The European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) committee adopted its position on the proposed European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) on 10 November 2026, voting 61 in favour, 13 against and 12 abstentions. The committee set a recommended total of €264.35 billion in current prices for the 2028–2034 budget period, an increase of roughly €30 billion on the Commission’s original proposal.

What the committee actually changed

ITRE’s draft report also raises the proposed InvestEU guarantee ceiling to as much as €150 billion (from the Commission’s €70 billion proposal) and inserts a dedicated envelope and governance arrangements for critical raw materials, alongside a separate section for energy infrastructure and a €10.11 billion flexibility reserve. The committee adopted the text on 10 November and backed opening negotiations with EU governments.

The ECF proposal would merge multiple existing instruments into four policy windows covering clean energy and industrial decarbonisation, digital leadership, health and biotech, and resilience/security (including critical raw materials and defence). ITRE’s amendments explicitly increase minimum allocations for those components and seek a clearer pipeline from research to factory-scale deployment.

What this means for the market

For Central and Eastern Europe the ITRE position matters because the committee has put strategic weight and money behind the very items that underpin EV and battery manufacturing: access to critical raw materials, grid and energy projects, and investment guarantees that leverage private finance. A ring‑fenced budget and InvestEU leverage could make it easier for battery makers, miners and grid projects in CEE to reach bankable scale and lower the cost of capital for factory and mine investments.

MEPs from CEE are directly involved in shaping the file — the ECF and related Horizon files are steered in Parliament by rapporteurs including Christian Ehler (EPP, DE) and Dan Nica (S&D, RO) — signalling political backing in Brussels for industrial‑policy measures that CEE capitals have pushed for. That political connection increases the chance that projects in the region will be included among priorities when the fund and InvestEU instruments are finalised.

Practical effect will depend on the next steps: the ITRE position now goes to plenary and then inter‑institutional talks with the Council and Commission on the Multiannual Financial Framework. Any additional money or ring‑fenced envelopes still require agreement with member states and a final legal text before programmes and calls appear. ITRE’s vote on 10 November is a parliamentary negotiating mandate, not an implementation decision.

Companies and investors active in the CEE auto supply chain should watch three near‑term outputs: the final ECF allocations and rules, the InvestEU guarantee design (which changes bankability), and the governance language for the critical‑raw‑materials window (which will determine eligibility and national coordination). Those details will decide whether capital flows to mines, precursor plants, battery gigafactories and grid upgrades in Central and Eastern Europe.

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Sources: EuropaWire, 2eu Brussels