Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION on amending Council Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 of 13 July 2021 on establishing the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/1488
Date: 2025-07-15
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission
Subjects: European Joint Undertaking, European undertaking, artificial intelligence, computer system, data processing, high-performance computing

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 15.7.2025  COM(2025) 414 final 2025/0229 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION on amending Council Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 of 13 July 2021 on establishing the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/1488  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

in 

the  Union  a  world-leading 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

• 
Council  Regulation  (EU)  2021/11731  repealing  Council  Regulation  (EU)  2018/14882 
establishes  the  European  High  Performance  Computing  Joint  Undertaking  and  sets  out  its 
mission  and  objectives.  The  Joint  Undertaking’s  mission  is  to  develop,  deploy,  extend  and 
federated,  secure  and  hyper-connected 
maintain 
supercomputing,  quantum  computing,  service  and  data  infrastructure  ecosystem;  to  support 
the development and uptake of demand-oriented and user-driven innovative and competitive 
supercomputing systems based on a supply chain that will ensure the availability components, 
technologies and knowledge and limit the risk of disruption, and the development of a wide 
range  of  applications  optimised  for  these  systems;  and,  to  widen  the  use  of  this 
supercomputing  and  quantum  computing  infrastructure  to  a  large  number  of  public  and 
private users, and support the twin transition and the development of key skills for European 
science and industry. 

Since 2021, when the Council Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 was adopted, the field of artificial 
intelligence  (AI)  has  seen  enormous  technical  progress  and  became  a  key  strategic  and 
highly  competitive  domain  globally.  In  particular,  large  AI  general  purpose  models  have 
emerged  as  vital  drivers  of  economic  competitiveness  and  innovation.  They  have  become 
pivotal  in  enhancing  productivity  across  diverse  sectors  and  transform  entire  value  chains, 
thus dictating future economic value capture. The next generation of frontier AI models are 
expected  to  unlock  a  leap  in  capabilities,  towards  Artificial  General  Intelligence  (AGI) 
capable of tackling highly complex and diverse tasks, matching human capabilities. Regions 
capable  of  developing  and  implementing  these  AI  models  at  scale  will  lead  in  global 
innovation and attract premier talent. At the same time, sectors at the forefront of science and 
industry, such as biotechnology, climate, automotive AI, and aerospace, demand substantial 
computing  resources  to  undertake  major  AI-driven  scientific  discoveries  and  industrial 
innovations.  

Following  the  adoption  of  the  AI  Innovation  Package  in  February  20243,  Regulation  (EU) 
2021/1173  was  amended  in  June  2024  creating  a  new  pillar  of  activities  for  the  EuroHPC 
Joint Undertaking, enabling it to acquire, upgrade and operate AI factories. 

The  most  advanced  of  these  AI  Factories  in  Europe  will  be  equipped  with  supercomputers 
featuring  up  to  25,000  advanced  AI  processors,  allowing  only  to  develop  middle-range  AI 
models.  Significant  investments  are  therefore  needed  to  scale  up  Europe’s  computing 
capacities to the next level.  

On  9  April  2025,  the  Commission  launched  the  AI  Continent  Action  Plan45  to  position 

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Council  Regulation  (EU)2021/1173  of  13  July  2021  on  establishing  the  European  High  Performance 
Computing Joint Undertaking and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/1488 (OJ L 256 19.7.21 p. 3).   
Council  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1488  of  28  September  2018 establishing the  European  High 
Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (OJ L 252, 8.10.2018, p. 1).  
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-launches-ai-innovation-package-support-
artificial-intelligence-startups-and-smes 
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European economic 
and  social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  regions,  AI  Continent  Action  Plan,  COM/2025/165 
final 

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Europe  as  a  global  leader  in  AI.  A  core  pillar  of  this  strategy  is  boosting  the  Europe-wide 
infrastructure for training advanced AI models taking the 2024 AI Factories concept up to the 
next level.  

The  development  of  the  next  generation  of  frontier  AI  models  is  expected  to  require  large-
scale facilities, exceeding at least by three to four times the number of the most advanced AI 
processors  available  in  the  most  powerful  AI  Factories,  while  taking  into  account  power 
capacity,  as  well  as  energy,  water  efficiency  and  circularity.  They  will  be  capable  of 
developing,  training,  and  deploying  very  large  AI  models  and  applications  at  an 
unprecedented scale (e.g., AI models in the order of hundreds of trillions of parameters).  

AI  Gigafactories  will  provide  a  world-class  AI  compute  infrastructure  for  European 
researchers,  entrepreneurs,  the  public  sector  and  industries.  They  shall  strengthen  the 
European industry, enable the development of entirely new AI solutions and ensure the EU's 
competitiveness  and  sovereignty  as  an  AI  continent  in  line  with  the  Competitiveness 
Compass6. The public interest in co-investing with industry players in AI Gigafactories lies in 
expanding  and  strengthening  the  European  AI  compute  infrastructure  so  that  the  next 
generation  of  AI  models  and  applications  for  scientific,  public  and  industrial  use  can  be 
developed, implemented and put into application in Europe. Just as the AI Factories, the AI 
Gigafactories  will  be  open  to  researchers,  stakeholders  from  the  public  sector,  startups  and 
industry across Member States, under specific access conditions.  

The  existing  mechanisms  within  Regulation  2021/1173  are  not  fully  equipped  today  to 
support  the  establishment  of  the  AI  Gigafactories.  A  targeted  amendment  is  therefore 
necessary  to  provide  the  EuroHPC  Joint  Undertaking  with  the  necessary  legal  basis  to  be 
able  to  meet  the  commitments  regarding  setting  up  of  AI  GigaFactories  in  Europe.  The 
amendment will further specifically mandate the Joint Undertaking to perform activities for 
the implementation of AI GigaFactories while also accommodating for their specificities. 

The  amendment  also  provides  an  opportunity  to  introduce  strategic  provisions  related  to 
quantum technologies, in line with the European Quantum Strategy. Quantum technologies, 
comprising quantum computing, communication, sensing,  and metrology are emerging as a 
strategic  field  for  the  Union,  with  the  potential  to  reshape  key  industries  and  societal 
applications,  and  to  have  a  large  impact  on  the  Union’s  industrial  competitiveness  and 
technological  sovereignty.  The  Union  has  made  substantial  investments  in  this  domain. 
There is a need now to further coordinate and implement a pan-European quantum research, 
innovation  and  industrialisation  agenda  that  capitalises  on  existing  strengths  and  aligns  all 
efforts around shared priorities. It is becoming increasingly important for Europe to translate 
its scientific excellence  and  innovation  potential into real  market  opportunities and thereby 
contribute to the objectives of the Competitiveness Compass. 

This  amendment  reinforces  the  current  mandate  of  the  EuroHPC  Joint  Undertaking  on 
quantum technologies to: 

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Support the development of a full European quantum ecosystem, covering research, 
innovation, infrastructure deployment, skills, and industrial capabilities; 

Ensure  synergies  between  quantum  and  classical  HPC  infrastructures,  notably  for 
hybrid systems, simulations, and co-development platforms; 

Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1732 
https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/competitiveness-compass_en 

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• 

Promote Europe's technological sovereignty, by reinforcing capabilities in quantum-
enabling components and reducing dependencies in critical areas; 

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

The objective of this proposal is to widen the scope of Council Regulation 2024/1732 in order 
to enable the Union to respond to new technological developments and strategic imperatives, 
namely  the  significant  scale-up  of  AI-optimised  compute  capacity  in  Europe,  as  well  as  to 
align  Member  States  around  shared  priorities  in  quantum  technologies  by  redressing  the 
existing fragmentation of quantum programmes across countries in the Union. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

This proposal is fully in line with other Union policies, especially those policies enacted under 
the Commission priority ‘A prosperous and competitive Europe’. 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The legal basis of the Joint Undertaking is Article 187 and the first paragraph of Article 188 
of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

The  subsidiarity  principle  applies  insofar  as  the  proposal  does  not  fall  under  the  exclusive 
competence of the Union.  

The  Council  Regulation  (EU)  2021/1173  covers  the  subsidiarity  principle  as  its  objectives, 
namely  the  strengthening  of  research  and  innovation  capabilities,  the  acquisition  of 
supercomputers  and  quantum  computers,  and  access  to  high  performance  computing, 
quantum computing and data infrastructure across the Union by means of a Joint Undertaking, 
cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can rather, by reason of avoiding 
unnecessary duplication, retaining critical mass and ensuring that public financing is used in 
an optimal way, be better achieved at Union level.   

To  serve  the  ambitions  of  industrial  leadership  and  of  the  AI  Continent  Action  Plan,  the 
Regulation  establishing  the  Joint  Undertaking  requires  a  targeted  amendment  enabling  the 
EuroHPC Joint Undertaking to accommodate the specificities of the AI Gigafactories and to 
implement the EU’s quantum strategy.  

Due to  the nature of  quantum and AI and the magnitude of investments  required for the AI 
Gigafactories and quantum technologies, to keep Europe’s edge in these critical technologies 
can only be achieved by common action at Union level. 

• 

Proportionality 

The proposed amendment complies with the principles of proportionality as set out in Article 
5, paragraph 4 of the Treaty on the European Union.  

• 

Choice of the instrument 

The creation and operation of a Joint Undertaking in which the Union participates requires a 
Council Regulation, to which an amendment is now being proposed. 

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3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

This  is  an  amendment  to  an  existing  Regulation.  The  proposed  targeted  amendment  to  the 
Council  Regulation  (EU)  2021/1173  is  the  only  way  to  fulfil  the  political  commitment 
announced by President von der Leyen at the AI Summit in February 2025 of setting up the 
AI GigaFactories, as well as the implementation of the EU’s Quantum Strategy. No ex-post 
evaluation or impact assessment has been performed.  

• 

Stakeholder consultations 

Stakeholders  have  been  extensively  consulted  for  the  purpose  of  the  amendments  regarding 
the AI Gigafactories: 

– 

– 

– 

a debate with the EuroHPC Participating States in the EuroHPC Governing Board, 

structured  discussions  with  key  public  and  private  players  of  relevance  for  the 
initiative, including government representatives, Union and international companies, 
and private as well as public  funding institutions, such as the European  Investment 
Bank Group, 

a  Call  for  Expression  of  Interest  (CfEI)  running  from  9  April  until  20  June  2025. 
This call invited ideas from across Europe, helping to identify potential consortia and 
gather the insights needed to refine the framework for AI Gigafactory development.  

Due to very targeted nature of the amendments to the Regulation, which already mandates the 
EuroHPC  JU  to  act  in  the  field  of  AI  and  quantum,  there  is  no  need  to  conduct  an  Impact 
Assessment.    

For quantum technologies, the amendment reflects inputs gathered through the public call for 
evidence  conducted  as  part  of  the  preparation  of  the  European  Quantum  Technologies 
Strategy. 

This  consultation,  launched  by  the  European  Commission,  gathered  contributions  from  a 
broad  spectrum  of  stakeholders,  including  research  organisations,  industry  representatives, 
national  authorities,  and  civil  society,  and  highlighted  the  importance  of  coordinated  Union 
action  to  support  the  development  of  a  comprehensive  quantum  ecosystem.  Key  priorities 
identified  include:  long-term  research  investment,  infrastructure  development,  skills  and 
education, industrial deployment, and international collaboration. 

Additional inputs were also received through the following two channels: 

– 

– 

A  debate  with  representatives  of  the  Quantum  Technology  Coordination  (Expert) 
Group7 where all the Member States are participating;  

Intense  interactions  with  expert  working  groups  from  all  the  Member  States  that 
were set up under the coordination of the Quantum Technology Coordination Group. 
The  expert  working  groups  issued  a  report8  presenting  a  set  of  shared  strategic 
priorities and recommendations guiding the development of quantum technologies in 
Europe. 

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 https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-groups/consult?lang=en&groupID=3629 
8  https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/shaping-european-strategy-quantum-technology-main-orientations-and-

recommendations 

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These  inputs  have  helped  inform  the  inclusion  of  quantum  technologies  in  this  amendment, 
ensuring coherence with stakeholder expectations and with the broader strategic direction of 
the Union in digital technologies. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

Additional  funds  from  Horizon  Europe,  Connecting  Europe  Facility,  Digital  Europe  will  be 
channelled  to  the  EuroHPC  JU  to  implement  the  AI  Gigafactories  and  the  Union  quantum 
strategy. 

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

The amendment to the Regulation enlarges its scope in order to  expand the objective of the 
Joint  Undertaking  related  to  development  and  operation  of  AI  Gigafactories  in  Europe  that 
will be federated with the AI Factories.  

