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CROSS-BORDER PROJECTS
We tell you everything you need to know about Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI)
Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) are cross-border, cutting-edge innovation and infrastructure projects, which aim to bring together the public and private sectors. They are designed to overcome major or systemic market failures in strategic value chains.
IPCEIs should contribute significantly to the achievement of EU strategies, including the European Green Deal and the Digital Strategy. Furthermore, they should generate positive spill-over effects for the benefit of the EU economy and its citizens at large. In other words, they should contribute to sustainable economic growth, job creation, competitiveness, etc.
The requirements to be met are:
IPCEIs are a state aid scheme to support R&D&I activity established by the European Commission (EC). Funding is granted through State aid, in accordance with EU rules, from the national budget, which must be notified to Brussels for assessment and, if necessary, approval.
For aid granted to an IPCEI to be considered compatible with the internal market, it must meet the following criteria:
The application process to participate in an IPCEI has different steps and negotiations between the Member States and the European Commission.
First, Member States identify a market failure and raise the possibility of establishing an IPCEI to cover it. Each Member State launches national Expressions of Interest (EOI) and calls for applications to which those interested in joining the IPCEI can apply.
The competent authorities in the Member States review the proposals received and select the best proposals to be part of the project. The phase between pre-notification and notification is used to evaluate the submitted projects and clarify any outstanding issues. As for the notification phase, it can be relatively short. This allows the Commission to finalise its assessment and take the appropriate decision.
Finally, the assessment of IPCEIs is carried out by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition, which must have analysed the project’s compliance with the Criteria for the analysis of the compatibility of aid with the internal market set out in EC Communication C (2021) 8481 of 25/11/2021.
In 2014, the European Commission adopted a specific communication on state aid rules for IPCEIs, setting out the criteria to be taken into account for the assessment of state aid to promote the implementation of IPCEIs.
In November 2021, the EC published a revision, which entered into force on 1st January 2022 and which sets out the criteria for the Commission to assess Member States’ support for IPCEIs.
In particular, the revised Communication:
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The expertise gained working with different EU programmes over the past decades has made Zabala Innovation the best partner to manage your European project.
To maximise the success and impact of a project, we manage the communication and dissemination activities, but we also define a social innovation strategy and tools to measure its impact.
We guide companies through the implementation of adequate innovation strategies, which allows them to tackle any transformation challenge in a coordinated and effective manner, from an integrated perspective.