(1)

The Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community expired on 23 July 2002, in accordance with Article 97 of that Treaty. All assets and liabilities of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) were transferred to the European Community on 24 July 2002.

(2)

In accordance with Protocol No 37 on the financial consequences of the expiry of the ECSC Treaty and on the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (the ‘Protocol’), annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the net worth of the assets and liabilities of the ECSC, as they appear in the balance sheet of the ECSC, is to be considered as assets intended for research in the sectors related to the coal and steel industry, referred to as the ‘ECSC in liquidation’ and, on completion of the liquidation of the ECSC, referred to as the ‘assets of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel’ (together referred to as the ‘assets’).

(3)

The Protocol also provides that the revenue from the assets, referred to as the ‘Research Fund for Coal and Steel’ (RFCS), is to be used exclusively for research, outside the research framework programme, in the sectors related to the coal and steel industry, in accordance with the Protocol and the acts adopted on the basis thereof.

(4)

On 1 February 2003, the Council adopted Decision 2003/76/EC (2), which laid down the rules for implementing the Protocol.

(5)

For several years, the value of the generated revenues assigned to the funding of research projects for coal and steel has been decreasing due to low interest rates, and the assets have not been generating enough revenue to fund the current annual RFCS allocation of EUR 111 million to calls, established by Decision 2003/76/EC. As a result of the losses in 2022 and 2023, calls in 2024 and 2025 were entirely financed through the sale of assets. For 2026 and possibly also for subsequent years, any profit that is made will cover the annual allocation only in part, and is not expected to be sufficient to allow for the funding of a meaningful work programme.

(6)

As part of its efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of the Union steel sector and safeguard the industry’s future, in its Communication of 19 March 2025 to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled ‘A European Steel and Metals Action Plan’, the Commission announced that it would propose an overall reform of the RFCS in order to simplify and further accelerate investments in steel research. Such an acceleration should reflect the sector’s needs.

(7)

The energy transition from fossil energy sources, especially coal, currently represents a challenge, in particular with regard to the need to ensure a just transition, especially for industries and workers in coal-dependent regions. Further challenges include mitigating methane emissions from coal mines in the context of implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1787 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3).

(8)

From August 2027, it is expected that the ECSC in liquidation will have neither liabilities nor receivables, thus allowing its liquidation to be completed.

(9)

The sale of part of the assets to finance research projects in the coal and steel sectors is possible, in view of the absence of liabilities of the ECSC in liquidation.

(10)

In light of the combined financial changes and policy considerations, the size of the research programme should be determined in a way that ensures that the assets can be used and correctly implemented in accordance with the objectives of the Protocol and in line with the principles of sound financial management. Critical mass for the size of the research programme cannot be achieved only by using revenues or a limited part of the remaining assets. The amounts needed for the research programme will require the use of all the assets. Therefore, it should be possible to use the remaining assets to provide meaningful support, outside the framework programme for research of the Union, for worthwhile collaborative research projects that have the critical mass to create Union added value in the coal and steel sectors.

(11)

In its Communication of 26 February 2025 to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled ‘The Clean Industrial Deal’ and in the European Steel and Metals Action Plan, the Commission supported the business case for large investments to be made in the Union in the coming years, including for the steel industry. On the basis of that political incentive, the RFCS should contribute to a rapid transition to cleaner technologies by financing part of the necessary research efforts, including preparatory research for large investments and additional research supporting the deployment of large-scale investments.

(12)

Calls from 2027 to 2033 of up to EUR 120 million annually, and a call in 2034 of an amount equivalent to the available remaining unallocated assets, are expected to leverage private investment to enhance competitiveness and accelerate the decarbonisation and green industrial transition of the coal and steel sectors. Appropriate annual allocations should therefore be established to enable such calls and allow for meaningful support until the end of 2034.

(13)

In order to assign all of the net revenue from the investments and to facilitate the increase of the allocation for 2027 from EUR 111 million to up to EUR 120 million, it is appropriate to shorten the time frame in allocating it by making the closed balance sheets of the assets in year n cover the allocation for year n+1 in the years 2026 to 2033, while maintaining the annual allocations already established by Decision 2003/76/EC.

(14)

The current distribution of budget allocations between coal and steel research of 27,2 % and 72,8 %, respectively, is supported by both sectors and remains appropriate considering their respective needs and absorption capacities.

(15)

To be able to adapt to the possible research funding needs of the coal or steel sector in the case of insufficient absorption of the other sector, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in order to amend this Decision to change the percentage of funding allocated to coal-related research and to steel-related research in 2034 if necessary, to enable the full use of the assets. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making (4). In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council should receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts should systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

(16)

Decision 2003/76/EC should therefore be repealed. However, until the liquidation of the ECSC is completed, it is appropriate to maintain the application of Article 1 of that Decision until the completion of the the financial operations of the ECSC in liquidation,