(2)

Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (15) establishes Horizon 2020 — The Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020), ‘Horizon 2020’. It aims to achieve a greater impact with respect to research and innovation by combining Horizon 2020 and private-sector funds in public-private partnerships in key areas where research and innovation can contribute to the Union’s wider competitiveness goals, leverage private investment and help tackle societal challenges. Those partnerships should be based on a long-term commitment, including a balanced contribution from all partners, be accountable for the achievement of their objectives and be aligned with the Union’s strategic goals relating to research, development and innovation. The governance and functioning of those partnerships should be open, transparent, effective and efficient and give the opportunity to a wide range of stakeholders active in their specific areas to participate.

(2)

Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (15) establishes Horizon 2020 — The Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020), ‘Horizon 2020’. It aims to achieve a greater impact with respect to research and innovation by combining Horizon 2020 and private-sector funds in public-private partnerships in key areas where research and innovation can contribute to the Union’s wider competitiveness goals, leverage private investment and help tackle societal challenges. Those partnerships should be based on a long-term commitment, including a balanced contribution from all partners, be accountable for the achievement of their objectives and be aligned with the Union’s strategic goals relating to research, development and innovation. The governance and functioning of those partnerships should be open, transparent, effective and efficient and give the opportunity to a wide range of stakeholders active in their specific areas to participate and to civil society organisations and citizen groups to be properly consulted in the decision-making process .

(8)

The Communication from the Commission of 19 April 2016 entitled ‘European Cloud Initiative — building a competitive data and knowledge economy in Europe (22)’, calls for the establishment of a European Data Infrastructure based on leading-class High Performance Computing capabilities and the development of a full European High Performance Computing ecosystem capable of developing new European technology and realise exascale supercomputers. The importance of the area and the challenges faced by the stakeholders in the Union require urgent action in order to gather the necessary resources and capabilities to close the chain from research and development to the delivery and operation of the exascale High Performance Computing systems. Therefore a mechanism should be set up at Union level to combine and concentrate the provision of support to the establishment of a world-leading European High Performance Computing infrastructure and for research and innovation in High Performance Computing by Member States, the Union and the private sector. This infrastructure should provide access to the public sector users, users from industry and users from academia, including the scientific communities being part of the European Open Science Cloud.

(8)

The Communication from the Commission of 19 April 2016 entitled ‘European Cloud Initiative — building a competitive data and knowledge economy in Europe (22)’, calls for the establishment of a European Data Infrastructure based on leading-class High Performance Computing capabilities and the development of a full European High Performance Computing ecosystem capable of developing new European technology and realise exascale supercomputers. The importance of the area and the challenges faced by the stakeholders in the Union require urgent action in order to gather the necessary resources and capabilities to close the chain from research and development to the delivery and operation of the exascale High Performance Computing systems. Therefore a mechanism should be set up at Union level to combine and concentrate the provision of support to the establishment of a world-leading European High Performance Computing infrastructure and for research and innovation in High Performance Computing by Member States, the Union and the private sector. This infrastructure should provide access to the public sector users, users from industry , including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and users from academia, including the scientific communities being part of the European Open Science Cloud.

(8a)

It is of utmost importance for the Union to rank among the top supercomputing powers in the world by 2022. Currently, the Union is lagging behind on the development of High Performance Computing as a result of its under-investment in establishing a complete system. In order to close this gap, The Union needs to acquire world-class supercomputers, secure its supply system and deploy services to industry and SMEs for simulation, visualisation and prototyping while ensuring a HCP system in accordance with Union values and principles.

(10)

In order to equip the Union with the computing performance needed to maintain its research at a leading edge the Member States investment in High Performance Computing should be coordinated and the industrial take-up of High Performance Computing technology have to be reinforced. The Union should increase its effectiveness in turning the technology developments into High Performance Computing systems that are procured in Europe, establishing an effective link between technology supply, co-design with users, and a joint procurement of world-class systems.

(10)

In order to equip the Union with the computing performance needed to maintain its research at a leading edge and to harness the added value of joint action at Union level, the Member States investment in High Performance Computing should be coordinated and the industrial take-up of High Performance Computing technology have to be reinforced. The Union should increase its effectiveness in turning the technology developments into High Performance Computing systems that are procured in Europe, establishing an effective link between technology supply, co-design with users, and a joint procurement of world-class systems.

(10a)

It is necessary for the Commission and the Member States to explore appropriate governance and funding frameworks, with sufficient consideration of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking initiative and its sustainability and of the necessity of a Union-wide level playing field. Furthermore, Member States should consider the funding programmes in a manner that is streamlined with the Commission’s approach.