The objective addresses the unique considerations and requirements associated with the 
establishment of such ultra-scale AI data and compute infrastructure facilities necessary 
for training and deploying very large AI models and applications in the Union. It should 
be clarified that the amendments introduce the inclusion of AI Gigafactories within the 
scope of the Regulation. 

This  amendment  responds  to  the  major  technological  developments  in  the  field  of  AI  that 
have taken place since the original Regulation came into force in 2021 and since the previous 
amendment in 2024. 

These  developments  are  reflected  in  the  amended  Articles  of  the  Regulation.  Article  2(3d) 
presents the definition of an AI Gigafactory.  

Article  3(2)(h)  presents  its  new  objective  to  support  the  establishment  of  Artificial 
Intelligence Gigafactories, in support of the further development of a highly competitive and 
innovative Artificial Intelligence ecosystem in the Union.  

Article 4(1)(i) defines the Joint Undertaking’s new AI Gigafactory pillar of activity.  

Articles 5 is amended to reflect the increase and use of the Union financial contribution. 

Article 12b is introduced to govern the location of an AI Gigafactory, conditions for eligibility 
of the public-private consortia seeking to host AI Gigafactories, rules pertaining to the share 
and  conditions  of  the  Union  and  EuroHPC  Participating  States’  funds  contributing  to  the 
establishment  of  AI  Gigafactories,  evaluation  criteria  for  the  selection  of  AI  Gigafactories, 
criteria for the public access time etc.  

Article  16(1)  is  amended  to  allow  the  use  of  EuroHPC  supercomputers  for  civilian  and 
security applications. 

The  amendment  will  also  take  into  account  the  implementation  of  the  European 
quantum strategy by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. 

A  new  definition  is  added  (Article  2,  point  19a)  introducing  the  concept  of  a  “national 
quantum  Competence  Centre”,  understood  as  a  legal  entity  or  consortium  established  in  a 
participating  country,  offering  access  to  quantum  technologies,  tools,  services,  and 
infrastructures.  These  centres  aim  to  support  users  from  industry,  academia,  and  public 

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administrations,  and  to  promote  skills  development,  training,  networking,  and  outreach 
activities related to QT. 

Article  3(1)  is  amended  to  present  the  Joint  Undertaking’s  updated  mission  to  support  the 
development  and  uptake  of  demand-oriented  and  user-driven  innovative  and  competitive 
supercomputing systems and quantum. Article 3(2)(fa) presents the Joint Undertaking’s new 
objective to support state-of-the-art scientific and applied research and innovation in quantum 
technologies. 

The  amendment  also  adds  a  new  point  (j)  to  Article  4(1),  establishing  a  Quantum 
Technologies  Pillar  that  addresses  the  entire  European  quantum  ecosystem,  including 
quantum computing, simulation, communication, sensing, and metrology. 

The scope of actions covers: 

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Scientific research and technological innovation in quantum domains; 

Industrialisation and scale-up of quantum technologies, including support to startups 
and disruptive innovation; 

Development  of  a  network  of  national  quantum  competence  centres,  uptake  of 
quantum applications in strategic sectors, and standardisation; 

Skills  development  and  mobility,  fostering  a  strong  and  inclusive  quantum 
workforce; 

International cooperation aligned with Union external policy. 

To help the EuroHPC JU to implement the quantum strategy, article 4 of the annex introduces 
the notion of Quantum Strategy Advisory Group and article 14b of this same annex details the 
tasks expected by the Quantum Strategy Advisory Group. 

2025/0229 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

on amending Council Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 of 13 July 2021 on establishing the 
European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and repealing Regulation 
(EU) 2018/1488 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 187 and 188, first paragraph, thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament9, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee10,  

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OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C […], […], p. […] 

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Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

11 

Regulation  (EU)  2024/1689  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  laying 
down  harmonised  rules  on  artificial  intelligence  (Artificial  Intelligence  Act)  aims  to 
improve  the  functioning  of  the  internal  market  by  laying  down  a  uniform  legal 
framework  in  particular  for  the  development,  marketing  and  use  of  artificial 
intelligence in conformity with Union values.  

Since  2021,  when  the  Council  Regulation  (EU)  2021/1173  was  adopted,  the  field  of 
artificial intelligence (AI) has seen enormous technical progress and become a highly 
strategic  and  contested  domain  globally.  The  European  Union  is  at  the  forefront  of 
efforts 
in  AI,  by  guiding innovation, 
innovation 
setting guardrails, and developing global governance. 

responsible 

support 

to 

Large  AI  general  purpose  models  have  emerged  as  vital  drivers  of  economic 
competitiveness  and  innovation.  They  become  pivotal  in  enhancing  productivity 
across  diverse  sectors  and  transform  entire  value  chains,  thus  dictating  future 
economic  value  capture.  The  next  generation  of  frontier  AI  models  are  expected  to 
unlock a leap in capabilities, towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) capable of 
tackling  highly  complex  and  diverse  tasks,  matching  human  capabilities.  Regions 
capable of developing and implementing these AI models at scale will lead in global 
innovation  and  attract  premier  talent.  At  the  same  time,  sectors  at  the  forefront  of 
science and industry, such as biotechnology, climate, automotive,  defence, space and 
aerospace,  demand  substantial  computing  resources  to  undertake  major  AI-driven 
scientific  discoveries  and  industrial  innovations.  Synergies  between  these  activities 
and those undertaken by other Union programmes, such as the EU Space Programme, 
will be exploited, with appropriate safeguards in place to protect the strategic interests 
of the Union and its Member States. 

The  most  advanced  AI  Factories  in  Europe  will  be  equipped  with  supercomputers 
featuring up to 25,000 advanced AI processors, allowing only to develop middle-range 
AI  models.  Significant  investments  are  therefore  needed  to  scale  up  Europe’s 
computing capacities to the next level.  
On 9 April 2025, the Commission launched the AI Continent Action Plan11 to position 
the Union as a global leader in AI. A core pillar of this strategy is boosting the Europe-
wide  infrastructure  for  training  advanced  AI  models  taking  the  2024  AI  Factories 
concept up to the next level.  

The development  of the  next  generation of frontier AI models is  expected to  require 
large-scale facilities, exceeding at least by three to four times the number of the most 
advanced AI processors available in the most powerful AI Factories, while taking into 
account  power  capacity,  as  well  as  energy,  water  efficiency  and  circularity.  The 
existing mechanisms within Regulation 2021/1173 are not equipped today to support 
the  establishment  and  operation  of  the  AI  Gigafactories.  A  targeted  amendment  is 
therefore  necessary  to  provide  the  European  High  Performance  Computing  Joint 
Undertaking (the ‘Joint Undertaking’) with the necessary legal basis to be able to meet 
the commitments regarding setting up and operation of AI Gigafactories in Europe. 

Strengthening the scientific and technological bases of the Union is increasingly vital 
for its long-term competitiveness and strategic autonomy. Indeed, artificial intelligence 

https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-sets-course-europes-ai-leadership-ambitious-
ai-continent-action-plan  

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(8) 

(9) 

has  the  potential  of  accelerating  scientific  discovery  and  enhancing  research 
capabilities  across  all  domains.  It  is  therefore  essential  that  AI  private  and  public 
users,  in  particular  SMEs  and  scale-ups,  within  the  Union  benefit  from  world-class 
supercomputing infrastructures in order to sustain and advance Europe’s leadership in 
research and innovation.  

technologies 

The European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass, adopted on 29 January 2025, 
identifies  strategic 
technologies  and  high-
performance  computing  as  essential  pillars  to  ensure  Europe’s  technological 
sovereignty,  economic  resilience,  and  global  leadership.  The  Compass  stresses  the 
need  for  coordinated  investments  and  ecosystem  development  across  research, 
infrastructure, industry, and skills  to strengthen the Union’s competitiveness  in  these 
fields. 

including  quantum 

Complementing  this, the European Quantum Strategy,  which will be  adopted in  July 
2025, sets out a comprehensive framework to accelerate quantum research, innovation, 
industrialisation, and deployment of quantum technologies and infrastructures. It aims 
to  build  a  sustainable  and  competitive  quantum  ecosystem,  covering  computing, 
communication, sensing, and metrology, with a strong focus on skills development as 
well as on international cooperation. 

(10) 

In view of the policy importance of this initiative, the amounts initially allocated from 
Horizon  Europe,  Digital  Europe  Programme  and  the  Connecting  Europe  Facility 
should  be  increased  to  allow  the  Union  to  reach  its  objective,  subject  to  budgetary 
availability.  

(11)  Given  the  rapid  technological  developments  in  the  field  and  the  adapting  Union  AI 
policy,  possible  significant  additional  Union  financing  for  AI  gigafactories  could  be 
required  in  the  coming  years.  Considering  this  specific  policy  context,  it  should  be 
possible to entrust to the Joint Undertaking additional Union funding going beyond the 
amounts  set  out  in  Article  5(1).  Such  additional  contribution  should  be  at  least 
matched by the members of the Joint Undertaking other than the Union. 

(12) 

In order to accelerate the development of AI Gigafactories across the Union, Member 
States  may  decide  to  use  their  remaining  allocations  under  the  Recovery  and 
Resilience Facility (RRF) to finance their national contributions to an AI Gigafactory. 
To this end, Member States should be permitted to provide contributions to the Joint 
Undertaking for the purpose of supporting AI Gigafactory projects. 

(13)  Additional Union contributions to AI gigafactories from other programmes, not listed 
in  Article  5(1),  should  also  be  possible,  through  the  signature  of  specific  ad  hoc 
contribution  agreements,  subject  to  commensurate  contribution  by  one  or  more 
members  of  the  Joint  Undertaking  other  than  the  Union.  A  clear  description  of  the 
intended  use  of  entrusted  funds,  as  well  as  a  timeline  for  implementation  shall  be 
included in the corresponding contribution agreements in accordance with the relevant 
Commission work programme. 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Regulation (EU) No 2021/1173 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

Article 2 is amended as follows: 

Article 1 

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(2) 

the following point (3c) is added: 

(3c)   ‘Artificial Intelligence Giga Factory’ or ‘AI Gigafactory’ means  a state-of-the-
art  large-scale  facility  with  sufficient  capacity  to  handle  the  complete  lifecycle  – 
development,  training,  fine-tuning,  and  large-scale  inference  –  of  very  large,  AI 
models and applications, providing a supercomputing service infrastructure, which is 
composed  of  AI-optimised  computing  capacity,  a  supporting  data  centre 
infrastructure  (including  high-capacity  storage  and  networking),  dedicated  secure 
cloud user access environments, and specialised secure AI-oriented support services 
for  its  advanced  operations  and  is  supported  by  an  environmentally  sustainable 
energy supply system. 

(3) 

the following point (3d) is added: 

(3d)  ‘Artificial  Intelligence  Giga  Factory  Consortium’  or  ‘AI  Gigafactory 
Consortium’  means  an  association  of  legal  entities  duly  incorporated  in  the  Union 
coming together in a consortium for the purpose of establishing and operating an AI 
Gigafactory and specifying the respective roles and responsibilities of these entities 
for  the  lifetime  of  the  AI  Gigafactory,  or  a  new  legal  entity  established  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  and  operating  an  AI  Gigafactory,  that  has  a  legal  form 
recognised  in  any  Member  State.  The  AI  Gigafactory  Consortium  shall  be 
established for a minimum duration of five years. One or more of the private partners 
of  such  consortium  may  be  participating  in  the  Private  Members  of  the  Joint 
Undertaking. 

(4) 

the following point (3e) is added: 

(3e)  ‘AI  Gigafactory  Coordinator’  means  a  legal  entity,  duly  incorporated  in  the 
Union and validly existing under the laws of a Member State of establishment, which 
is  legally  authorized  to  represent  the  AI  Gigafactory  Consortium  and  has  the  legal 
capacity and authority to enter into, execute, and perform the AI Gigafactory Hosting 
Agreement; the AI Gigafactory coordinator shall be headquartered in the Union and 
shall be under control, directly or indirectly, through ownership interest or via other 
means,  as defined in the Chapter IV of Regulation (EU) No 2024/1624 and relevant 
Union  competition  law  principles,  of  legal  entities  or  natural  persons  established 
within the Union. The coordinator may also be an existing hosting entity representing 
a Participating State that is a Member State or a hosting consortium of Participating 
States. 

