The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
adopted the report by Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO) on
the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the
Development of Fusion Energy.
The Committee welcomed the Commission’s
proposal for a Council Decision amending
Decision 2007/198/Euratom establishing the European Joint
Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy which
will provide the basis for the financing of the activities of the
Joint Undertaking for the period 2021-2027 under the Euratom
Treaty.
It however regretted the fact that the Council
has not consulted Parliament on that proposal and welcomed the
Commission’s stated intention to consider ‘options for
enhanced qualified majority voting and for a possible reform of the
Euratom Treaty’. It expects that such a reform would
necessarily lead to co-legislative powers for
Parliament.
It recalled the delay in the construction of
the experimental reactor which will now not commence until 2025 and
stressed that:
- the Euratom contribution to the Joint Undertaking for
the period 2021-2027 should not be exceeded;
- in order to avoid successive upward revisions of the
projected cost of the project, to avoid delays in the expected
dates of operational milestones and to ensure the highest possible
degree of schedule reliability, the ITER Organisation should
include reasonable contingency provisions in any revised
schedule.
The Committee supported, in this regard, the
contingency provisions of up to 24 months in terms of schedule and
10-20 % in terms of budget proposed by the
Commission.
Members called on the Council to approve the
Commission proposal while introducing the following
modifications:
- indicate the Euratom contribution to the Joint
Undertaking in both constant and current prices,
- use, for clarity purposes, the word
‘Euratom’ instead of ‘Community’ throughout the
text,
- include clear provisions regarding the committees
assisting the Governing Board of the Joint Undertaking, in
particular the Administration and Management Committee, the
Procurement and Contracts Committee, and the Technical Advisory
Panel, as regards their composition, permanent or temporary status,
number of meetings and method of remuneration of their
members,
- evaluate and eliminate overlapping responsibilities
between the Administration and Management Committee and the
Technical Advisory Panel with regard to project plans and work
programmes,
- introduce provisions regarding the contributions of
the ITER host state,
- include in Annex III a requirement to lay down, in the
Financial Regulation of the Joint Undertaking, rules and procedures
for the evaluation of in-kind contributions,
- include provisions in Article 5 and Annex III enabling
the Joint Undertaking to receive funding in the form of financial
instruments in connection with blending operations implemented in
accordance with the future InvestEU Programme,
- clarify the role and contribution of the United
Kingdom in the light of its Euratom status, particularly with
regard to potential participation in ITER,
- include provisions regarding synergies and cooperation
between ITER and the Euratom Research and Training Programme for
the period 2021-2025,
- consider cooperation with small and medium-sized
private disruptive players, such as start-ups experimenting with
new approaches and technologies, in the research programme and the
network of organisations designated in the field of scientific and
technological fusion research,
- clarify the provisions concerning the annual reports
and assessments drawn up by the Joint Undertaking,
- include in the proposal a
recommendation to investigate the possible further use of the
materials currently being used in the ITER project.