EARTO publishes recommendations on ECF governance

EARTO, the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs), published a position paper with recommendations on the governance of the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) on 31 March 2026. EARTO welcomes European Commission (EC)’s proposals for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034, including the establishment of the ECF and Horizon Europe, based on excellence and impact. It supports the ITRE Committee’s draft report call for a €220 billion budget for FP10.

Key issues identified by EARTO in the EC proposals are the following:

• a ring-fenced budget for RD&I is clearly needed to ensure stability of investments for all RD&I actors;
• Securing a substantial budget share for collaborative RD&I in FP10;
• Safeguarding the integrated approach to RD&I and industrial policies by linking FP10 Pillar 2 on collaborative RD&I with the ECF through the policy windows;
• the integration of both Research and Technology Infrastructures under FP10 Pillar 4, in line with the European Research and Technology Infrastructures Strategy.

Accordingly, EARTO makes the following recommendations to the EU negotiators on the next MFF, ECF and FP10:

• Recommendation 1 – Decouple the budget allocation between FP10 and ECF: To ring-fence the budget for RD&I, there should be separate, standalone budgetary allocations for FP10 Pillar 2 and the ECF windows, while work programming should be done jointly. FP10 budget should be clearly restricted to RD&I funding.
• Recommendation 2 - Ensure smart linkage between ECF & FP10 through joint work programming, an enhanced ECF Stakeholder Board and an Advisory Board to the EU Observatory of Emerging Technologies;
• Recommendation 3 - Build on the EU Partnerships to develop the ECF & FP10 Pillar 2’s work programme, driven by industry & RTOs;
• Recommendation 4 – Add expertise-driven management via ECF Thematic Platforms to areas not (yet) covered by partnerships;
• Recommendation 5 – Define the New EU Strategy on Technology Infrastructures to support FP10 as well as the ECF.

EARTO Recommendations on the Governance of the new European Competitiveness Fund