2023 discharge: General budget of the EU - Joint Undertakings
The European Parliament decided to grant discharge for the implementation of the budget of all joint undertakings for the financial year 2023.
In its resolution, adopted by Parliament by 516 votes to 101, with 39 abstentions, Parliament noted that the role of joint undertakings should be to support research and innovation activities in the fields of transport, energy, health, circular bio-industries, key electronic components, supercomputing and network systems.
Budget management
Parliament noted that the total budget available in 2023 for the eleven joint undertakings audited by the Court was EUR 4.25 billion in commitment appropriations and EUR 3.87 billion in payment appropriations according to the Court. In 2023, the total budget available for each joint undertaking was as follows:
- Research on air traffic management in the Single European Sky 3 : EUR 111.2 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 241.5 million in payment appropriations;
- Clean aviation : EUR 269 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 486.4 million in payment appropriations;
- Innovative Health Initiative : EUR 223.2 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 225.9 million in payment appropriations;
- Clean hydrogen : EUR 268.9 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 327.8 million in payment appropriations;
- Chips : EUR 835.7 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 518.4 million in payment appropriations;
- Circular Bio-based Europe : EUR 227.4 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 137.4 million in payment appropriations;
- Europe’s Rail : EUR 102.6 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 120.3 million in payment appropriations;
- European High-Performance Computing : EUR 1136 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 1058 million in payment appropriations;
- Smart networks and services : EUR 134.7 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 122.9 million in payment appropriations;
- Global Health EDCTP3: EUR 136.4 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 2.2 million in payment appropriations;
- ITER and the development of fusion energy : EUR 807 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 631.5 million in payment appropriations.
Parliament echoed the Court's concerns about unused appropriations during the implementation of certain joint undertakings' programmes and called on the joint undertakings concerned to prevent such situations from recurring. It highlighted shortcomings in the cash flow planning of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking, the Chips Joint Undertaking and the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking. It stressed that all joint undertakings must strengthen their internal financial controls and public transparency mechanisms to ensure that funds are allocated efficiently and in line with the Union's strategic objectives.
Parliament also endorsed the Court's concern regarding members' contributions to certain joint undertakings, in particular regarding the possibility that some joint undertakings may not achieve their contribution targets or may only achieve them by relying heavily on in-kind contributions to additional activities. It called on the joint undertakings concerned to take measures to prevent such situations from arising in the future.
The Single Basic Act for Joint Undertakings requires joint undertakings to achieve synergies by establishing administrative support arrangements in a number of areas. Members noted that four areas have been prioritised by the joint undertakings concerned: accounting activities, legal activities, information and communication technologies, and human resources.
General observations
Parliament called on the Joint Undertakings to encourage the transformation of scientific knowledge into marketable innovations and to establish mechanisms that enable their activities to contribute to improving Europe's global competitiveness. Under the current Multiannual Financial Framework, the Joint Undertakings are expected to receive a total budget of EUR 17 billion in cash contributions from the Union and EUR 21.1 billion in contributions from other members.
Recalling that joint ventures are by nature public-private partnerships, Members stressed that contributions from private members must meet the set objectives for these partnerships to remain mutually beneficial. However, joint ventures must avoid over-reliance on in-kind contributions for additional activities to achieve their set objectives.
Parliament highlighted the important contribution of the Joint Undertakings to the advancement of research, innovation and technological development in various sectors, including aviation, rail transport and air traffic management, which are essential for achieving the Union's strategic objectives in the areas of sustainability, digital transformation and competitiveness. It welcomed the fact that two Joint Undertakings have achieved financial autonomy in the financial year 2023, namely the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking and the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking.
The resolution noted the challenges faced in 2023, including the war in Ukraine, the ongoing impact of COVID-19, and inflation, which have affected performance and timelines. Lastly, it recognised the importance of public-private cooperation to foster innovation and the value of initiatives that foster stakeholder engagement and participation, while reiterating that joint ventures must exercise sound financial management in their operations.