(5) 

the following point (3f) is added: 

(3f)  ‘AI  Gigafactory  Hosting  Agreement’  means  an  administrative  agreement 
between  the  Joint  Undertaking  and  the  AI  Gigafactory  Coordinator  to  host  and 
operate an AI Gigafactory. 

(6) 

the following point (3g) is added: 

(3g) ‘AI Gigafactory hosting entity’ means a legal entity which has been designated 
by  the  AI  Gigafactory  consortium  to  host  and  operate  an  AI  Gigafactory  and  its 
services, and which is established in a Participating State that is a Member State. 

(7) 

the following point (3h) is added: 

(3h)  ‘Artificial  Intelligence  Gigafactory  Cooperation  Agreement’  is  an  agreement 
between the Joint Undertaking and a third country specifying access conditions to AI 
Gigafactories  for  the  legal  entities  under  control,  directly  or  indirectly,  through 

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ownership interest or via other means, of legal entities or natural persons established 
in that third country.  

(8) 

the following point (19a) is added: 

(19a) ‘national quantum Competence Centre' means a legal entity, or a consortium of 
legal  entities,  established  in  a  Participating  State,  providing  users  from  industry, 
including  SMEs,  academia,  and  public  administrations  with  access  on  demand  to 
quantum  technologies,  tools,  applications  and  services,  as  well  as  to  national  or 
European quantum infrastructures, and offering expertise, skills, training, networking 
and outreach. 

(9) 

Article 3 is amended as follows: 

(10) 

paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

The  mission  of  the  Joint  Undertaking  shall  be  to  develop,  deploy,  extend  and 
maintain  in  the  Union  a  world-leading  federated,  secure  and  hyper-connected 
supercomputing,  quantum  computing,  service  and  data  infrastructure  ecosystem.  It 
shall  also  support  the  development  and  uptake  of  demand-oriented  and  user-driven 
innovative and  competitive supercomputing  systems  and quantum technologies and 
systems  based  on  a  supply  chain  that  will  ensure  components,  technologies  and 
knowledge limiting the risk  of disruptions and the development  of  a  wide range of 
applications  optimised  for 
that 
these  systems;  and, 
supercomputing  infrastructure  to  a  large  number  of  public  and  private  users  and 
support  the  twin  transition  and  the  development  of  key  skills  for  European  science 
and industry. 

the  use  of 

to  widen 

(11) 

The following point (fa) is added to paragraph 2: 

(fa)  to  support  state-of-the-art  scientific  and  applied  research  and  innovation  in 
quantum technologies, their transition from the lab-to-the fab, and their deployment, 
uptake  and  integration  in  world-class  quantum  infrastructures,  for  building  a 
dynamic,  innovative  and  resilient  quantum  ecosystem  across  the  EU,  and  for 
ensuring scientific and industrial leadership, competitiveness, strategic autonomy and 
technological  sovereignty of the Union in  quantum  computing,  communication and 
sensing.  

(12) 

Point (h) in paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

(h)  to  develop  and  operate  the  Artificial  Intelligence  Factories,  and  to  support  the 
establishment of and access to Artificial Intelligence Gigafactories and their services, 
in  support  of  the  further  development  of  a  highly  competitive  and  innovative 
Artificial Intelligence ecosystem in the Union. 

(13) 

Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: 

The  Joint  Undertaking  shall  contribute  to  safeguarding  the  interests  of  the  Union 
when  procuring  supercomputers  and  supporting  the  development  and  uptake  of 
High-Performance Computing and quantum technologies, systems and applications. 
It  shall  enable  a  co-design  approach  for 
the  acquisition  of  world-class 
supercomputers,  while  safeguarding  the  security  of  the  supply  chain  of  procured 
technologies  and  systems.  It  shall  contribute  to  the  Union's  strategic  autonomy, 
support  the  development  of  technologies  and  applications  reinforcing  the  European 
High-Performance  Computing  and  Quantum  Technologies  supply  chains  and 
promote  their  integration  in  systems  that  address  a  large  number  of  scientific, 
societal, environmental, industrial as well as security use needs.  

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(14) 

(15) 

Article 4 is amended as follows: 

the following point (i) is added to paragraph 1: 

(i)  AI  Gigafactory  pillar,  covering  activities  of  AI  Gigafactories,  which  in  their 
operation  may  be  connected  with  the  EuroHPC  network  of  Artificial  Intelligence 
Factories  for  ensuring  seamless  integration  and  knowledge  sharing  across  the 
European  Artificial  Intelligence  ecosystem;  this  pillar  shall  include  the  following 
activities: 

(i) 

(ii) 

providing  a  world-class  Artificial  Intelligence  compute  infrastructure  for 
European researchers, entrepreneurs, and industries,  

enabling  the  development  of  new  Artificial  Intelligence  solutions  across  all 
public and private sectors and  

(iii)  ensuring  the  Union’s  competitiveness  and  sovereignty  as  an  Artificial 

Intelligence continent.  

(16) 

the following point (j) is added to paragraph 1: 

(j)  Quantum  technologies  pillar,  addressing  the  full  quantum  ecosystem  and  the 
application  domains  of  quantum 
simulation,  quantum 
communication,  and  quantum  sensing  and  metrology,  ensuring  the  security  and 
resilience of the quantum supply chain and its enabling technologies. Activities shall 
inter alia address: 

computing 

and 

(a)  Scientific  and  Technological  Research  and  Innovation:  Advancing 
research excellence in quantum science and technology domains. 

(b)  Transition  from  the  lab  to  the  fab  and  ecosystem  development: 
Supporting  the  development  and  deployment  of  state-of-the-art  quantum 
infrastructures;  fostering  the  industrialisation  of  quantum  technologies  by 
supporting the uptake of quantum applications in key public and industrial 
sectors,  ensuring  the  translation  of  advances  across  all  quantum  domains 
into  real-world  applications,  including  the  development  of  lead  markets; 
promoting  European  and  international  standards;  and,  supporting  the 
development  and  networking  of  national  quantum  competence  centres 
across Europe. 

(c)  Skills  and  Talent:  Developing  a  competitive  and  inclusive  quantum 
research and engineering workforce through coordinated education, training 
and  mobility  initiatives,  across  key  quantum-related  disciplines  and 
technical fields. 

(d)  International  cooperation:  Developing  international  collaboration  in 
quantum  technologies  to  solve  global  scientific  and  societal  challenges,  in 
line  with  the  external  policy  objectives  and  international  commitments  of 
the Union. 

(17) 

(18) 

Article 5 is amended as follows: 

Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

The  Union  financial  contribution  to  the  Joint  Undertaking  including  EEA 
appropriations  shall  be  up  to  EUR  3  972  300  000  including  EUR  92 000 000  for 
administrative  costs,  on  the  condition  that  that  amount  is  at  least  matched  by  the 
contribution of Participating States, distributed indicatively as follows: 

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(a) 

  up to EUR 1 660 000 000 from Horizon Europe 

(b) 

  up to EUR 2 012 300 000 from the Digital Europe Programme 

(c) 

  up to EUR 300 000 000 from the Connecting Europe Facility. 

(19) 

A new subparagraph is added in Paragraph 1:  

Additional  funds  from  Horizon  Europe,  the  Digital  Europe  Programme  and  the 
Connecting  Europe  Facility  may  complement  the  Union  contribution  referred  to  in 
the  first  sub-paragraph,  on  the  condition  that  the  additional  amounts  are  at  least 
matched by the contribution of one or more members of the Joint Undertaking other 
than the Union. Such additional Union contribution shall be dedicated exclusively to 
the pillar referred to in Article 4(1)(i). These additional funds shall not be accounted 
for in the calculation of the Union maximum financial contribution.  

(20) 

Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: 

Additional funds from any Union programme other than and complementing the ones 
referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may be allocated to the Joint Undertaking to 
support  its  pillars  of  activities  referred  to  in  Article  4,  except  those  referred  to  in 
Article 4(1)(a). These additional funds shall not be accounted for in the calculation of 
the Union maximum financial contribution.  

(21) 

A new paragraph 4a is added: 

For  the  contributions  entrusted  to  the  Joint  Undertaking  in  accordance  with 
paragraph 3 and 4 of this Article, the requirements of Article 158 of Regulation (EU, 
Euratom) 2024/2509  are applicable. When these  additional Union contributions are 
related to the pillar referred to in Article 4(1)(i), one or more of the members other 
than the Union shall make additional contributions  commensurate to  the amount of 
the Union contributions.  

(22) 

(23) 

(24) 

(25) 

1. 

2. 

Paragraph 6 is deleted. 

Paragraph 7 is deleted. 

Paragraph 8 is deleted. 

The following Article 12b is added: 

‘Article 12b’ 

Artificial Intelligence Giga Factory 

An  AI  Gigafactory  shall  be  located  in  a  Member  State.  It  shall  be  financially 
supported by a partnership between the Union and one or more Participating States, 
represented  through  the  Joint  Undertaking,  and  an  AI  Gigafactory  Consortium, 
which  may  include  one  or  more  technology  infrastructure  suppliers,  legally 
represented by an AI Gigafactory Coordinator.  

Participation  in  an  AI  Gigafactory  Consortium  of  legal  entities  from  non-
Participating  States  may  be  subject  to  restrictions  or  exclusion  where  such 
participation  is  considered  contrary  to  the  Union's  strategic  assets,  interests, 
autonomy  or  security.  In  accordance  with  Regulation  (EU)  2021/695,    Regulation 
(EU) 2021/694 and Regulation (EU) 2021/1153, the call for expression of interest for 
selecting  an  AI  Gigafactory  Consortium  may  limit  participation  in  the  said 
Consortium  to  legal  entities  established  only  in  Participating  States  or  to  legal 
entities  established  in  specified  associated  countries  of  the  Horizon  Europe 
Framework Programme, the Digital Europe Programme and any subsequent relevant 

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3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

Union funding programme, or other third countries in addition to Participating States. 
The  restrictions  and  exclusions  referred  to  in  this  paragraph  shall  in  principle  not 
apply  to  legal  entities  established  in  third  countries,  which  have  signed  an  AI 
Gigafactory Cooperation Agreement or a similar agreement with the Union. The call 
for  expression  of  interest  for  selecting  an  AI  Gigafactory  may  specify  that  legal 
entities  in  other  third  countries  may  be  eligible  provided  they  comply  with  the 
requirements to be fulfilled by those legal entities to guarantee the protection of the 
security interests of the Union and the Member States and to ensure the protection of 
classified  documents  information.  Those  requirements  shall  be  set  out  in  the  work 
programme.  

The  AI  Gigafactory  Consortium  shall  benefit  from  explicit  provision  of  an 
appropriate  supporting  document  proving  the  commitment  of  the  Member  State 
where  the  AI  Gigafactory  hosting  entity  is  established,  or  of  the  competent 
authorities of the Participating States of the AI Gigafactory Consortium.    

The Union financial contribution referred to in Article 5 shall cover up to 17% to the 
capital  expenditure  (CAPEX)  investments  of  the  overall  compute  infrastructure  of 
the AI Gigafactory, or to a pre-agreed guaranteed purchase of access time to the AI 
Gigafactory equivalent to a leased capacity of the CAPEX. One or more Participating 
States  should  at  least  match  the  Union  contribution.  The  remaining  investment  as 
well as the operational  expenditure (OPEX) of the AI Gigafactory shall be covered 
by the AI Gigafactory Consortium.  

A  selected  AI  Factory  may  substantially  scale  up  to  become  an  AI  Gigafactory.  In 
such case, the Union’s financial support already provided for this AI Factory shall be 
counted  as  part  of  the  Union’s  contribution  towards  the  CAPEX  of  the  AI 
Gigafactory  computing  infrastructure.  The  Artificial  Intelligence  Factory  hosting 
agreement referred to in Article 10 shall be modified accordingly, where appropriate. 
The  additional  investment  into  the  Artificial  Intelligence  Factory  concerned  to 
become an AI Gigafactory as well as the operational expenditure (OPEX) of the AI 
Gigafactory shall be covered by the AI Gigafactory Consortium. 

Participating States that are Member States may, by mutual agreement with the Joint 
Undertaking,  channel  their  respective  voluntary  contributions,  including  those 
referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article and any other in addition to them, in total or 
in part, for a specific AI Gigafactory through the Joint Undertaking, which shall then 
manage and disburse these funds to the designated AI Gigafactory on their behalf. 