(10b)

The European Technology Platform and the cPPP on HPC are crucial to defining the Union’s research priorities in developing Union technology in all segments of the HPC solution supply chain.

(11a)

The mission of the Joint Undertaking is to establish and maintain in the Union an integrated world-class High Performance Computing and Big Data ecosystem based on Union leadership in HPC, cloud and Big Data technologies.

(12)

The Joint Undertaking should be set up and start operating in 2019 to reach the target of equipping the Union with a pre-exascale infrastructure by 2020 and developing the necessary technologies for reaching exascale capabilities by 2022/2023. Since a development cycle of the next generation of technology typically takes 4-5 years, to stay competitive on the global market, the actions to reach this target have to start now.

(12)

The Joint Undertaking should be set up and start operating in 2019 to reach the target of equipping the Union with a pre-exascale infrastructure by 2020 and developing the necessary technologies for reaching , where possible, autonomous exascale capabilities by 2022/2023. Since a development cycle of the next generation of technology typically takes 4-5 years, to stay competitive on the global market, the actions to reach this target have to start now.

(12a)

EuroHPC Joint Undertaking should be treated as an integral part of the Union Data Infrastructure across the whole ecosystem and the benefits should be promoted widely.

(13a)

The Commission should encourage more Member States to join the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and use it as a priority area for research and development programmes corresponding with national activities. The Commission should also promote the initiative in all Member States as part of a strong political and economic commitment in digital innovation.

(14)

The Union, the Participating States and the Private Members of the Joint Undertaking should each provide a financial contribution to the administrative costs of the Joint Undertaking. Since, under the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 a contribution to the administrative costs by the Union can be frontloaded to cover the running costs only up to 2023, the Participating States and the Private Members of the Joint Undertaking should fully cover the administrative costs of the Joint Undertaking as of 2024.

(14)

The Union, the Participating States and the Private Members of the Joint Undertaking should each provide a financial contribution to the administrative costs of the Joint Undertaking. Since, under the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 a contribution to the administrative costs by the Union can be frontloaded to cover the running costs only up to 2023, the Participating States and the Private Members of the Joint Undertaking should fully cover the administrative costs of the Joint Undertaking as of 2024 to ensure the sustainability of the Joint Undertaking on a long-term basis .

(15a)

All potential synergies between Euro HPC and Union and national research programmes should be explored and promoted. The Joint Undertaking should integrate with existing leading research and development structures, such as the European Technology Platform for high performance computing value PPP and Big Data, to maximise efficiency and facilitate its use and to set the grounds for thriving data driven economy.

(15b)

The Commission and the Member States should strengthen the existing work of the European Cloud Partnership based on the existing pillars of PRACE and GEANT, avoid any conflict of interest, and recognise their vital complementary roles in realising a EUROHPC ecosystem.

(18)

The Joint Undertaking should address clearly defined topics that would enable academia and European industries at large to design, develop and use the most innovative technologies in High Performance Computing, and to establish an integrated infrastructure across the Union with world-class High Performance Computing capability, high-speed connectivity and leading-edge applications and data and software services for its scientists and for other lead users from industry, including SMEs and the public sector. The Joint Undertaking should make efforts to reduce the specific HPC-related skills gap. The Joint Undertaking should prepare the path towards building the first hybrid High Performance Computing infrastructure in Europe, integrating classical computing architectures with quantum computing devices, e.g. exploiting the quantum computer as an accelerator of High Performance Computing threads. Structured and coordinated financial support at European level is necessary to help research teams and European industries remain at the leading edge in a highly competitive international context by producing world-class results and their integration in competitive systems, to ensure the fast and broad industrial exploitation of European technology across the Union generating important spill-overs for society, to share risk-taking and joining of forces by aligning strategies and investments towards a common European interest. The Commission could consider, upon notification by a Member State or group of Member States concerned, that the Joint Undertaking’s initiatives qualify as Important Projects of Common European Interest, provided that all relevant conditions are met in accordance with the Community Framework for state aid for research and development and innovation (25).

