European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Recast
The European Parliament adopted by 663 votes to 17, with 19 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (recast).
Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure amends the Commission's proposal as follows:
Mission and objectives
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) should:
- contribute to sustainable economic growth and competitiveness of the EU by strengthening the innovation capacity of the Union and the Member States in order to address major challenges facing society. To this end, it should promote synergies and cooperation between and integration of higher education, research and innovation, to the highest standards, including by fostering entrepreneurship, thereby strengthening innovation ecosystems across the EU in an open and transparent manner;
- contribute to the achievement of the EU's strategic priorities and objectives and policies, including the European Green Deal, the Recovery Plan for Europe, the European Data Strategy, the SME strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe and the new Industrial Strategy for Europe, and those related to achieving the Union's strategic autonomy, while maintaining an open economy;
- contribute to meeting global challenges, including the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in line with the principles of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and to achieving a net zero greenhouse gas emission economy by 2050 at the latest.
For the budgetary period 2021-2027, the EIT should contribute to the achievement of the targets and the specific objectives of Horizon Europe, taking full account of its strategic planning.
Tasks
The EIT should ensure that it is open to new potential partner organisations, in particular SMEs and emerging centres of excellence. It should select and designate Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) and define through partnership agreements the rights and obligations of these KICs, supervise them and provide them with support and strategic guidance, through quality control measures, continuous monitoring and periodic external evaluations of their activities, and take corrective action where necessary.
The continuation of existing KICs should be subject to an overall evaluation, which should include monitoring progress towards financial sustainability, as well as opening up to new members.
The EIT should also monitor the implementation of the activities to be carried out by KICs for the development of the entrepreneurial and innovation capacities of their member organisations, including higher education institutions, vocational education and training providers, SMEs and start-ups, and their integration into innovation ecosystems, across the EU and in line with the knowledge triangle approach.
EIT bodies and group of Member State representatives
The Governing Board should be responsible for steering and monitoring the activities of the EIT, for the selection, designation, financing, monitoring and evaluation of the KICs, including the adoption of appropriate corrective measures in case of underperformance of the KICs, and for other strategic decisions.
A Member State Representatives Group (MSRG) should be consulted on strategic decisions, such as the extension of partnership agreements with KICs.
EIT budget
The EU contribution should be provided in the form of a financial contribution from Horizon Europe set at EUR 2 726 000 000 in current prices, plus an additional amount of EUR 210 000 000 in constant 2018 prices, for the period 2021-2027.
The EIT may receive additional financial resources from other EU programmes.
Monitoring and evaluation of the EIT
The Commission, with the assistance of independent external experts and taking into account the views of stakeholders, should carry out a timely interim and final evaluation of the EIT and the KICs. No later than 31 December 2026, the Commission should, on the basis of the results of the evaluations, present, if appropriate, any proposal for the amendment of the Regulation which it considers necessary.