The  Joint  Undertaking  shall  own  the  part  of  the  AI  Gigafactory  compute 
infrastructure corresponding to the Union contribution specified in paragraphs 4 and 
5.  The duration of this ownership or of the leased capacity referred to in paragraph 4 
shall  be  at  least  five  years  from  the  start  of  operations  of  the  AI  Gigafactory  and 
further  specified  in  the  AI  Gigafactory  Hosting  Agreement.  This  duration  shall  be 
extended  in  case  of  a  substantial  upgrade  of  the  AI  Gigafactory  compute 
infrastructure.  Without  prejudice  to  the  winding  up  of  the  Joint  Undertaking,  as 
referred  to  in  Article  23(4)  of  the  Statutes,  this  ownership  shall  be  transferred  in 
accordance with the AI Gigafactory Hosting Agreement or be extended for an agreed 
period  under  conditions  specified  in  the  AI  Gigafactory  Hosting  Agreement.  In  the 
case of transfer of ownership to the AI Gigafactory consortium, the residual value of 
the AI Gigafactory compute infrastructure shall be converted into equivalent access 
rights  for  the  Union.  If  there  is  no  transfer  of  ownership  to  the  AI  Gigafactory 
for 
consortium  according 

the  Hosting  Agreement,  but  a  decision 

to 

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decommissioning,  the  relevant  costs  shall  be  borne  by  the  AI  Gigafactory 
Consortium. 

8. 

The access rights of the Union and the Participating States in AI Gigafactory shall be 
directly proportional to their respective financial contributions to the CAPEX of the 
computing  infrastructure  of  the  AI  Gigafactory,  or  to  the  pre-agreed  guaranteed 
purchase of access time to the AI Gigafactory.  

9. 

The Governing Board of the Joint Undertaking shall determine: 

(a) 

(b) 

the conditions of the Union's access time to the AI Gigafactories,  

specific  rules  for  access  conditions  to  AI  Gigafactories  that  concern  the 
allocation of access time for projects and activities considered as strategic for 
the Union.  

10. 

When determining the conditions of the Union’s access time pursuant to paragraph 9, 
the Governing Board shall ensure that access shall: 

11. 

12. 

(a) 

be granted to users residing, established or located in a Member State or in a 
third country associated to the Digital Europe Programme, to Horizon Europe 
or to the Connecting Europe Facility; 

(b)  be  free  of  charge  for  the  users  from  entities  governed  by  public  law.  It  shall 
also  be  free  of  charge  for  industrial  users  for  applications  related  to  research 
and  innovation  activities  funded  by  Horizon  Europe,  the  Digital  Europe 
Programme, or the Connecting Europe Facility as well as those awarded a Seal 
of Excellence under Horizon Europe or the Digital Europe Programme and for 
private innovation activities of SMEs and scale-ups; 

(c) 

include  reserved  compute  resources  specifically  for  EU-funded  research 
projects, ensuring guaranteed availability and scheduling priority. 

The  Governing  Board  shall  monitor  the  share  of  the  Union’s  access  time  for  the 
different types of users, defined in point (a) of paragraph 10. In case where there is a 
significant  imbalance  in  shares  of  access  time  between  the  different  types  of  users 
versus demand, it shall take appropriate corrective action to address this imbalance. 

Contributions  from  the  Union  or  the  Participating  States  shall  be  subject  to 
conditions  ensuring  the  protection  of  the  Union's  strategic  interests.  The  specific 
conditions  referred  to  in  this  paragraph  shall  be  laid  down  in  a  dedicated  AI 
Gigafactory  Hosting  Agreement  between  the  Joint  Undertaking  and  the  AI 
Gigafactory consortium. The AI Gigafactory Hosting Agreement  shall be governed 
by  Union  law,  supplemented,  for  any  matter  not  covered  by  this  Regulation  or  by 
other Union legal  acts,  by the law of the Member State where the hosting entity is 
established. The AI Gigafactory Hosting Agreement shall: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

set out in detail the ownership and governance structure of the AI Gigafactory; 

include  provisions  ensuring  an  effective  scrutiny  and  control  of  the  AI 
Gigafactory  by  the  Union  for  safeguarding  the  Union’s  strategic  assets, 
interests, autonomy or security; 

specify the financial contributions of the Union, of the Participating States and 
the public and/or private partners of the AI Gigafactory Consortium including 
the guaranteed access time to the AI Gigafactory referred to in paragraph 8, as 
appropriate, and its duration; 

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(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

(i) 

(j) 

specify,  if  appropriate,  any  other  Union’s  interests  resulting  from  any  Union 
investments  regulated  by  specific  investment  agreements  between  the  AI 
Gigafactory consortium and InvestEU; 

set out the eligibility conditions for the non-Union users of an AI Gigafactory; 
these  shall  comply  with  the  same  conditions  as  the  eligibility  conditions 
specified in paragraph 2;  

set  out  the  detailed  conditions  for  access  for  the  Union  users  and  the 
accounting modalities of the access times to the AI Gigafactory services; 

the quality of service offered to the Joint Undertaking users when operating the 
AI  Gigafactory,  as  set  out  in  the  service  level  agreement  included  in  the  AI 
Gigafactory Hosting Agreement; 

set  out  the modalities of acquisition, operation and use of the AI Gigafactory 
data  and  compute  infrastructure,  including  the  user  requirements  from  the 
public  sector,  where  appropriate;  where  the  AI  Gigafactory  Consortium 
includes  one  or  more  technology  infrastructure  suppliers,  the  AI  Gigafactory 
Hosting Agreement shall include the provision of enhanced conflict-of-interest 
safeguards concerning these suppliers;    

the conditions for the transfer of ownership referred to  in  paragraph  7, where 
appropriate; 

detail  the  extension  of  ownership  or  of  the  pre-agreed  guaranteed  purchased 
access  time,  as  appropriate,  and  the  phasing  out  conditions  for  the  AI 
Gigafactory, where appropriate; 

(k) 

the liability conditions for operating the AI Gigafactory, where appropriate; 

(l) 

the obligation of the AI Gigafactory hosting entity to submit by 31 January of 
each  year  to  the  Governing  Board  an  audit  report  and  data  on  the  use  of  the 
Union access time in the previous financial year; 

(m)  contain  an  arbitration  clause,  within  the  meaning  of  Article  272  TFEU, 
granting jurisdiction over all matters  covered by the hosting  agreement to the 
Court of Justice of the European Union. 

The  AI  Gigafactory  shall  include  a  public  governance  body  composed  of 
representatives  from  the  Commission  and  the  Participating  States  providing  public 
funding  to  the  specific  AI  Gigafactory.  Without  prejudice  to  the  AI  Gigafactory 
consortium’s management  and operational  autonomy,  and to  ensure alignment with 
the  public  interest  objectives  underpinning  the  public  funding,  the  following 
elements shall require explicit prior approval from the designated public governance 
body: 

(a)  Any  proposed  access  agreements  with  entities  from  third  countries  that  may 
raise  concerns  regarding  the  Union’s  strategic  assets,  interests,  autonomy  or 
security; 

(b)  Substantial changes to the legal and financial structure or control impacting the 
Union’s  interests  or  those  of  the  Participating  States,  such  as  a  change  in  the 
ultimate ownership or control of the AI Gigafactory, any relocation of critical 
assets outside the Union or major financial restructuring decisions; 

(c)  Significant change in the strategic purpose of the AI Gigafactories. 

13. 

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14. 

Following a call for  expression of interest,  the AI Gigafactory Consortium shall be 
selected  by  the  Governing  Board  of  the  Joint  Undertaking  through  a  fair  and 
transparent  process,  with  the  support  of  a  panel  of  independent  experts  and  of  an 
accredited financial institution appointed by the Governing Board for the evaluation, 
based, inter alia, on the following criteria: 

(a)  Technical evaluation: 

(1)  Objectives and technical quality of the proposal 

(2)  Quality of the workplan 

(3)  Quality of the physical, IT and networking infrastructure 

(4)  Sustainability and energy efficiency 

(5)  Consortium  experience  and  know-how  in  setting  up  similar  large-scale 

facilities. 

(b)  Potential Impact: 

(1)  Quality of service, including security and trustworthiness 

(2) 

Impact on the European AI ecosystem 

(3)  EU added value. 

(c)  Financial Feasibility: 

(1) 

Investment  commitments  of  the  Participating  States  and  of  the  AI 
Gigafactory Consortium 

(2)  Quality and financial viability of the proposed business model (including 
a  due  diligence  to  be  carried  out  by  the  appointed  accredited  financial 
institution). 

Where  the  Consortium  does  not  include  one  or  more  technology  infrastructure 
suppliers, the suppliers of the AI Gigafactory shall be selected by the AI Gigafactory 
Consortium  based  on  fair  and  transparent  tender  specifications  that  shall  take  into 
account  general  system  specifications,  and  in  particular  the  user  requirements  from 
the  public  sector,  provided  by  the  Union  in  the  call  for  expression  of  interest  and 
further  specified  in  the  AI  Gigafactory  Hosting  Agreement.  The  selection  shall  be 
based on fair, open and transparent criteria, and shall also ensure EU added value and 
address the security and resilience of the supply chain. The selected tenderers shall 
comply with the eligibility conditions specified in paragraph 2.  

The  Joint  Undertaking  may  establish  framework  contracts  for  the  provision  of 
essential  and  high-demand  components,  such  as  advanced  AI  processors.  The  AI 
Gigafactory Consortia may use the framework contracts referred to in this paragraph 
for their procurement. 

Article 16 is amended as follows: 

Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

Without  prejudice  to  Article  17(9),  the  use  of  EuroHPC  supercomputers  shall  be 
open  to  users  from  the  public  and  private  sectors  applications.  Except  for  the 
industrial-grade  EuroHPC  supercomputers,  their  use  shall  be  primarily  for  research 
and innovation purposes falling under public funding programmes, for public sector 
applications and for private innovation activities of SMEs, where appropriate. 

15. 

16. 

(26) 

(27) 

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Annex 

The Annex is amended as follows: 

(28) 

(29) 

Article 3 of the Annex is amended as follows:  

Paragraph 2 is amended:  

(30) 

(31) 

(32) 

(33) 

(34) 

(35) 

Any application of a Member State or a third country associated to Horizon Europe 
or the Digital Europe Programme for membership of the Joint Undertaking shall be 
addressed  to  the  Governing  Board.  The  candidate  countries  shall  provide  a  written 
acceptance of these Statutes, and of any other provisions governing the functioning 
of  the  Joint  Undertaking.  The  candidates  shall  also  provide  their  motivation  for 
requesting  membership  to  the  Joint  Undertaking  and  indicate  how  their  national 
the  Joint 
technology  strategy 
supercomputing  or  quantum 
Undertaking's  objectives.  The  Governing  Board  shall  assess  the  application,  taking 
into account the relevance and the potential added value of the candidate as regards 
the  achievement  of  the  mission  and  objectives  of  the  Joint  Undertaking  and  may 
decide  to  ask  for  clarifications  regarding  the  candidature  before  endorsing  the 
application. 

is  aligned  with 

Article 4 of the Annex is amended as follows:  

the following point (d) is added in paragraph 1:  

(d) 

the Quantum Strategy Advisory Group. 

Article 5 of the Annex is amended as follows:  

the following paragraph 3 is added:  

(3)  For  the  quantum  pillar  of  activities,  the  Participating  States  shall  appoint  a 

representative from their competent authorities in the field of quantum technologies. 

Article 6 of the Annex is amended as follows:  

the following paragraph 5a is added:  

(5a) 

 For  the  tasks  referred  to  in  Article  7(4a)  of  these  Statutes,  and  for  each  AI 

Gigafactory,  the  voting  rights  of  the  Participating  States  shall  be  distributed  in 

proportion 

to 

their  committed  financial  contributions  and 

to 

their 

in-kind 

contributions  to  that  AI  Gigafactory  until  the  end  of  the  AI  Gigafactory  hosting 

agreement;  the  in-kind  contributions  shall  only  be  taken  into  account  if  they  have 

been certified ex-ante by an independent expert or auditor. 

For the purpose of this paragraph, decisions of the Governing Board shall be taken 

by a majority of at least 75 % of all votes, including the votes of the members who 

are absent. 

(36) 

the following paragraph 6 is amended:  

(6)  For  the  tasks  referred  to  in  Article  7(5),  7(5a),  7(6)  and  7(7)  of  these  Statutes, 

decisions of the Governing Board shall be taken in two stages.  

