COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION Ex-ante evaluation Accompanying the document Proposal for a Council Decision laying down the measures necessary for the implementation of Protocol No 37 on the financial consequences of the expiry of the ECSC Treaty and on the Research Fund for Coal and Steel, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty for the Functioning of the European Union
Date: 2025-12-10
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Subjects: ECSC, ECSC Treaty, EU programme, EU research policy, coal, fund (EU), liquidation, research and development, research programme, steel

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 10.12.2025  SWD(2025) 408 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION  Ex-ante evaluation Accompanying the document Proposal for a Council Decision laying down the measures necessary for the implementation of Protocol No 37 on the financial consequences of the expiry of the ECSC Treaty and on the Research Fund for Coal and Steel, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty for the Functioning of the European Union  {COM(2025) 759 final} - {SWD(2025) 407 final}  
 
 
This  ex-ante  evaluation  accompanies  the  proposal  for  a  Council  Decision  laying  down  the  measures 
necessary for  the implementation  of  Protocol  No 37 on  the financial  consequences of  the  expiry of  the 
ECSC Treaty and on the Research Fund for Coal and Steel, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and 
to the Treaty for the Functioning of the European Union. This proposal is linked to another proposal for a 
Council Decision on the adoption of the Research Programme of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel and 
the  multiannual  technical  and  financial  guidelines  for  this  programme.  Both  proposals  constitute  the 
proposal for a reform of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel. 

The Research Fund for Coal and Steel co-finances through grants research and innovation projects in the 
areas of coal and steel. 

The coal and steel sectors are facing several challenges in Europe. Steelmakers are struggling, for instance, 
with high energy costs, global overcapacity, unfair competition, trade issues and tariffs. However, domestic 
steel  production  remains  key  to  the  EU’s  industrial  competitiveness,  to  its  strategic  autonomy  and  its 
security in the new geopolitical environment. Steel research and innovation are vital to keep improving the 
sector’s  performance  and  circularity,  as  well  as  to  meet  the  EU’s  carbon  neutrality  targets.  Striving  for 
carbon neutrality also requires completing the transition from fossil energy sources, especially coal, and 
providing new opportunities for affected regions, industries and workers. Research and innovation remain 
essential, including for mitigating methane emissions and meeting the Methane Regulation obligations. 

With the Competitiveness Compass1, published in January 2025, the European Commission presented its 
roadmap  and  actions  to  boost  industrial  competitiveness. The  Clean  Industrial  Deal  2,  presented  by  the 
European Commission in February 2025, sets concrete actions to support the decarbonisation of European 
industry  while  ensuring  that  the  EU  remains  an  attractive  manufacturing  location.  This  includes  the 
European Steel and Metals Action Plan3, adopted in March 2025, which lists concrete measures aiming at 
boosting the competitiveness of the steel sector and eliminating bottlenecks for businesses and announces 
an overall reform of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel.  

The ex-ante evaluation takes stock of the current challenges faced by coal and steel in Europe, the current 
R&I gaps that are to be addressed, and the concerns expressed by stakeholders.  

The  scope  of  this  ex-ante  evaluation  covers  the  problems  to  be  addressed,  the  added  value  of  Union 
involvement, policy objectives, expected impacts of different options, their contribution to wider EU policy 
objectives, and monitoring and evaluation arrangements. 

This ex-ante evaluation outlines that in order to accelerate investments in research and innovation for coal 
and steel to improve the attractiveness of the RFCS programme, a proposal for a reform addressing key 
elements is necessary.  

The new RFCS programme should maintain the funding of research projects covering a broad range of 
Technology  Readiness  Levels  (TRLs),  in  keeping  with  the  current  ‘Annual  Calls’  of  the  RFCS,  which 
stakeholders consider their top priority. At the same time, higher co-funding rates are expected to increase 
attractiveness of the programme, in particular for larger, high-TRL innovation projects, which stand at the 
core of the Clean Steel Partnership and are proving equally important to coal transition.  

1 COM(2025)30 final 
2 COM(2025)85 final 
3 COM(2025)125 final 

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The  acceleration  of  funding  could  be  provided  by  making  the  remaining  assets  available  through  two 
biannual work programmes for 2027-28 and 2029-30, each with yearly annual calls and two deadlines per 
year.  RFCS  calls  could  be  open  to  research  and  innovation  projects  corresponding  to  both  the  current 
‘Annual Call’ and ‘Big Ticket’ call profiles. This, together with maintaining two deadlines per year, would 
allow for predictability and flexibility to better serve industry timelines.  

The RFCS’ attractiveness and impact could be further strengthened by also focussing explicitly on dual use 
projects, as announced in the European Steel and Metal Action Plan. To ensure full use of the remaining 
assets and fund the most impactful projects, the breakdown between coal-related and steel-related calls for 
proposals, under the proposed reform, would be implemented at the level of the RFCS work programmes, 
instead of at the level of the Council decision, thus allowing for necessary flexibility. This ex ante evaluation 
also points to the need for the mobilisation of stakeholders for a successful implementation of the reform. 
In  this  regard,  the  Commission  services  and  the  European  Research  Executive Agency  should  further 
enhance communication, outreach and early consultation with the coal and steel industries on their pertinent 
research  and  innovation  needs. They  should  also  liaise  with  and  encourage  Member  States  and,  where 
relevant, regional authorities to associate more closely to the RFCS until all assets are fully liquidated and 
used. This could facilitate the transition to other EU funds and instruments in order to support major steel 
and coal projects to address the research, innovation and investment needs of stakeholders. 

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