ERU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 50: Notat, høringssvar samt spørgeskema vedr. vigtige projekter af fælleseuropæisk interesse (IPCEI), fra erhvervsministeren

Erhvervsudvalget 2019-20
ERU Alm.del Bilag 50
Offentligt

Evaluation of the Communication on Important

Projects of Common European Interest

(IPCEI), in the context of the fitness check on

State aid policy

Fields marked with * are mandatory.

Introduction

Generally on IPCEIs

The European Commission fully supports initiatives of EU Member States working together to enable

Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs). IPCEIs are about cross-border ambitious

projects that often entail significant risks, which private investors are not willing to take on by themselves. In

such cases, public support from several EU Member States may be necessary to fill the financing gap, to

overcome market failures and allow such strategic projects to see the light of day. The public support can in

addition unlock or leverage significantly higher amounts of private investments, which would otherwise not

have taken place.

The Commission has put in place more flexible EU State aid rules (the IPCEI Communication) to smooth

the way: at least two Member States – but preferably more – can pool their resources to support an IPCEI

in strategic sectors of the economy, including ambitious research, development and innovation (R&D&I),

the environment, transport, energy, information technology etc. They can provide support in a number of

forms (loans, repayable advances, guarantees or grants) to cover up to 100% of the funding gap, including

for the first industrial deployment of an R&D&I project, i.e. the up-scaling of pilot facilities and the testing

phase while introducing innovative, first of a kind processes and/or products.

At the same time, for R&D&I projects in particular, the full innovation benefits of IPCEIs can only be

achieved, if public funding stimulates rather than crowds out private investments and the benefits are

shared widely and do not distort the level playing field in the internal market. A competitive environment is

in itself an important stimulus for companies to innovate, thus maximising the benefits for consumers,

upstream and downstream industries and European society as a whole.

Finally, IPCEIs complement other EU actions to enable growth and innovation in Europe, e.g. via the

Investment Plan for Europe (expected to trigger more than €350 billion in investments) or Horizon 2020

(nearly €80 billion of funding). Together, these actions aim at helping European industries to seize their full

potential in innovation, digitisation and decarbonisation.

Opportunities for IPCEIs

The decision to design and set up IPCEIs lies in the hands of participating Member States and companies.

ERU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 50: Notat, høringssvar samt spørgeskema vedr. vigtige projekter af fælleseuropæisk interesse (IPCEI), fra erhvervsministeren

Since IPCEIs are funded from national budgets, Member States are in the driving seat to identify the scope

of the project, to select, following open calls/tenders, participating companies and research institutions, and

to agree on project governance and the terms and conditions of the support. Given the cross-border nature

and size of IPCEIs, this requires significant coordination efforts, in particular to gather essential information

for the approval process. The Commission of course stands ready to play a pro-active role to facilitate

IPCEIs. In other words, a successful and speedy implementation of IPCEIs requires all parties to pull their

weight – Member States, companies and the Commission.

To-date, the Commission has received one formal application from Member States to approve State aid

under the IPCEI framework for a large R&D&I project, namely in the microelectronics sector. The

Commission approved €1.75 billion of State aid for this integrated project involving four Member States in

December 2018 (see further details below).

The Commission welcomes further reflections on how to best make IPCEIs a success. Interested parties

are invited to submit their views on the implementation of the IPCEI Communication as part of the Fitness

Check (see below).

The microelectronics IPCEI

In December 2018, the Commission approved under the IPCEI framework €1.75 billion of public

investment for an IPCEI in the microelectronics sector, which will unlock an additional €6 billion of private

investment. France, Germany, Italy and the UK as well as around 30 companies and research institutions

joined forces to enable new research and innovation in this key enabling technology. The project is

expected to stimulate additional downstream research and innovations in particular in relation to the

Internet of Things and to connected or autonomous cars. The results of the project will be disseminated by

participating companies benefiting from public support.

Possible batteries IPCEI(s)

Innovation in batteries is important for the clean energy transition and the competitiveness of a number of

European sectors, including the automotive sector. The EU Battery Alliance, launched in October 2017,

aims to address the technological challenges for the development of the batteries sector in Europe and to

respond to the expected high increase in demand for e-vehicles in the coming years. Furthermore, in May

2018, the Commission adopted a Strategic Action Plan on Batteries with sustainability requirements and

circularity at its core.

In this context, State aid may be appropriate and necessary to support the development of advanced and

disruptive battery technologies in Europe.

Work on possible IPCEIs for batteries is currently advancing with Member States and companies jointly

deciding on concrete IPCEI project(s) for batteries, which the Commission will assess as a matter of

priority. The Commission is in close contact with Member States and interested stakeholders on their

strategic outlines.

Other strategic value chains

Member States and stakeholders have also raised the possibility of IPCEIs in a number of other strategic

areas, including artificial intelligence and data.

