects of an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) approved by the Commission pursuant to Article 107(3), point (b) TFEU should be deemed to be critical, and individual projects within the scope of such an IPCEI should be eligible for funding, in accordance with the respective programme rules, to the extent that the identified funding gap and the eligible costs have not yet been completely covered.
Amendment 132 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) To that end, it should be possible to rely on assessments made for the purposes of other Union programmes in accordance with Articles 126 and 127 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046,52 in order to reduce administrative burden for beneficiaries of Union funds and encourage investment in priority technologies. Provided they comply with the provisions of the RRF Regulation,53 Member States should consider including actions awarded the Sovereignty Seal when preparing their recovery and resilience plans and when proposing their Recovering and Resilience Plans and when deciding on investment projects to be financed from its share of the Modernisation Fund. The Sovereignty Seal should also be taken into account by the Commission in the context of the procedure provided for in Article 19 of the EIB Statute and of the policy check laid down in Article 23 of the InvestEU Regulation by ensuring a simplified approval procedure. In addition, the implementing partners should be requirencouraged to examine projects having been awarded the Sovereignty Seal in case they fall within their geographic and activity scope in accordance with Article 26(5) of that Regulation and taking into account the mode of operation of the implementing partners. Authorities in charge of programmes falling under STEP should also be encouraged to consider support for strategic projects identified in accordance with the Net Zero Industry and the Critical Raw Materials Acts that are within the scope of Article 2 of the Regulation and for which rules on cumulative funding may apply. _________________ 52 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1). 53 Regulation (EU) 2021/241 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility (OJ L 57, 18.2.2021, p. 17).
Amendment 133 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) To that end, it should be possible to rely on assessments made for the purposes of other Union programmes in accordance with Articles 126 and 127 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046,52 in order to reduce administrative burden for beneficiaries of Union funds and encourage investment in priority technologies. Provided they comply with the provisions of the RRF Regulation,53 Member States should consider including actions awarded the Sovereignty Seal when preparing their recovery and resilience plans and when proposing their Recovering and Resilience Plans and when deciding on investment projects to be financed from its share of the Modernisation Fund. The Sovereignty Seal should also be taken into account by the Commission in the context of the procedure provided for in Article 19 of the EIB Statute and of the policy check laid down in Article 23 of the InvestEU Regulation. In addition, the implementing partners should be required to examine projects having been awarded the Sovereignty Seal in case they fall within their geographic and activity scope in accordance with Article 26(5) of that Regulation. Authorities in charge of programmes falling under STEP should also be encouraged to consider to support for strategic projects identified in accordance with the Net Zero Industry and the Critical Raw Materials Acts that are within the scope of Article 2 of the Regulation and for which rules on cumulative funding may apply. The Sovereignty Seal should facilitate access to dedicated funds without replicating existing EU instruments. _________________ 52 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1). 53 Regulation (EU) 2021/241 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility (OJ L 57, 18.2.2021, p. 17).
Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) A new publicly available website (the ‘Sovereignty Portal’) should be set up by the Commission in coordination with already existing InvestEU Portal for InvestEU eligible transactions to provide information on available support to companies and project promoters seeking funds for STEP investments. To that end, it should display in an accessible and user- friendly manner the funding opportunities for STEP investments available under the EU budget. This should include information about directly managed programmes, such as Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe programme, the EU4Health programme, and the Innovation Fund, and also other programmes such as InvestEU, the RRF, and cohesion policy funds. Moreover, the Sovereignty Portal should help increase the visibility for STEP investments towards investors, by listing the projects that have been awarded a Sovereignty Seal. The Portal should also list the national competent authorities responsible for acting as contact points for the implementation of the STEP at national level.
Amendment 143 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) While the STEP relies on the reprogramming and reinforcement of existing programmes for supporting strategic investments, it is also an important element for testing the feasibility and preparation of new interventions as a step towards a European Sovereignty Fund. TAlso in order to path the way towards a Sovereignty Fund that eventually contributes to shaping and strengthening a European industrial policy, the evaluation in 2025 will assess the relevance of the actions undertaken and serve as basis for assessing the need for an upscaling of the support towards strategic sectors.
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) InvestEU is the EU flagship programme to boost investment, especially the green and digital transition, by providing demand-driven financing, including through blending mechanisms, and technical assistance. Such approach contributes to crowd in additional public and private capital. Given the high market demand of InvestEU guarantee, the EU compartment of InvestEU should be reinforced to correspond to the objectives of the STEP. This will, among other things, reinforce InvestEU’s existing possibility to invest in projects forming part of an IPCEI, within the identified critical technology sectors. In addition, Member States are encouraged to contribute to the InvestEU Member State compartment to support financial products in line with the STEP objectives, without prejudice to applicable State aid rules. It should be possible for Member States to include as a measure in their recovery and resilience plans a cash contribution for the purpose of the Member State compartment of InvestEU to support objectives of the STEP. That additional contribution to support objectives of the STEP could reach up to 6% of their recovery and resilience plan’s total financial allocation to the Member State compartment of InvestEU. It should be possible to grant a relatively larger share of the EU guarantee under the EU compartment to the EIB Group. Any additional allocation to the EIB Group above the 75% original threshold should come from the portion of the EU guarantee under the InvestEU EU compartment that will not be absorbed by the Implementing Partners other than the EIB Group. In this context, the Commission should encourage and assist the Implementing Partners other than the EIB Group to absorb in full the remaining 25% under open access conditions Additional flexibility and clarifications should also be introduced to better pursue the objectives of the STEP.