(18)

The Joint Undertaking should address clearly defined topics that would enable academia but also and European industries at large to design, develop and use the most innovative technologies in High Performance Computing, and to establish an integrated infrastructure across the Union with world-class High Performance Computing capability, high-speed connectivity and leading-edge applications and data and software services for its scientists and for other lead users from industry, in particular, micro-enterprises, SMEs and start-ups and the public sector. The Joint Undertaking should make efforts to reduce the specific HPC-related skills gap , encouraging qualification, HPC-related career choices and offering special programs to encourage balanced representation of men and women in the HPC career paths . The Joint Undertaking should prepare the path towards building the first hybrid High Performance Computing infrastructure in Europe, integrating classical computing architectures with quantum computing devices, e.g. exploiting the quantum computer as an accelerator of High Performance Computing threads. Structured and coordinated financial support at European level is necessary to help research teams and European industries remain at the leading edge in a highly competitive international context by producing world-class results and their integration in competitive systems, to ensure the fast and broad industrial exploitation of European technology across the Union generating important beneficial spill-overs for society, to share risk-taking and joining of forces by aligning strategies and investments towards a common European interest. The Commission could consider, upon notification by a Member State or group of Member States concerned, that the Joint Undertaking’s initiatives qualify as Important Projects of Common European Interest, provided that all relevant conditions are met in accordance with the Community Framework for state aid for research and development and innovation (25).

(18a)

The Joint Undertaking should promote and provide Union scientists, industry and the public sector with access to world-class supercomputers and associated services, giving them the tools to stay at the forefront of science and industrial competition with a view to maintaining and supporting integrated scientific data infrastructures and High Performance Computing.

(18b)

The Joint Undertaking should be open to the participation of all Member States which are encouraged to join the Joint Undertaking and use it as a priority area for research and development programmes corresponding with national activities. The Joint Undertaking should promote the activities of the supercomputer as part of a strong political and economic commitment in digital innovation.

(18c)

In order to build the necessary capacity and ensure the participation of all the Member States and one High Performance Computing Competence Centre (Centre) associated with the national supercomputing centre should be established per Member State. The Centres should facilitate and promote access to the HPC ecosystem, from access to the supercomputers, to access to applications and services. They should also provide to HPC users learning and training courses for building HPC skills and should promote awareness raising and training and outreach activities of the benefits of High Performance Computing, for SMEs in particular and embark on networking activities with stakeholders and other Centres to foster wider innovations enabling further High Perfomance Computing uptake.

(18d)

Broad participation across the Union and fair and reasonable access for third-country actors is important in order to realise the full potential of a Union supercomputer capable of contributing to Union excellent science and regional competitiveness.

(18e)

Although access time to the supercomputers is proportionate to financial contributions, a playing field from all Members States, scientists and industries in the Union should be ensured.

(18f)

The Union’s access time should be attributed by competitive calls based on excellence, independently of the Union’s nationality of the applicant. In addition, participating Member States should also be able to make available their access time to other Union’s scientists, industry or researchers.

(20a)

The supercomputers acquired and supported by the Joint Undertaking should be designed and selected in order to maximise their efficiency for scientific purposes as well as for their use by industry. For that reason, the Commission needs to take steps to further strengthen the assessment of efficiency and cost-effectiveness in its evaluations.

(22)

The use of the pre-exascale and petascale supercomputers should be primarily for public research and innovation purposes, for any user from academia, industry or the public sector. The Joint Undertaking should be allowed to carry out some limited economic activities for private purposes. Access should be granted to users established in the Union or an Associated Country to Horizon 2020. The access rights should be equitable to any user and allocated in a transparent manner. The Governing Board should define the access rights to the Union's share of access time for each supercomputer.

(22)

The use of the pre-exascale and petascale supercomputers should be primarily for public civilian research and innovation purposes, for any user from academia, industry , including SMEs, or the public sector. The Joint Undertaking should be allowed to carry out some limited economic activities for private purposes. Access should be granted to users established in the Union or an Associated Country to Horizon 2020. The access rights should be equitable to any user and allocated in a transparent manner. The Governing Board should define the access rights to the Union's share of access time for each supercomputer.

(28a)

The provisions of Horizon 2020 on intellectual property rights, transfer of ownership of IPR, licensing and exploitation should apply, as a minimum, in order to protect the Union`s economic interests.

(29a)

The amount necessary for the purchase of the supercomputer should also cover investment in improved dataflow and connection to the network.

(30a)

HPC initiative providers operating in the Union must compete on an even playing field, with the same rules applicable to all.

(30b)

To ensure consistency and avoid duplication with other existing initiatives in the field of High Performance Computing and big data, in particular with the contractual public--private partnerships in High Performance Computing and big data established in 2014 and PRACE, those initiatives should be streamlined by incorporating them into the Joint Undertaking in the post-2020 framework.