ERU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 50: Notat, høringssvar samt spørgeskema vedr. vigtige projekter af fælleseuropæisk interesse (IPCEI), fra erhvervsministeren

In the context of the Renewed EU Industrial Policy Strategy, the Commission has set up the “Strategic

Forum for Important Projects of Common European Interest”, involving Member States and industry. The

role of the Strategic Forum is to identify key strategic value chains that require well-coordinated actions and

investments from industry and public authorities from several Member States (making use of IPCEIs as well

as other instruments).

The Strategic Forum defined key strategic value chains for which it will develop recommendations for

actions (Batteries; High performance computing, Microelectronics; Connected, clean and autonomous

vehicles; Smart health; Low-carbon industry; Hydrogen technologies and systems; Industrial Internet of

Things; Cybersecurity). Its report will be published in September 2019.

Fitness check on the Communication on Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI):

List of evaluation questions for the targeted consultation of the members of the Strategic Forum for

Important Projects of Common European Interest and the State Aid Modernisation (SAM) Working

Group

Why we are carrying out a Fitness Check

In 2012, the Commission launched the ‘State aid modernisation’. This initiative had three main objectives:

1) Foster growth in a strengthened, dynamic and competitive internal market; 2) Focus enforcement on

cases with the biggest impact on the internal market and 3) Streamline rules to enable faster decision

making. Since 2014 the Commission has revised a number of State aid rules. The aim of this ‘Fitness

check’ is to evaluate whether these State aid rules are still fit for purpose and establish if they have

contributed to achieving the EU 2020 policy objectives (see

Communication from the Commission, Europe

2020, A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth

). In addition, this consultation seeks views

concerning the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and EU added-value of these State aid

rules. This ‘Fitness check’ takes into account: a) the general objectives of the ‘State aid modernisation’

initiative; b) the specific objectives of the legal framework as well as c) the current and (already known)

future challenges.

How we are consulting on the IPCEI Communication in the context of the Fitness Check

First, a general, public consultation on the Fitness Check of EU State aid rules (including the IPCEI

Communication) took place in the form of an online questionnaire, via the Commission’s Better Regulation

Portal (open from 17 April to 19 July 2019).

Besides the general public consultation, we are by means of the present list of questions performing a

targeted consultation of stakeholders, namely the members of the Strategic Forum and the State Aid

Modernisation (SAM) Working Group. This targeted stakeholder consultation aims at asking supplementary

questions in order to gather stakeholders’ views on the implementation of the IPCEI Communication and

receiving insights about potential lack of clarity, gaps, overlaps or excessive regulatory burden.

Duration of the consultation and technical details

ERU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 50: Notat, høringssvar samt spørgeskema vedr. vigtige projekter af fælleseuropæisk interesse (IPCEI), fra erhvervsministeren

This targeted consultation will be open until

18 October 2019.

You can contribute to this consultation by filling in the online questionnaire. In addition to replying to the

multiple-choice questions, you can also add open text comments per question or even upload a longer

document with your views and proposals. Please note that only the last two versions of Internet Explorer,

Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome are supported by EUSurvey. Using other browsers might cause

compatibility problems. If you are unable to use the online questionnaire, please contact us as soon as

possible via email:

[email protected]

The questionnaire is available in English. However, you can submit your contribution in any EU language.

Please submit only

one contribution per stakeholder

. For your information, you have the option of saving

your contribution as a "draft" and finalizing your response at a later time. In order to do this you have to

click on "Save as Draft" and save to your PC or e-mail to yourself the link to your draft contribution in order

to be able to edit and/or finalize your answers late. Please note that without this new link, generated and e-

mailed to you by EUSurvey, you will not be able to access the "draft" again to complete the questionnaire.

Important note

: please remember that the system requires a “Save” before every 60-minute mark. Thus

we advise to “Save as Draft” frequently, otherwise you risk losing the data you have already entered in the

questionnaire.

Personal data and privacy

The European institutions are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. Please refer to the

document entitled "Protection of your personal data" uploaded under "Background Documents", which

explains the reason for the way we collect, handle and ensure protection of all personal data provided, how

that information is used and what rights you may exercise in relation to your data (the right to access,

rectify, block etc.).

I agree with the personal data protection provisions (see document in link below).

Protection_of_your_personal_data__.pdf

General Information

Please

indicate country of origin

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

ERU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 50: Notat, høringssvar samt spørgeskema vedr. vigtige projekter af fælleseuropæisk interesse (IPCEI), fra erhvervsministeren

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

United Kingdom

Other

100 character(s) maximum

"Other", please specify

Type

of respondent

Member State/Public authority

Private company/business organisation

Research Organisation/university

Trade Association

Other

200 character(s) maximum

"Other", please specify

First

100 character(s) maximum

name

Jens

Last

100 character(s) maximum

name

Muff Enevoldsen

Name

200 character(s) maximum

of public authority/company/research organisation/university/association

ERU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 50: Notat, høringssvar samt spørgeskema vedr. vigtige projekter af fælleseuropæisk interesse (IPCEI), fra erhvervsministeren

Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial affairs

E-mail

100 character(s) maximum

address

[email protected]

you give us permission to contact you if we have follow-up questions?

