In June, EU institutions approved a reform of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel. The instrument is designed to stimulate innovation and research related to the energy transition. Under the reformed fund, higher annual financing has been planned, enabling total investments of around EUR 800 million by 2034. According to MEP Borys Budka, these funds for research and innovation will help strategic mining regions such as Silesia shift towards green energy and create new jobs.
“The Research Fund for Coal and Steel is the only instrument of its kind that supports the scientific sector during the energy transition. It is a tool designed for regions such as Silesia, which are facing the challenges of energy transformation but also have enormous scientific potential that can be used, for example, in the process of moving from coal to renewable sources. This includes the use of post-industrial sites, reducing methane emissions in post-mining areas, and investing in technologies that enable, for instance, clean steel production,” Borys Budka, Member of the European Parliament from Civic Coalition and chair of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, told Newseria.
The Research Fund for Coal and Steel was established in 2002 after the expiry of the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. It uses annual interest from the remaining ECSC assets to support research and innovation projects that strengthen the competitiveness of Europe’s coal and steel industries.
In June, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament agreed on the details of the fund’s reform, which were approved by the Council at the end of last month. Under the decision of the EU institutions, the programme has been extended until 2034, rather than 2030 as originally proposed by the European Commission. The fund will provide up to EUR 120 million annually, with total investments amounting to around EUR 800 million.
“For us, for Poland, it was very important to maintain this mechanism as a research instrument. The link between industry and science is extremely important if we want to carry out an effective energy transition, transform jobs and achieve what is crucial — international competitiveness,” Budka explained.
Projects financed by the Research Fund for Coal and Steel include, among others, steel production processes, optimised use and conservation of resources, energy savings and improved industrial efficiency, health and safety at work, environmental protection, technologies supporting coal regions during the transition period, and the reduction of emissions from steel production.
The reform, planned from 2027, is intended to simplify access to support and prepare the fund for future integration with other EU research and innovation programmes, as well as investment support programmes.
“The funds we managed to agree together with the Commission and the Council of the European Union are only part of the assistance that is and will be allocated to regions undergoing energy transition. In this fund, we are talking about research, not direct support for industry. There are other instruments for that,” said the chair of the ITRE Committee in the European Parliament. “We are designing a new financial perspective for the Horizon programme and, as a new element, we will introduce a special European Competitiveness Fund to support companies that are innovative and implementing new solutions. This research fund should therefore be treated as one element of a larger puzzle, but it is the only tool designed in this way and dedicated specifically to two areas: coal and steel.”
In its proposal for the new Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034, presented in July 2025, the European Commission provided for the creation of a European Competitiveness Fund, which will invest in strategic technologies. It is intended to simplify and accelerate EU financing and stimulate private and public investment.
Support will focus on four areas: clean transition and decarbonisation; digitalisation; health, biotechnology, agriculture and the bioeconomy; and defence and space. The budget proposed by the European Commission for the entire fund amounts to EUR 409 billion, including EUR 175 billion for the Horizon Europe programme.
“The transition from coal to modern green energy sources is a long-term process, but in Poland we emphasise that it must not take place at the expense of people,” Budka stressed. “It is important to guarantee new, clean and safer jobs. This requires professional retraining and proper treatment of people who have worked hard in recent years, including in mining, so that they themselves can see that green energy represents the future and an opportunity for their professional development. It should be an incentive to take part in the transformation.”