(32)

Provision of financial support to activities from Connecting Europe Facility programme should comply with rules of this programme .

(32)

Administrative simplification should be sought and the coexistence of different rules within the same Joint Undertaking should be avoided. A unique set of rules should be in place for all activities of the Joint Undertaking, instead of the coexistence of Horizon 2020 and CEF rules.

(40)

All calls for proposals and all calls for tender under the Joint Undertaking should take into account the duration of the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme and Connecting Europe Facility Programme, as appropriate, except in duly justified cases.

(40)

All calls for proposals and all calls for tender under the Joint Undertaking should take into account the duration of the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme and Connecting Europe Facility Programme, as appropriate, except in duly justified cases. For the period not covered by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme and the Connecting Europe Facility Programme, appropriate adjustments should be made taking in to account the MFF for the period after 2020, with the aim at continuing the activities of the Joint Undertaking.

(41a)

High Performance Computing is important for cloud development and its full potential can only be realised when data can flow freely across the Union with clear rules.

(41b)

In addition, the Union law on data protection, privacy and security should apply to any supercomputer owned fully or in part by the Joint Undertaking, or for any supercomputer making available access time to the Joint Undertaking.

(41c)

The Joint Undertaking should guarantee that the High Performance Computing supercomputers in the Union are accessible exclusively to entities which comply with Union law on data protection, privacy and security.

(41d)

The Joint Undertaking should guarantee that the High Performance Computing supercomputers in the Union are accessible exclusively to entities established in the Member States or associated countries which comply with Union law on data protection, privacy and security.

(41e)

Where appropriate, international cooperation with third countries and between the participating countries should be promoted. Access to supercomputers in the Union should not be granted to entities established in third countries unless those countries grant reciprocal access to their supercomputers. Exploitation of the data of supercomputers in the Union should be encouraged while ensuring compliance with Union law on data protection, privacy and security.

(7)

‘hosting entity’ means a legal entity established in a Member State participating in the Joint Undertaking which includes facilities to host and operate a pre-exascale supercomputer.

(7)

‘hosting entity’ means a legal entity established in a Member State participating in the Joint Undertaking which includes facilities to host and operate a  petascale or pre-exascale supercomputer.

(a)

to provide scientists, industry and the public sector from the Union or an Associated Country to Horizon 2020 with latest High Performance Computing and Data Infrastructure and support the development of its technologies and its applications across a wide range of fields.

(a)

to provide scientists and researchers , industry , including start-ups, micro-enterprises, SMEs and the public sector from the Union or an Associated Country to Horizon 2020 with latest High Performance Computing and Data Infrastructure and support the development of its technologies and its applications across a wide range of fields primarily for civilian use such as healthcare, energy, smart cities, autonomous transport and space;

(b)

to provide a framework for acquisition of an integrated world-class pre-exascale supercomputing and data infrastructure in the Union;

(b)

to provide a framework for acquisition of an integrated world-class pre-exascale supercomputing and data infrastructure in the Union , including through supporting the acquisition of petascale supercomputers ;

(d)

to support the development of an integrated High Performance Computing ecosystem in the Union covering all scientific and industrial value chain segments notably hardware, software, applications, services, engineering, interconnections, know-how and skills.

(d)

to support the development of an integrated High Performance Computing ecosystem in the Union covering all scientific and industrial value chain segments notably hardware, software, applications, services, engineering, interconnections, know-how and skills , in order to strengthen the Union as a global centre for innovation, contributing to competitiveness and enhanced research and development capacity;

(da)

to enable synergies and provide added value of cooperation between participating Member States and other actors;

(db)

to liaise with existing contractual public-private partnerships with regard to High Performance Computing and big data in order to create synergies and integration.

(d)

to build and operate a leading-class integrated supercomputing and data infrastructure across the Union as an essential component for scientific excellence, and for the digitisation of industry, and the public sector, and for strengthening the innovation capabilities and global competitiveness for creating economic and employment growth in the Union;

(d)

to build and operate a leading-class integrated supercomputing and data infrastructure across the Union , where that infrastructure is designed to be efficient for scientific purposes and provides an essential component for scientific excellence, and for the digitisation of industry, and the public sector, and for strengthening the innovation capabilities and global competitiveness for creating economic and employment growth in the Union;

(e)

to provide access to High Performance Computing-based infrastructures and services to a wide range of users from the research and scientific community as well as the industry including SMEs, and the public sector, for new and emerging data and compute-intensive applications and services;

