MEPs propose extra support under ECF to accelerate commercial development of EU research results

MEPs in charge of the Parliament's position on the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) have proposed a new instrument to support the commercial development of results of EU-funded research.

In their report on the ECF, published on 20/04/2026, Christian Ehler, a German centre-right MEP, and Dan Nica, a centre-left Romanian MEP, called for Horizon Europe Pathway Actions, within the fund, which would provide support for the deployment, commercialisation, scaling, licensing, standardisation or other forms of translation into real-world use of results from Horizon Europe projects.

They propose incorporating the Pathway Actions into the ECF to draw on results from any part of the Horizon Europe programme, whereas the Commission had proposed taking up the results only of Pillar 2 of the research and innovation programme (which is dedicated to competitiveness). Every ECF work programme would therefore include a dedicated section for these actions. Support may also involve establishing or upgrading technology infrastructures.

The report is expected to be discussed at the meeting of the EP's…