EARTO, the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations, welcomes the European Commission's Call for Evidence on the Single Basic Act (SBA) for Joint Undertakings. EARTO represents over 350 Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) across more than 32 countries, employing 228,000 highly-skilled researchers and engineers. RTOs occupy a distinctive position in the EU R&I ecosystem: as non-profit organisations bridging fundamental science and industrial application, they are essential for making Joint Undertakings work.
This response draws on EARTO's last position paper on EU Partnerships. EARTO supports a next generation of Joint Undertakings that is more strategic, more effective, and better equipped to advance EU competitiveness and technological sovereignty while still very much supporting to keep the model of EU Co-Programmed European RD&I Partnerships as well.
EARTO Members have documented the following key contributions of institutionalised partnerships to European RD&I:
- Supporting and developing EU global leadership in key technologies.
- Accelerating the creation and upscaling of new solutions: JUs foster pan-European collaborative RD&I within relevant ecosystems, valorise knowledge and help bridge the valley of death between research and market.
- Designing RD&I activities on a European scale: JUs structure RD&I communities and industrial value chains; align research priorities across EU borders and generate a coherent European logic that transcends isolated national agendas.
- Sharing risks and optimising resources: By mobilising entire industrial innovation value chains, JUs provide support that no single country, company or research actor can deliver alone.
- Aligning national and EU research & development agendas with industry needs: JUs ensure research and funding mechanisms are strategically directed and well-aligned with industry demands.
- Proven instrument for aligning EU, national and private investments – Especially relevant for strategic technologies and infrastructures.
- Delivering the highest leverage in Horizon Europe: Private contributions in institutionalised partnerships have more than doubled or tripled EU funding, making JUs the most financially leveraged instrument in the EU RD&I framework programme.
EARTO's five core asks for the new SBA:
- Co-design: Develop the architecture and selection of new JUs in close consultation with industry and RTOs from the outset. Avoid fixed minimum budget thresholds; base selection on strategic added value.
- Preserve community coherence: Avoid merging technologically distinct communities into jumbo JUs; strategic technology communities built over years are irreplaceable assets.
- Defend in-kind contributions: Retain in-kind contributions as a valid and valued form of private co-funding; any shift to cash must be voluntary and evidence-based. Establish funding mechanisms that make participation attractive for non-profit actors (including RTOs), so they can engage as core partners.
- Simplify, harmonise and improve transparency: Adopt the single SBA, harmonise rules across all JUs, eliminate unnecessary reporting, and apply the same participation conditions for associated countries. Promote more transparent governance by providing earlier visibility of strategic priorities, future roadmaps and upcoming funding opportunities.
- Recognise RTOs formally: Establish explicit governance roles for RTOs in the new SBA, and protect funding rates for non-profit participants.
EARTO and its members remain fully available to engage in further consultation, expert group work, and targeted discussions with the European Commission services as the impact assessment process proceeds. We are committed to ensuring that the next generation of Joint Undertakings delivers maximum impact for European RD&I, competitiveness, and technological sovereignty.
Download our full paper here.