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(37) 

(38) 

Article 7 of the Annex is amended as follows:  

the following paragraph 4a is added:  

(4a)  The  Governing  Board  shall  carry  out  the  following  tasks  related  to  the  AI 

Gigafactories referred to in Article 12b of this Regulation: 

(a) 

discuss and adopt the part of the multiannual strategic programme that is 

related  to  the  establishment  of  AI  Gigafactories  referred  to  in  Article 

18(1) of these Statutes;  

(b)  discuss and adopt the part of the annual work programme that is related 

to  the  establishment  of  AI  Gigafactories  and  the  selection  of  AI 

Gigafactory Consortia and the corresponding expenditure estimates;  

(c) 

approve the launch of calls for expression of interest, in accordance with 

the annual work programme; 

(d) 

approve  the  selection  of  the  AI  Gigafactory  Consortia  which  will 

establish and operate the AI Gigafactories; 

(e) 

determine  the  conditions  of  the  Union's  access  time  to  the  AI 

Gigafactories  

(f)   approve  any  tenders  related  to  the  establishment  of  an  AI  Gigafactory 

selected for funding; 

(g) 

approve  framework  contracts  established  by 

the  EuroHPC  Joint 

Undertaking for the provision of essential and high-demand components 

of AI Gigafactories. 

(39) 

the following paragraph 5a is added:  

(5a)  For  the  Quantum  Pillar  of  activities,  the  provisions  of  Article  7(5)  of  these 
Statutes  apply,  with  the  exception  of  activities  related  to  the  acquisition  and 
operation  of  quantum  computers  where  the  provisions  of  Article  7(4)  of  these 
Statutes apply.  

(40) 

(41) 

Article 10 of the Annex is amended as follows:  

paragraph 1 is amended as follows:  

The Industrial  and Scientific Advisory Board shall be composed of a Research  and 
Innovation  Advisory  Group,  an  Infrastructure  Advisory  Group  and  a  Quantum 
Strategy Advisory Group. 

(42) 

the following paragraph 7 is added:  

(7)    The  Quantum  Strategy  Advisory  Group  shall  consist  of  no  more  than  twelve 
members, of which up to six shall be appointed by the Private Members taking into 

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account their commitments to the Joint Undertaking and up to six shall be appointed 
by the Governing Board, in accordance with Article 7(3)(k) of these Statutes. 

(43) 

The following Article 12a is added:  

Article 12a 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Functioning of the Quantum Strategy Advisory Group 

The Quantum Strategy Advisory Group shall meet at least twice a year. 

The  Quantum  Strategy  Advisory  Group  may  appoint  working  groups  where 
necessary under the overall coordination of one or more members. 

The Quantum Strategy Advisory Group shall elect its chair. 

The Quantum Strategy Advisory Group shall adopt its rules of procedure, including 
the nomination of the constituent entities that shall represent the Advisory Group and 
the duration of their nomination.  

(44) 

The following Article 14a is added:  

Article 14a 

Tasks of the Quantum Strategy Advisory Group 

1. 

The Quantum Strategy Advisory Group shall:  

(a) 

draw  up  its  contribution  to  the  draft  multiannual  strategic  programme  in 
relation  to  quantum  technologies  activities  referred  to  in  Article  20  of  these 
Statutes and review it regularly in accordance with the evolution of scientific, 
industrial, and policy demand;  

(b)  organise public consultations open to all public and private stakeholders having 
an  interest  in  the  field  of  quantum  technologies  to  inform  them  about,  and 
collect feedback on, the draft multiannual strategic programme and the related 
draft activities of the quantum technologies work programme for a given year. 

(c)  The  contribution  to  the  draft  multiannual  strategic  programme  referred  to  in 

paragraph 1 shall address:  

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

the strategic research, innovation, deployment, and infrastructure priorities for 
the development and uptake of quantum technologies and their integration into 
the European digital ecosystem, to support the Union's resilience, technological 
sovereignty,  and  strategic  autonomy  while  taking  into  account  the  dual-use 
potential of such technologies; 

potential international cooperation activities in quantum technologies that add 
value  and  are  of  mutual  interest  while  ensuring  alignment  with  Union  values 
and security interests 

training,  education,  and  workforce  development  priorities  for  addressing  key 
competences and the skills gap in quantum technologies, including awareness 
of security-sensitive applications 

the  acquisition,  deployment,  and  operation  of  quantum  infrastructures, 
including 
interconnection  and  federation  with  High  Performance 
Computing  infrastructures  and  other  digital  infrastructures  such  as  quantum 
communications and quantum sensing;  

the 

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(h)  measures  for  capability  building,  interoperability,  standardisation,  security  in 
the field of quantum technologies with specific consideration of dual-use risks 
and  protection  of  the  strategic  assets,  interests,  autonomy  or  security  of  the 
Union. 

(45) 

Article 16 of the Annex is amended as follows:  

Budgetary  commitments  of  the  Joint  undertaking  may  be  divided  into  annual 
instalments.  From  January  2025,  at  least  20  %  of  the  cumulative  budget  of  the 
residual years shall not be covered by annual instalments. 

Article 40 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 

the Official Journal of the European Union. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament  

For the Council 

The President 

The President 

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EN 

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LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL AND DIGITAL STATEMENT 

1. 

1.1. 

1.2. 

1.3. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE ................................................. 3 

Title of the proposal/initiative ...................................................................................... 3 

Policy area(s) concerned .............................................................................................. 3 

Objective(s) .................................................................................................................. 3 

1.3.1.  General objective(s) ..................................................................................................... 3 

1.3.2.  Specific objective(s) ..................................................................................................... 3 

1.3.3.  Expected result(s) and impact ...................................................................................... 3 

1.3.4. 

Indicators of performance ............................................................................................ 3 

1.4. 

1.5. 

The proposal/initiative relates to: ................................................................................. 4 

Grounds for the proposal/initiative .............................................................................. 4 

1.5.1.  Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for 

roll-out of the implementation of the initiative ............................................................ 4 

1.5.2.  Added value of EU involvement (it may result from different factors, e.g. 

coordination gains, legal certainty, greater effectiveness or complementarities). For 
the purposes of this section 'added value of EU involvement' is the value resulting 
from EU action, that is additional to the value that would have been otherwise 
created by Member States alone. ................................................................................. 4 

1.5.3.  Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past .................................................. 4 

1.5.4.  Compatibility with the multiannual financial framework and possible synergies with 
other appropriate instruments ....................................................................................... 5 

1.5.5.  Assessment of the different available financing options, including scope for 

redeployment ................................................................................................................ 5 

1.6. 

1.7. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

2.2.1. 

2.2.2. 

Duration of the proposal/initiative and of its financial impact .................................... 6 

Method(s) of budget implementation planned ............................................................. 6 

MANAGEMENT MEASURES................................................................................... 8 

Monitoring and reporting rules .................................................................................... 8 

Management and control system(s) ............................................................................. 8 

Justification of the budget implementation method(s), the funding implementation 
mechanism(s), the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed .................. 8 

Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up 
to mitigate them............................................................................................................ 8 

2.2.3.  Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio between 

the control costs  and the value of the related funds managed), and assessment of the 
expected levels of risk of error (at payment & at closure) ........................................... 8 

2.3. 

3. 

3.1. 

Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities ................................................................ 9 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE ............ 10 

Heading(s) of the multiannual financial framework and expenditure budget line(s) 
affected ....................................................................................................................... 10 

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3.2. 

Estimated financial impact of the proposal on appropriations ................................... 12 

3.2.1.  Summary of estimated impact on operational appropriations.................................... 12 

3.2.1.1.  Appropriations from voted budget ............................................................................. 12 

3.2.1.2.  Appropriations from external assigned revenues ....................................................... 17 

3.2.2.  Estimated output funded from operational appropriations......................................... 22 

3.2.3.  Summary of estimated impact on administrative appropriations ............................... 24 

3.2.3.1. Appropriations from voted budget .............................................................................. 24 

3.2.3.2.  Appropriations from external assigned revenues ....................................................... 24 

3.2.3.3.  Total appropriations ................................................................................................... 24 

3.2.4.  Estimated requirements of human resources.............................................................. 25 

3.2.4.1.  Financed from voted budget....................................................................................... 25 

3.2.4.2.  Financed from external assigned revenues ................................................................ 26 

3.2.4.3.  Total requirements of human resources ..................................................................... 26 

3.2.5.  Overview of estimated impact on digital technology-related investments ................ 28 

3.2.6.  Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework.............................. 28 

3.2.7.  Third-party contributions ........................................................................................... 28 

3.3. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

4.3. 

4.4. 

4.5. 

Estimated impact on revenue ..................................................................................... 29 

DIGITAL DIMENSIONS .......................................................................................... 29 

Requirements of digital relevance .............................................................................. 30 

Data ............................................................................................................................ 30 

Digital solutions ......................................................................................................... 31 

Interoperability assessment ........................................................................................ 31 

Measures to support digital implementation .............................................................. 32 

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1. 

FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

1.1. 

Title of the proposal/initiative 

Amendment  of  the  Council  Regulation  on  establishing  the  European  High 
Performance Computing Joint Undertaking 

1.2. 

Policy area(s) concerned  

Research and Innovation & European Strategic Investments 

A Europe fit for the Digital Age 

(Advanced  Computing  -  Horizon  Europe  Cluster  4,  Digital,  Industry  and  Space 
High  Performance  Computing  –  DEP  Strategic  Objective  1  –  Connecting  Europe 
Facility - Digital) 

1.3. 

Objective(s) 

1.3.1.  General objective(s) 

To boost the available supercomputing capacity in support of the objectives of the AI 
Continent  Action  Plan  by  enabling  the  establishment  and  deployment  of  AI 
Gigafactories across the EU. 

To allow implementing the EU quantum strategy vision to  transform  Europe into a 
quantum industrial powerhouse and a global market leader in quantum technologies, 
while maintaining its scientific leadership. 

1.3.2. 

Specific objective(s) 

Specific objective No 1 

To  enable  the  establishment  of  ultra-scale  AI  compute  infrastructure  facilities  (AI 
Gigafactories), including the required data storage infrastructure facilities, capable of 
supporting  the development,  training, and deployment  of very large AI models and 
applications  at  an unprecedented scale (e.g., AI  models in  the order of hundreds of 
trillions of parameters). 

To  deliver  massive  computing  power  for  AI  workloads,  far  surpassing  that  of  the 
largest  existing  EuroHPC  AI  Factory  supercomputers,  through  the  integration  of 
energy-efficient  data  centres,  high-speed  network  connectivity,  and  resilient  energy 
infrastructure essential for operating AI Gigafactories. 

Specific objective No 2 

To  strengthen  capabilities  across  the  entire  quantum  value  chain  (components, 
devices,  and  systems)  and  quantum 
infrastructure  capacities  and  address 
fragmentation  between  current  European  and  national  initiatives  to  reinforce 
Europe’s quantum technological sovereignty and economic security. 

1.3.3.  Expected result(s) and impact 

Specify the effects which the proposal/initiative should have on the beneficiaries/groups targeted. 

AI  Gigafactories  will  provide  the  missing  native  world-class  AI  data  and  compute 
infrastructure for European innovators (startups, scaleups, industry), researchers and 
stakeholders  from  the  public  sector.  They  will  strengthen  the  competitiveness  and 
innovation  capacity  of  the  European  industry,  by  enabling  the  development  of 
advanced large-scale AI models and solutions for many different industrial use cases 

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and  application  sectors.  These  AI  Gigafactories  will  lay  the  foundation  for  truly 
sovereign European AI, empowering the development of advanced models trained on 
European data, governed by EU laws, and built within a trusted, secure, and ethical 
framework that embodies European values. 

A  more  integrated  European  approach  covering  all  quantum  technologies  will 
strengthen Europe’s global competitiveness and technological sovereignty, secure its 
leadership  in  quantum  technologies,  help  strengthen  and  further  develop  a  thriving 
European quantum startup ecosystem to scaleup and enhance its capacity to compete 
internationally and set international standards. 

1.3.4. 

Indicators of performance 

Specify the indicators for monitoring progress and achievements. 

– 

– 

– 

– 

The number of AI Gigafactories deployed [by 2027]. 

Deployment  of  quantum  computers  demonstrating  quantum  advantage 
deployed  by  2030,  marking  a  key  milestone  in  Europe’s  technological 
sovereignty. 

The number of jobs that will be created in the quantum technologies sector by 
2030,  supporting  the  development  of  a  strong  and  competitive  European 
ecosystem. 

The  number  of  quantum  solutions  that  will  be  deployed  in  different 
applications and use cases by 2030, with a clear impact orientation across basic 
and applied science, industry, and the public sector. 

1.4. 