Yes

Questions for targeted stakeholder consultation on the IPCEI

Communication

Effectiveness

1. Does the IPCEI Communication have the potential to meet its overall objective of

facilitating the emergence of IPCEIs and giving Member States a tool to address

market failures in financing large transnational projects of a strategic importance for

the EU?

Yes

I don't know

1.1.

Please specify the reason for your answer, if possible with information on

experience gained/real life examples.

5000 character(s) maximum

Are the eligibility requirements of the Communication (e.g. concept of ‘integrated

project’, minimum number of participating Member States, positive spillover effects,

co-financing by the beneficiaries, specific criteria on R&D&I and First industrial

deployment projects) appropriate to meet their objectives?

Yes

I don't know

2.1.

Please specify the reason for your answer, if possible with information on

experience gained/real life examples.

5000 character(s) maximum

3. Are the Communication’s positive indicators (e.g. open nature of the project,

ERU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 50: Notat, høringssvar samt spørgeskema vedr. vigtige projekter af fælleseuropæisk interesse (IPCEI), fra erhvervsministeren

Are the Communication’s positive indicators (e.g. open nature of the project,

active coordination role of the Commission in the project’s design and/or selection

and/or governance, co-financing by a Union fund) appropriate to reach their

objectives?

Yes

I don't know

3.1.

Please specify the reason for your answer, if possible with information on

experience gained/real life examples.

5000 character(s) maximum

The IPCEI Communication establishes that “in order to address actual or

potential direct or indirect distortions of international trade, the Commission may

take account of the fact that, directly or indirectly, competitors located outside the

Union have received (in the last three years) or are going to receive, aid of an

equivalent intensity for similar projects” (point 34). This is referred to as the

‘matching clause’. Is the matching clause appropriate to meet its objectives?

Yes

I don't know

Please specify the reason for your answer, if possible with information on

experience gained/real life examples.

5000 character(s) maximum

4.1.

Efficiency

5. Is the IPCEI Communication well-structured and sufficiently clear?

Yes

I don't know

5.1.

Please specify the reason for your answer, if possible with information on

experience gained/real life examples.

5000 character(s) maximum

6. Are the eligibility criteria sufficiently clear:

ERU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 50: Notat, høringssvar samt spørgeskema vedr. vigtige projekter af fælleseuropæisk interesse (IPCEI), fra erhvervsministeren

Yes

Definition of a project (single/integrated)(section 3.1 IPCEI Communication)

Common European interest: Important contribution to Union objectives

(points 14-15)

Positive spillover effects (points 16-17)

General positive indicators (section 3.2.2)

Specific criteria for R&D&I projects (point 21)

Specific criteria for projects comprising of first industrial deployment (point 22)

Specific criteria on environmental, energy or transport projects (point 23)

Importance of the project (section 3.3)

6.1.

I don't

know

Please specify the reason for your answer, if possible with information on

experience gained/real life examples.

5000 character(s) maximum

7. Are the compatibility criteria sufficiently clear:

I don't

know

Yes

Necessity and proportionality of the aid (section 4.1)

Prevention of undue distortions of competition and balancing test (section

4.2)

7.1.

Please specify the reason for your answer, if possible with information on

experience gained/real life examples.

5000 character(s) maximum

Individual companies participating in an IPCEI must provide a funding gap

analysis for their individual project in relation to which they apply for aid (point 31).

Are there particular difficulties in identifying the funding gap of such individual

projects?

Yes

I don't know

8.1. Please specify the reason for your answer, if possible with information on

ERU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 50: Notat, høringssvar samt spørgeskema vedr. vigtige projekter af fælleseuropæisk interesse (IPCEI), fra erhvervsministeren

8.1. Please specify the reason for your answer, if possible with information on

experience gained/real life examples.

5000 character(s) maximum

Are the requirements on eligible costs (notably those related to first industrial

deployment projects – outilned in the Annex including footnotes) sufficiently clear?

Yes

I don't know

9.1.

Please specify the reason for the answer, if possible with information on

experience gained/real life examples.

5000 character(s) maximum

practice

10. Is the spreading of information on ongoing or potential IPCEIs in relation to

identified strategic value chains via the Commission’s IPCEI Strategic Forum

(managed by DG GROW) sufficient or should additional channels / platforms be

used? If so, please specify which channel.

5000 character(s) maximum

11.

Is the IPCEI Strategic Forum sufficiently integrated with existing policy/business

initiatives?

Yes

I don't know

Please specify the reason for your answer, if possible with information on

experience gained/real life examples.

5000 character(s) maximum

11.1.

12.

Can the gathering of the necessary information and administrative coordination

for the Commission’s assessment be improved?

Yes

I don't know

12.1. If yes, how?

ERU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 50: Notat, høringssvar samt spørgeskema vedr. vigtige projekter af fælleseuropæisk interesse (IPCEI), fra erhvervsministeren

12.1.

5000 character(s) maximum

If yes, how?

Final comments and document upload

Is there anything else you would like to add, which may be relevant for the

evaluation of IPCEI Communication?

5000 character(s) maximum

Please find enclosed the Danish response.

If you wish to do so, you can attach a relevant supporting document.

The maximum file size is 1 MB