(e)

to provide access to High Performance Computing-based infrastructures and services to a wide range of users from the research and scientific community as well as the industry , micro-enterprises, SMEs, and the public sector, for new and emerging data and compute-intensive applications and services;

(f)

to bridge the gap between research and development and the delivery of exascale High Performance Computing systems reinforcing the digital technology supply chain in the Union and enabling the acquisition by the Joint Undertaking of leadership-class supercomputers;

(f)

to bridge the gap between research and development and the delivery of exascale High Performance Computing systems reinforcing the digital technology supply chain in the Union and enabling the acquisition by the Joint Undertaking of world-class supercomputers;

(h)

to interconnect and federate regional, national and European High Performance Computing supercomputers and other computing systems, data centres and associated software and applications;

(h)

to interconnect and federate regional, national and European High Performance Computing supercomputers and other computing systems, data centres and associated software and applications without jeopardising data protection and privacy ;

(i)

to increase the innovation potential of industry, and in particular of SMEs, using advanced High Performance Computing infrastructures and services;

(i)

to increase the innovation potential of industry, and in particular of micro-enterprises and SMEs, as well as of research and scientific communities using advanced High Performance Computing infrastructures and services , including national High Performance Computing and Supercomputing centres ;

(j)

to improve understanding of High Performance Computing and contribute to reducing skills gaps in the Union related to High Performance Computing;

(j)

to improve understanding of High Performance Computing and contribute to reducing skills gaps in the Union related to High Performance Computing , encouraging qualification and a balanced representation of men and women on High Performance Computing career paths ;

(c)

experience of the hosting entity in installing and operating similar systems;

(c)

experience of the hosting entity in installing, operating and maintaining similar systems , including the energy demand of the supercomputer ;

(ca)

a high level of data protection, privacy and cybersecurity, including a state-of-the-art management of risks and threats and resilience against cyber-attacks;

(c)

initiate and manage the procedure for the acquisition of the pre-exascale supercomputers, evaluate the offers received, award of funding within the limits of available funds, monitor the implementation of the contract and manage the contracts;

(c)

initiate and manage the procedure for the acquisition of the pre-exascale supercomputers in an open and transparent manner, by using independent experts , evaluate the offers received, award of funding within the limits of available funds, monitor the implementation of the contract and manage the contracts;

(d)

select the hosting entity of the pre-exascale supercomputers, in accordance with its financial rules referred to in Article 11 of this Regulation;

(d)

select the hosting entity of the pre-exascale supercomputers, in accordance with Article 6(3) and with the financial rules referred to in Article 11 of this Regulation;

(i)

provide financial support, mainly in the form of grants, focusing on applications, outreach activities, awareness raising actions and professional development activities for attracting human resources to High Performance Computing, as well as increasing skills and engineering know-how of the ecosystem;

(i)

provide financial support, mainly in the form of grants, focusing on applications, outreach activities, awareness raising actions and professional development and reconversion activities for attracting human resources to High Performance Computing, promoting the balanced participation of men and women, as well as increasing skills and engineering know-how of the ecosystem;

(5)

The Governing Board shall elect a chair for a period of two years. The mandate of the chairperson shall be extended only once, following a decision by the Governing Board.

(5)

The Governing Board shall elect a chair from among its members for a period of two years. The mandate of the chairperson shall be extended only once, following a decision by the Governing Board.

(2)

The Research and Innovation Advisory Group shall consist of no more than twelve members, whereof no more than six shall be appointed by the Private Members and no more than six shall be appointed by the Governing Board. The Governing Board shall establish the specific criteria and selection process for the members it appoints.

(2)

The Research and Innovation Advisory Group shall consist of no more than twenty members, whereof no more than eight shall be appointed by the Private Members and no more than twelve shall be appointed by the Governing Board. The Governing Board shall establish the specific criteria and selection process for the members it appoints.

(2)

The Joint Undertaking Governing Board shall adopt rules for the prevention and management of conflicts of interest in respect of its members, bodies and staff. Those rules shall contain provisions intended to avoid a conflict of interest in respect of the representatives of the members of the Joint Undertaking serving on the Governing Board.

(2)

The Joint Undertaking Governing Board shall adopt rules for the prevention and management of conflicts of interest in respect of its members, bodies and staff in accordance with Union best practices . Those rules shall also contain provisions intended to avoid a conflict of interest in respect of the representatives of the members of the Joint Undertaking serving on the Governing Board.