The proposal/initiative relates to:  

 a new action  
 a new action following a pilot project / preparatory action12  

 the extension of an existing action  

 a merger or redirection of one or more actions towards another/a new action 

1.5. 

Grounds for the proposal/initiative  

1.5.1.  Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for 

roll-out of the implementation of the initiative 

The  Commission  launched  a  non-binding  call  for  expressions  of  interest  for  AI 
Gigafactories  on  9  April  2025,  with  a  submission  deadline  of  20  June  (see 
https://eurohpc-ju.europa.eu/document/download/47492db7-592e-4ad8-b672-
9c822f94afa0_en?filename=AI%20GIGAFACTORIES%20CONSULTATION.pdf). 
The  call  aims  to  gather  ideas  from  across  Europe,  identify  potential  consortia,  and 
inform  the  development  of  a  robust  AI  Gigafactory  framework.  After  the  deadline, 
the  Commission  will  initiate  structured  discussions  with  selected  proponents  and 
their  supporting  Member  States  to  help  mature  their  proposals.  The  target  is  to 
launch  the  official  call  on  AI  Gigafactories  under  the  EuroHPC  Joint  Undertaking 
before  end  2025.  Therefore  the  amended  Regulation  should  be  in  force  by  then  to 
enable the launch of the call.  

12 

As referred to in Article 58(2), point (a) or (b) of the Financial Regulation. 

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To  initiate  the  implementation  of  the  quantum  Europe  strategy,  the  Commission 
will launch the first targeted actions in the quantum domain in the short term. These 
initial steps will set the foundation and create momentum for the broader deployment 
of the strategy. The scope and scale of activities will then be progressively expanded 
and intensified in alignment with the anticipated adoption, in 2026, of the Quantum 
Act, ensuring full compliance and maximising opportunities once the Act is in force. 

1.5.2.  Added  value  of  EU  involvement  (it  may  result  from  different  factors,  e.g. 
coordination gains, legal certainty, greater effectiveness or complementarities). For 
the  purposes  of  this  section  'added  value  of  EU  involvement'  is  the  value  resulting 
from  EU  action,  that  is  additional  to  the  value  that  would  have  been  otherwise 
created by Member States alone. 

Reasons for action at EU level (ex-ante) 

The AI Gigafactory initiative is a natural candidate for coordinated European action, 
aligning  with  the  EuroHPC  JU  strategy  and  leveraging  the  most  suitable  EU  legal 
instruments for implementation. Due to the magnitude of the initiative, on the scale 
of three to five billion euros per individual AI Gigafactory, only by acting at the EU 
level can Europe pool resources, expertise, and funding to generate the critical mass 
required for acquiring next-generation AI data and compute infrastructure. This level 
of  ambition  cannot  be  achieved  through  fragmented  national  efforts  alone.  The  AI 
Gigafactory  framework  provides  a  unique  opportunity  to  consolidate  Europe’s 
strategic  capabilities  in  AI,  energy-efficient  infrastructure,  and  sovereign  AI 
development, ensuring that Europe remains competitive and at the forefront of global 
AI innovation. 

Concerning  quantum  technologies,  Europe  is  currently  at  a  critical  juncture  in  the 
global quantum technology race: The EU and the Member States have demonstrated 
strong political  commitment, most recently through the  2023 European  Declaration 
on  Quantum  Technologies  and  benefit  from  world-class  scientific  excellence. 
However,  the  research  landscape  in  Europe  is  fragmented,  with  the  Union  and 
several  Member  States  having  their  own,  uncoordinated  research  programmes.  In 
addition, the European quantum ecosystem remains fragile and highly fragmented. It 
is dominated by small startups and scale-ups that face significant barriers to growth, 
as they lack stable revenue streams,  struggle to  access  capital,  and must navigate  a 
limited  industrial  demand.  Many  risk  vanishing  or  relocating  to  more  supportive 
ecosystems  outside  Europe.  A  cooperation  framework  between  the  EU  and  the 
Member  States  is  needed  to  ensure  a  coherent  and  effective  coordination  across 
quantum  research  and  innovation  national  and  European  activities,  industrial 
ecosystem and infrastructure development or skills. 

Expected generated EU added value (ex-post) 

AI Gigafactories: 

– 

Enhanced  coordination  and  pooling  of  large  scale  European,  national  and 
industrial investments in deploying AI Gigafactories for European researchers, 
entrepreneurs,  industries,  and  the  public  sector  that  is  unattainable  by 
individual Member States and European companies to propel the EU to the AI 
forefront globally. 

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– 

– 

– 

Improved  access  for  European  industrial  innovators  (startups,  scaleups  and 
large  industry),  public  sector  stakeholders  and  researchers  to  world-class  AI 
data  and  compute  infrastructure  resources  for  stimulating  the  development  in 
Europe of state of the art, ultra large-scale AI models and AI solutions tailored 
to  the  needs  of  different  industrial  sectors,  public  authorities  and  scientific 
disciplines. 

Support  the  EU’s  AI  industrial  and  research  ecosystem  by  bringing  together 
key  AI  data  and  compute  infrastructure  resources  they  need  to  develop  ultra 
large scale generative trustworthy AI models and applications. 

Strengthening  the  innovation  potential  and  productivity  of  the  European 
industry, by enabling the development of entirely new AI solutions for a wide 
range  of  use  cases  and  industrial  application  sectors,  thus  ensuring  the  EU's 
competitiveness and sovereignty as an AI continent. 

Quantum Technologies: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Coordinated  efforts  in  quantum  technologies  at  EU  level,  in  partnership  with 
Member  States,  to  accelerate  the  further  development  and  deployment  of 
quantum technologies, avoiding duplication and fragmentation. 

Alignment and pooling of EU, national, and industrial investments in quantum 
technologies. 

Provision  of  state-of-the-art  quantum  computing,  sensing  and  communication 
infrastructures  that  would  be  unattainable  by  individual  Member  States  and 
companies, reinforcing Europe’s strategic autonomy. 

Creation of a coherent and resilient European quantum ecosystem, integrating 
skills 
supply 
development. 

and  quantum-ready 

standardisation 

activities, 

chains, 

Increased  access  for  European  researchers,  start-ups,  and  industries  to 
advanced  quantum  infrastructures  and  testbeds,  supporting  innovation  and 
competitiveness. 

Strengthened  global  positioning  of  the  EU  in  key  areas  such  as  quantum 
computing, quantum communication, and quantum sensing, aligned with long-
term EU strategic goals. 

1.5.3.  Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past 

– 

– 

– 

– 

The  AI  Factories  initiative  launched  in  2024,  which  required  targeted 
amendments  to  the  EuroHPC  Joint  Undertaking  Regulation  Nr  2021/1173, 
amended  by  the  Regulation  (EU) 2024/1732,  has  been  a  huge  success, 
demonstrating the strong commitment and support of Member States. Several 
key lessons learned can be leveraged to ensure continued progress and impact:  

Reinforce  the  strategic  significance  of  AI  Gigafactories  by  highlighting  their 
potential  to  drive  EU-wide  innovation,  as  demonstrated  by  the  AI  Factories 
initiative. 

Build on the strong commitment and support from Member States, as seen in 
the AI Factories initiative, to ensure success in the AI Gigafactories initiative. 

Utilise  the  momentum  from  the  AI  Factories  to  attract  and  secure  significant 
funding, engaging public and private sectors.  

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– 

Capitalise on the interest from technology firms, data centre integrators, energy 
providers, and major investment funds to integrate public-private partnerships, 
boosting resources and innovation. 

Drawing  on  lessons  from  past  EuroHPC  JU  and  Quantum  integration,  several  key 
takeaways  can  guide  the  successful  implementation  of  the  AI  Gigafactories  and 
Quantum Technologies framework: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Avoid  fragmentation  by  establishing  a  coherent  governance  and  investment 
structure that enables coordinated action between the EU and Member States, 
ensuring a unified approach to quantum-HPC development. 

Facilitate  joint  procurement  mechanisms  to  pool  resources  and  accelerate  the 
deployment  of  world-class  quantum 
infrastructure,  while  maximising 
efficiency and return on investment across Europe. 

Incentivise  the  uptake  of  EU-developed  quantum  technologies  by  aligning 
industrial  policy  tools,  legal  frameworks,  and  funding  instruments  to  create  a 
favourable environment for domestic innovation, scaling, and market adoption. 

Support the development of a secure and competitive European quantum-HPC 
ecosystem  through  strategic  coordination  across  research,  infrastructure,  and 
industrial actors, ensuring long-term resilience and technological sovereignty. 

1.5.4.  Compatibility with the multiannual financial framework and possible synergies with 

other appropriate instruments 

There  are  clear  complementarities  and  synergies  with  Horizon  Europe  clusters  and 
missions,  including  synergies  with  big  data,  robotics,  and  AI,  as  well  as  the  Chips 
Joint  Undertaking,  which  together  support  Europe’s  technological  sovereignty. 
EuroHPC JU also supports cross-cutting initiatives such as e-Health and the Digital 
Twin of the Human Body, where advanced computing power is essential. 

In  parallel,  links  with  the  Destination  Earth  (DestinE),  and  synergies  in  the  Digital 
Europe  Programme  (DEP)  –  particularly  in  areas  such  as  AI,  cybersecurity,  and 
advanced digital skills – further reinforce the added value of EuroHPC’s integrated 
role. 

The  use  of  AI  Gigafactories  for  developing  AI  for  space  and  dual-use  applications 
and  the  dual  use  character  of  quantum  technologies  means  that  respective 
breakthroughs  can  also  benefit  strategic  European  space,  security  and  defence 
applications  that  are  under  development  by  the  different  European  and  national 
space, security and defence programmes. 

Through  coordinated  implementation  and  alignment  with  these  initiatives  and 
programmes,  the  enhanced  EuroHPC  Joint  Undertaking  can  play  a  central  role  in 
impact,  and 
amplifying  Europe's  digital  capabilities,  ensuring  coherence, 
sustainability across the EU’s research and innovation landscape. 

1.5.5.  Assessment  of  the  different  available  financing  options,  including  scope  for 

redeployment 

The management of the action areas proposed for EuroHPC Joint Undertaking aligns 
well with its existing mandate and operational scope. While these areas may require 
specific  expertise  or  new  assignments,  the  Joint  Undertaking  has  the  capacity  to 
absorb  them  through  efficient  reallocation  of  resources  and  strategic  alignment  of 
is  already  effectively 
ongoing  activities.  The  EuroHPC  Joint  Undertaking 

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implementing  the  European  HPC  strategy,  including  the  deployment  of  high-
performance and quantum computing and AI infrastructures (such as AI Factories), 
R&D  initiatives,  and  connectivity-related  actions.  Its  strong  performance  in  these 
areas  has  delivered  valuable  insights,  which  have  directly  informed  the  preparation 
of  this  Regulation.  This  track  record  demonstrates  that  the  EuroHPC  Joint 
Undertaking is well positioned to take on an expanded role in support of Europe's AI 
Gigafactories and quantum technology ambitions. 

1.6. 

Duration of the proposal/initiative and of its financial impact 

limited duration  

–    in effect from 01/01/2021 to 31/12/2033  

–    financial impact  from  2021 to  2027 for commitment  appropriations and from 

2021 to 2033 for payment appropriations.  

 unlimited duration 

–  Implementation with a start-up period from YYYY to YYYY, 

–  followed by full-scale operation. 

1.7.  Method(s) of budget implementation planned13  

 Direct management by the Commission 

–   by its departments, including by its staff in the Union delegations;  

–    by the executive agencies  

 Shared management with the Member States  

 Indirect management by entrusting budget implementation tasks to: 

–   third countries or the bodies they have designated 

–   international organisations and their agencies (to be specified) 

–   the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund 

–   bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71 of the Financial Regulation 

–   public law bodies 

–   bodies governed by private law with a public service mission to the extent that 

they are provided with adequate financial guarantees 

–   bodies governed by the private law of a Member State that are entrusted with 
the  implementation  of  a  public-private  partnership  and  that  are  provided  with 
adequate financial guarantees 

–   bodies or persons entrusted with the implementation of specific actions in the 
common  foreign  and  security  policy  pursuant  to  Title  V  of  the  Treaty  on 
European Union, and identified in the relevant basic act 

–  bodies  established  in  a  Member  State,  governed  by  the  private  law  of  a 
Member  State  or  Union  law  and  eligible  to  be  entrusted,  in  accordance  with 

13 

Details of budget implementation methods and references to the Financial Regulation may be found on 
the BUDGpedia site: https://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/corp/budget/financial-rules/budget-
implementation/Pages/implementation-methods.aspx. 