Amendment 200 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a – point ii
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a – point ii
(ii) cleannet-zero technologies as defined in the Net-Zero-Industry Act
Amendment 247 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall award a Sovereignty Seal to any action contributing to any of the Platform objectives, provided the action has been assessed and complies with the minimum quality requirements, in particular eligibility, exclusion and award criteria, provided by a call for proposals under Regulation (EU) 2021/695, Regulation (EU) 2021/694, Regulation (EU) 2021/697, Regulation (EU) 2021/522, or Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/856. Projects that have been identified as "strategic project" under NZIA or CRMA shall automatically be awarded a Sovereignty Seal.
Amendment 265 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4
Article 4 – paragraph 4
4. When deciding on investment projects to finance from their respective shares of the Modernisation Fund in accordance with Article 10d of Directive 2003/87/EC, Member States shall consider as a priority project for critical clean technologiesnet-zero technologies as defined in the NZIA which have received the Sovereignty Seal in accordance with paragraph 1. In addition, Member States may decide to grant national support to projects with a Sovereignty Seal contributing to the Platform objective referred to in Article 2(1), point (a)(ii).
Amendment 268 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 5
Article 4 – paragraph 5
5. Under Regulation (EU) 2021/523, the Sovereignty Seal shall be taken into account in the context of the procedure provided for in Article 19 of the European Investment Bank Statute and of the policy check as laid down in Article 23(3) of that Regulation by ensuring a simplified approval procedure. In addition, the implementing partners shallould be encouraged to examine projects having been awarded the Sovereignty Seal in case they fall within their geographic and activity scope as laid down in Article 26(5) of that Regulation. and taking into account their mode of operation.”
Amendment 297 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3
Article 8 – paragraph 3
3. Where appropriate, and in the light of the foreseen European Sovereignty Fund that will help shaping and strengthening a European industrial policy, the evaluation shall be accompanied by a proposal for amendments of this Regulation.
Amendment 352 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 6
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 6
Regulation 2021/523
Article 13 – paragraph 4
Article 13 – paragraph 4
4. At least 75 % of the EU guarantee under the EU compartment as referred to in Article 4(1), first subparagraph, amounting to at least EUR 25 239 232 554, shall be granted to the EIB Group. Any additional allocation to the EIB Group above the 75% should come from the portion of the EU guarantee that will not be allocated before 31 December 2026 by the Implementing Partners other than the EIB Group following the next Calls for Expression of Interest. The EIB Group shall provide an aggregate financial contribution amounting to at least EUR 6 309 808 138. That contribution shall be provided in a manner and form that facilitates the implementation of the InvestEU Fund and the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 15(2).;”
Amendment 358 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 6 a (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 6 a (new)
Regulation EU 2021/523
Article 13 – paragraph 77 – subparagraph 2
Article 13 – paragraph 77 – subparagraph 2
(6a) Article 13(7) subparagraph 2 is replaced by the following: Contracts between the implementing partner and the final recipient or the financial intermediary or other entity referred to in point (a) of Article 16(1) under the EU guarantee referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(2) shall be signed at the latest by 31 August 2026. In other cases, contracts between the implementing partner and the final recipient or the financial intermediary or other entity referred to in point (a) of Article 16(1) shall be signed by 31 December 2028.
Amendment 366 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 8 a (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 8 a (new)
Regulation 2021/523
Article 24 – paragraph 6 a (new)
Article 24 – paragraph 6 a (new)
(8a) In Article 24, the following para 6a (new) is added: With reference to eligible type of financing as set in Article 16(1)b of the InvestEU Regulation, for intermediated financing and investment operations, in particular for SME support, the Investment Committee shall verify additionality at the level of the financial product during the negotiations of the guarantee agreement or an amendment to it with the implementing partners.
Amendment 370 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 10
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 10
Regulation 2021/523
Article 26 – paragraph 5
Article 26 – paragraph 5
5. In addition to paragraph 4, implementing partners shall alsould also be encouraged to examine projects having been awarded the Sovereignty Seal under Article 4 of Regulation .../... [STEP Regulation] whenever those projects fall within their geographic and activity scope., taking into account their mode of operation
Amendment 377 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 14 a (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point 14 a (new)
Regulation (EU) 2021/523
Annex V – letter A – subparagraph 4
Annex V – letter A – subparagraph 4
(14a) Annex V, letter A, subpara 4 is replace by the following: Only for intermediated financing and investment operations, in particular for SME support, additionality shall be verified by the Investment Committee at the level of the financial product during the negotiations of the guarantee agreement (or an amendment to it) with the implementing partners