EN 

8 

  EN 

 
sector-specific  rules,  with  the  implementation  of  Union  funds  or  budgetary 
guarantees,  to  the extent that such bodies are controlled by public law bodies or 
by bodies governed by private law with a public service mission, and are provided 
with adequate financial guarantees in the form of joint and several liability by the 
controlling bodies or equivalent financial guarantees and which may be, for each 
action, limited to the maximum amount of the Union support. 

Comments  

N/A 

EN 

9 

  EN 

2. 

MANAGEMENT MEASURES  

2.1.  Monitoring and reporting rules  

The  activities  of  the  EuroHPC  Joint  Undertaking  are  subject  to  continuous 
monitoring and periodic reviews in accordance with its financial rules, to ensure both 
the highest impact and excellence, as well as the most efficient use of resources. The 
outcomes  of  monitoring  and  periodic  reviews  shall  feed  into  the  evaluations  of  the 
Joint Undertaking as part of Horizon Europe evaluations as specified in Article 47 of 
Regulation establishing Horizon Europe. 

In addition, the Commission will undertake a final evaluation with the assistance of 
independent  experts  to  examine  how  the  Joint  Undertaking  fulfils  its  mission 
according  to  its  economic,  technological,  scientific,  societal  and  policy  objectives, 
and  evaluate  the  effectiveness,  efficiency,  relevance,  coherence,  and  Union  added 
value  of  its  activities  as  part  of  Horizon  Europe.  The  evaluation  will  assess  its 
synergies  and  complementarities  with  relevant  European,  national  and,  where 
relevant, regional initiatives, including synergies with other parts of Horizon Europe 
(such  as  missions,  clusters  or  thematic/specific  programmes).  Impacts  achieved  at 
Union and national level, taking into account the component of synergies and policy 
retrofitting will be given particular attention. 

2.2.  Management and control system(s)  

2.2.1. 

Justification  of  the  budget  implementation  method(s),  the  funding  implementation 
mechanism(s), the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed 

The  Commission's  internal  auditor  shall  exercise  the  same  powers  over  the  Joint 
Undertaking  as  those  exercised  in  respect  of  the  Commission.  Moreover,  the 
Governing  Board  may  arrange,  as  appropriate,  for  the  establishment  of  an  internal 
audit capability of the Joint Undertaking.  

In  compliance  with  Article  157  of  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  2024/2509,  the 
Joint  Undertaking  will  respect  the  principles  of  sound  financial  management, 
transparency  and non-discrimination and will guarantee a level  of protection of the 
financial interests of its members equivalent to that required under that Regulation. 

Ex-post  audits  of  expenditure  on  indirect  actions  will  be  carried  out  in  compliance 
with  the  Horizon  Europe,  Digital  Europe  and  Connecting  Europe  Framework 
Programme. 

In  order  to  protect  the  financial  interests  of  the  Union,  the  Commission  will  in 
compliance  with  the  Financial  Regulation  supervise  the  activities  of  the  EuroHPC 
Joint  Undertaking,  in  particular  by  carrying  out  audits  and  evaluations  on  the 
programme implementation, apply procedures for the examination and acceptance of 
the  accounts  and  exclude  from  Union  financing  expenditure  disbursements  which 
have been made in breach of the applicable rules. It may also suspend and interrupt 
payments if it detects financial or administrative irregularities. 

2.2.2. 

Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up 
to mitigate them 

The main risks identified so far are i) the low contribution of Participating States to 
the  budget,  ii)  in-kind  contribution  by  private  members  (IKOP)  to  meet  their 
minimum contribution target. 

EN 

10 

  EN 

i)  In  2024,  EuroHPC  Joint  Undertaking  significantly  improved  the  execution  of  its 
administrative  budget,  reaching  95%  in  commitments  and  80%  in  payments—an 
improvement  expected  to  address  past  audit  findings.  While  operational  payments 
also  increased  substantially  (from  19%  to  59%),  commitment  execution  declined 
(from 83% to 72%), meaning audit concerns may persist for the operational budget. 
This  was  mainly  due  to  the  impact  of  the  amended  Regulation  (EU)  2024/1732, 
which required a reprioritisation of the 2024 Work Programme to accommodate the 
new  AI  initiative.  As  a  result,  funding  sources  were  reassessed,  unused  credits 
reallocated, and some planned activities postponed to 2025–2027. 

ii)  The  European  Court  of  Auditors  (ECA)  continues  to  reference  the  European 
Parliament's  concerns  about  consistently  lower-than-targeted  IKOP  contributions. 
Due to the 50/50 co-funding requirement between EU and national public funds – not 
private  members  –  the  current  IKOP  model  cannot  realistically  meet  the  EUR  900 
million target set in the 2021 Regulation. As a result, both the Parliament and ECA 
have called on the Commission to reassess the feasibility of these targets. While this 
structural  funding  issue  is  beyond  the  Joint  Undertaking’s  mandate,  the  Joint 
Undertaking remains committed to supporting the Commission and has engaged an 
external  consultant  to  improve  IKOP  monitoring  and  reporting  within  existing 
constraints. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  large  private  investments  expected  to  take  place  for  the 
deployment  of  AI  Gigafactories  (of  the  order  of  several  billions  of  Euros)  will 
drastically improve the current IKOP model and are expected to overcome by far the 
set target of EUR 900 million. To a large extent, the same private investment logic 
will  apply  to  the  further  development  of  quantum  technologes  under  the  Joint 
Undertaking’s responsibility. 

2.2.3.  Estimation  and  justification  of  the  cost-effectiveness  of  the  controls  (ratio  between 
the control costs  and the value of the related funds managed), and assessment of the 
expected levels of risk of error (at payment & at closure)  

As part of the Joint Undertakings created under Horizon Europe, the EuroHPC Joint 
Undertaking  will be part of the audit strategy of the Commission. In particular, the 
indirect actions implemented by the Joint Undertaking will be monitored by the CIC 
to  ensure an error rate at  the same level  as the other actions funded under Horizon 
Europe. 

2.3.  Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities  

The Commission or its representatives and the Court of Auditors have the power of 
audit,  on  the  basis  of  documents  and  on-the-spot,  over  all  grant  beneficiaries, 
contractors  and  subcontractors  who  receive  EU  funds.  The  EuroHPC  has  been 
subject of regular ECA  audits 

The  European  Anti-fraud  Office  (OLAF)  and  the  European  Public  Prosecutor's 
Office  (EPPO)  may  also  carry  out  investigations,  including  on-the-spot  checks  and 
inspections in  accordance with  the provisions and procedures laid down in  Council 
Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/9614 and Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 883/2013 

14 

Council  Regulation  (Euratom,  EC)  No  2185/96  of 11  November  1996  concerning on-the-spot  checks 
and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities’ financial 
interests against fraud and other irregularities (OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2). 

EN 

11 

  EN 

 
of the European Parliament and of the Council15, with a view to establishing whether 
there  has  been  fraud,  corruption  or  any  other  illegal  activity  affecting  the  financial 
interests of the European Union in connection with a grant agreement  or a contract 
concerning EU funding. 

Without  prejudice  to  the  above,  grant  agreements  and  contracts  resulting  from  the 
implementation  of  this  Regulation  shall  expressly  empower  the  Commission,  the 
Court  of  Auditors  and  OLAF  to  conduct  such  audits,  on-the-spot  checks  and 
inspections. 

15 

Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  883/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  11 
September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and 
repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council 
Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1). 

EN 

12 

  EN 

 
3. 

3.1. 

ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE  

Heading(s)  of  the  multiannual  financial  framework  and  expenditure  budget 
line(s) affected  

•  Existing budget lines  

In order of multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines. 

Budget line 

Type of 
expenditure 

Contribution  

Heading of 
multiannual 
financial 
framework 

Heading 1 
Single Market, Innovation and Digital 

Diff./Non-
diff.16 

from 
EFTA 
countries
17 

from 
candidate 
countries 
and 
potential 
candidates
18 

From 
other 
third 
countries 

other assigned 
revenue 

 01 02 02 42 01 – HE - Cluster Digital, 
Industry and Space — High-Performance 
Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC) 
Support expenditure 

 01 02 02 42 02 – HE - Cluster Digital, 
Industry and Space — High-Performance 
Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC) 
Operational expenditure 

 02 04 02 11 01 – DEP - High-
Performance Computing Joint 
Undertaking (EuroHPC) Support 
expenditure 

 Diff. 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

Diff. 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

 Diff. 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

02 04 02 11 02 – DEP - High-Performance 
Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC) 
Support expenditure 

Diff. 

YES 

YES 

YES 

YES 

02 03 03 – CEF Digital 

Diff. 

NO 

YES 

YES 

YES 

16 
17 
18 

Diff. = Differentiated appropriations / Non-diff. = Non-differentiated appropriations. 
EFTA: European Free Trade Association.  
Candidate countries and, where applicable, potential candidates from the Western Balkans. 

EN 

13 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.2. 

Estimated financial impact of the proposal on appropriations  

3.2.1. 

Summary of estimated impact on operational appropriations  

–    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations  

–  The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below 

3.2.1.1.  Appropriations from voted budget and including EFTA appropriations 

Heading of multiannual financial framework  

1 

1 - Single Market, Innovation and Digital 

The proposal will not increase the total level of expenditure programmed under Heading 1 of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027. 
Indeed, the additional Union contribution, including EFTA to the EuroHPC JU will be pooled from the Horizon Europe Programme, the Digital 
Europe Programme and the Connecting Europe Facility - Digital Programme (CEF – Digital). 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

This additional contribution will be financed by: 

i. 

ii. 

iii. 

an internal redeployment of the current envelope of the Digital Europe Programme,  

an internal redeployment of the current envelope of the Horizon Europe Programme,  

an internal redeployment of the current envelope of the Connecting Europe Facility – Digital Programme,  

The summary tables below provides a full overview of all sources of funding. 

Operational appropriations reallocated 
within Digital Europe  

02 04 01 11 - Digital Europe programme – 
Cybersecurity Competenc Centre 

TOTAL appropriations reallocated 
within Digital Europe  

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

2025 

2026 

2027 

TOTAL 

Commitments 

(1a) 

15,000 

16,000 

Commitments 

=1a 

15,000 

16,000 

31,000 

31,000 

EN 

14 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Operational appropriations reallocated 
within CEF – Digital  

2025 

2026 

2027 

TOTAL 

02 03 03 01 – CEF Digital 

Commitments 

(1a) 

100,000 

TOTAL appropriations reallocated 
within CEF- Digital  

Commitments 

=1a 

100,000 

100,000 

100,000 

Operational appropriations reallocated 
within Horizon Europe  

01 02 01 03 – Research Infrastructures 

01 02 02 10 – Cluster Health 

01 02 02 11.02 - Innovative Health Initiative 
Joint Undertaking - operational budget 

01 02 02 12.02-Global Health EDCTP3 Joint 
Undertaking - operational budget   

01 02 02 20- Cluster Culture, Creativity and 
Inclusive Society  

01 02 02 30-Cluster Civil Security for Society 

01 02 02 40 - Cluster Digital, Industry and 
Space 

01 02 02 42.02 - CHIPS Joint Undertaking 

01 02 02 43.02 -Smart Networks and Services 
Joint Undertaking - operational budget   

Commitments 

(1a) 

Commitments 

(1a) 

Commitments 

(1a) 

Commitments 

(1a) 

Commitments 

(1a) 

Commitments 

(1a) 

Commitments 

(1a) 

Commitments 

(1a) 

Commitments 

(1a) 

2025 

2026 

2027 

TOTAL 

100,000 

100,000 

19,685 

24,029 

43,714 

6,145 

4,194 

10,339 

4,538 

2,275 

6,813 

10,276 

9,823 

20,099 

23,758 

3,452 

27,210 

282,614 

22,457 

305,071 

10,494 

9,997 

20,490 

3,950 

3,868 

7,818 

EN 

15 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
01 02 02 50-Cluster Climate, Energy and 
Mobility 

01 02 02 51.02- Single European Sky ATM 
Research 3 Joint Undertaking – operational 
budget 

01 02 02 52.02-Clean Aviation Joint 
Undertaking - operational budget   

01 02 02 53.02-Europe’s Rail Joint 
Undertaking - operational budget   

01 02 02 54.02-Clean Hydrogen Joint 
Undertaking - operational budget   

01 02 02 60- Cluster Food, Bioeconomy, 
Natural Resources, Agriculture and 
Environment 

Commitments 

(1a) 

Commitments 

(1a) 

Commitments 

(1a) 

Commitments 

(1a) 

Commitments 

(1a) 

Commitments 

(1a) 

01.020261.02-Circular Bio-based Europe Joint 
Undertaking - operational budget   

Commitments 

(1a) 

53,784 

46,433 

100,217 

2,842 

3,136 

5,978 

3,853 

11,773 

15,626 

2,404 

1,728 

4,131 

4,016 

4,561 

8,578 

37,152 

37,478 

74,629 

4,488 

4,797 

9,286 

TOTAL appropriations reallocated 
within Horizon Europe 

Commitments 

=1a 

570,000 

190,000 

760,000 

EN 

16 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
==================================================================================================== 

EU contribution to the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking  

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Joint Undertaking 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Post 2027  TOTAL 

Title 3 

TOTAL additional appropriations for 
Joint Undertaking 

Commitments 

Payments 

Commitments 

Payments 

(3a) 

(3b) 

=1+1
a +3a 

=2+2
a+3b 

115,000 

586,000 

190,000 

891,000 

210,000 

681,000 

891,000 

115,000 

586,000 

190,000 

891,000 

210,000 

681,000 

891,000 

Joint Undertaking 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Human Resources[1]  

Other administrative expenditure 

- 

- 

1,486 

2,031 

4,721 

6,695 

6,829 

6,966 

42,425 

1,713 

1,747 

1,782 

1,818 

13,786 

TOTAL DG  

Appropriations  

3,517 

6,434 

8,443 

8,612 

8,784 

56,211 

Post 
 2027 

TOTAL 

69,122 

22,878 

92,000 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Covering the administration of HE and DEP actions. The FTE costs are determined on the basis of the average yearly cost of TA (EUR 152 000) and CA (EUR 82 
000) staff. 

17 

EN 

[1] 

EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
Heading of multiannual financial  framework  

7 

‘Administrative expenditure’19 

DG CNECT 10 FTE STATUTORY AD, 2 FTE AC) 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Post 2027 

TOTAL 

Human resources [1] 

Other administrative expenditure  

TOTAL appropriations under 
HEADING 7 
 of the multiannual financial 
framework 

(Total 
commitments = 
Total payments) 

0,772 

p.m 

0,787 

p.m 

0,803 

p.m 

0,819 

p.m 

0,836 

p.m 

2,082 

p.m 

2,082 

p.m 

6,246 

p.m 

14,427 

p.m 

0,772 

0,787 

0,803 

0,819 

0,836 

2,082 

2,082 

6,246 

14,427 

§EUR million (to three decimal places) 

3.2.2.  Estimated output funded from operational appropriations (not to be completed for decentralised agencies) 

Year  
2024 

Year  
2025 

Year  
2026 

Year  
2027 

OUTPUTS 

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Enter as many years as necessary to show the 
duration of the impact (see Section1.6) 

TOTAL 

o
N

Cost 

o
N

Cost 

o
N

Cost 

o
N

Cost 

o
N

Cost  N

o

Cost 

o
N

Cost 

Total 
No 

Total 
cost 

Indicate 
objectives and 
outputs  

 

Type20 

Avera
ge 
cost 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 121… 

19 
20 
21 

The necessary appropriations should be determined using the annual average cost figures available on the appropriate BUDGpedia webpage. 
Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g. number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.). 
As described in Section 1.3.2. ‘Specific objective(s)’  

EN 

18 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
- Output 

- Output 

- Output 

Subtotal for specific objective No 1 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 2 ... 

- Output 

Subtotal for specific objective No 2 

TOTALS 

EN 

19 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.2.3. 

Summary of estimated impact on administrative appropriations  

–    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of additional appropriations of 

an administrative nature  

–    The proposal/initiative requires the use of appropriations of an administrative 

nature, as explained below 

3.2.3.1. Appropriations from voted budget 

VOTED APPROPRIATIONS 

Year 

2024 

Year 

2025 

Year 

2026 

Year 

2027 

TOTAL 
2021 - 2027 

HEADING 7 

Human resources  

Other administrative expenditure  

Subtotal HEADING 7 

Outside HEADING 7 

Human resources  

Other expenditure of an administrative nature 

Subtotal outside HEADING 7 

0.819 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.836 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

2.082 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

2.082 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

5.819 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

TOTAL 

0.819 

0.836 

2.082 

2.082 

5.819 

The  appropriations  required  for  human  resources  and  other  expenditure  of  an  administrative  nature 
will  be  met  by  appropriations  from  the  DG  that  are  already  assigned  to  management  of  the  action 
and/or  have  been  redeployed  within  the  DG,  together,  if  necessary,  with  any  additional  allocation 
which may be granted to the managing DG under the annual allocation procedure and in the light of 
budgetary constraints. 

3.2.4.  Estimated requirements of human resources  

–      The proposal/initiative does not require the use of human resources  

–   The  proposal/initiative  requires  the  use  of  human  resources,  as  explained 

below 

EN 

20 

  EN 

 
  
 
 
3.2.4.1.  Estimated impact on Commission human resources - Financed from voted budget 

Estimate expressed in full-time equivalent units (FTEs)22 

VOTED APPROPRIATIONS 

Year 

2024 

Year 

2025 

Year 

2026 

Year 

2027 

 Establishment plan posts (officials and temporary staff) 

20 01 02 01 (Headquarters and Commission’s Representation Offices) 

20 01 02 03 (EU Delegations) 

01 01 01 01 (Indirect research) 

01 01 01 11 (Direct research) 

Other budget lines (specify) 

• External staff (inFTEs) 

20 02 01 (AC, END from the ‘global envelope’) 

20 02 03 (AC, AL, END and JPD in the EU Delegations) 

Admin. Support 
line 
[XX.01.YY.YY] 

- at Headquarters 

- in EU Delegations  

01 01 01 02 (AC, END - Indirect research) 

 01 01 01 12 (AC, END - Direct research) 

Other budget lines (specify) - Heading 7 

Other budget lines (specify) - Outside Heading 7 

TOTAL 

4 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

6 

4 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

6 

10 

10 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

12 

12 

Considering the overall strained situation in Heading 7, in terms of both staffing and the level 
of  appropriations,  the  human  resources  required  will  be  met  by  staff  from  the  DG  who  are 
already assigned to the management of the action and/or have been redeployed within the DG 
or other Commission services. 

22 

Please specify below the table how many FTEs within the number indicated are already assigned to the 
management of the action and/or can be redeployed within your DG and what are your net needs. 

EN 

21 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
The staff required to implement the proposal (in FTEs):  

To be covered by 
current staff 
available in the 
Commission 
services  

Exceptional additional staff* 

To be financed under 
Heading 7 or 
Research 

To be financed 
from BA line 

To be financed 
from fees 

N/A 

Establishment 
plan posts 

10 

External 
staff 
(CA, SNEs, INT) 

2 

Description of tasks to be carried out by: 

Officials and temporary staff 

External staff 

3.2.4.2.  Estimated impact on JU’s human resources - Financed from voted budget 

There  is  no  additional  requirements  in  terms  of  human  resources  in  the  JU.  Below  it  is 
included  only  for  reference  the  requirements  in  human  resources  mentioned  in  the  previous 
LFS. 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

Post 2027  TOTAL 

Officials (AD 
Grades) 
Officials 
(AST 
grades) 
Contract 
staff 
Temporary 
staff  
Seconded 
National 
Experts 

27 

27 

27 

27 

27 

27 

27 

27 

27 

27 

TOTAL 

54 

54 

54 

54 

54 

Year 
2025 

Year 
2026 

Year 
2027 

Post 2027  TOTAL 

Officials (AD 
Grades) 
Officials 
(AST 

EN 

22 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
grades) 
Contract 
staff 
Temporary 
staff  
Seconded 
National 
Experts 

2,303 

2,350 

2,397 

24,914 

36,129 

4,744 

4,839 

4,936 

10,678 

34,358 

TOTAL 

7,048 

7,189 

7,332 

35,592 

70,487 

3.2.5.  Overview of estimated impact on digital technology-related investments 

Compulsory: the best estimate of the digital technology-related investments entailed 
by the proposal/initiative should be included in the table below.  

Exceptionally,  when  required  for  the  implementation  of  the  proposal/initiative,  the 
appropriations under Heading 7 should be presented in the designated line.  

The appropriations under Headings 1-6 should be reflected as “Policy IT expenditure 
on operational programmes”. This expenditure refers to the operational budget to be 
used to re-use/ buy/ develop IT platforms/ tools directly linked to the implementation 
of the initiative and their associated investments (e.g. licences, studies, data storage 
etc).  The  information  provided  in  this  table  should  be  consistent  with  details 
presented under Section 4 “Digital dimensions”. 

TOTAL Digital and IT appropriations 

Year 

Year 

Year 

Year 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

TOTAL 
MFF 
2021 - 
2027 

HEADING 7 

IT expenditure (corporate)  

Subtotal HEADING 7 

Outside HEADING 7 

Policy IT expenditure on operational 
programmes 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

Subtotal outside HEADING 7 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

TOTAL 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

0.000 

EN 

23 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
3.2.6.  Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework  

The proposal/initiative: 

–   can be fully financed through redeployment within the relevant heading of the 

Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). 

From line 

01 02 01 03 

Research infrastructures 

EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Amount 
(EUR 
million) 

To Line 

100,000 

01 02 02 41 

01 02 02 10 
01 02 02 11.02 

01 02 02 12.02 

Cluster Health 

Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking - operational 
budget    
Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking - operational budget    

01 02 02 20 

Cluster Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society 

01 02 02 30 

Cluster Civil Security for Society 

01 02 02 40 

Cluster Digital, Industry and Space 

01 02 02 42.02 

CHIPS Joint Undertaking  

01 02 02 43.02 

01 02 02 50 

01 02 02 51.02 

01 02 02 52.02 

Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking - operational 
budget   
Cluster Climate, Energy and Mobility 

Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking - 
operational budget   
Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking - operational budget   

01 02 02 53.02 

Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking - operational budget   

01 02 02 54.02 

Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking - operational budget   

01 02 02 60 

01.020261.02 

Subtotal HE 

Cluster Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture 
and Environment 
Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking - operational 
budget   
Horizon Europe Programme 

43,714 

10,339 

6,813 

20,099 

27,210 

305,071 

20,491 

7,818 

100,217 

5,978 

15,626 

4,131 

8,578 

74,629 

01 02 02 41 
01 02 02 41 

01 02 02 41 

01 02 02 41 

01 02 02 41 

01 02 02 41 

01 02 02 41 

01 02 02 41 

01 02 02 41 

01 02 02 41 

01 02 02 41 

01 02 02 41 

01 02 02 41 

01 02 02 41 

9,286 

01 02 02 41 

760,000 

02 03 03 01 

Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) — Digital 

100,000 

02 03 03 02 

Subtotal CEF 

Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) 

100,000 

 02 04 01 11 

Digital Europe programme - European Cybersecurity 
Competence Centre  

31,000 

02 04 02 11 

Subtotal DEP  Digital Europe programme 

Total 

31,000 

891,000 

3.2.7.  Third-party contributions  

The proposal/initiative: 

–    does not provide for co-financing by third parties 

–   provides for the co-financing by third parties estimated below: 

Participating States are expected to contribute an amount that is at least matching the Union 
contribution referred to in Article 5(1), first sub-paragraph. 

EN 

24 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
3.3. 

Estimated impact on revenue  

–  The proposal/initiative has no financial impact on revenue. 

–    The proposal/initiative has the following financial impact: 

– 

– 

– 

Budget revenue line: 

Article …………. 

 

 

on own resources  

on other revenue 

  please indicate, if the revenue is assigned to expenditure lines 

Appropriations 
available for the 
current financial 
year 

     EUR million (to three decimal places) 

Impact of the proposal/initiative23 

Year 2024 

Year 2025  Year 2026 

Year 2027 

For assigned revenue, specify the budget expenditure line(s) affected. 

Other  remarks  (e.g.  method/formula  used  for  calculating  the  impact  on  revenue  or 
any other information). 

4. 

DIGITAL DIMENSIONS 

N/A 

4.1. 

Requirements of digital relevance 

N/A 

4.2. 

Data 

N/A 

4.3. 

Digital solutions 

N/A 

4.4. 

Interoperability assessment 

N/A 

23 

As regards traditional own resources (customs duties, sugar levies), the amounts indicated must be net 
amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 20% for collection costs. 

EN 

25 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.5.  Measures to support digital implementation 

N/A 

EN 

26 

  EN