BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will propose a European Competitiveness Fund as part of the bloc's next long-term budget to invest in European strategic technologies like artificial intelligence, clean industry and biotech, the head of the Commission said.
In guidelines for the next five years outlining policy plans for the EU executive arm, Ursula von der Leyen said the European Competitiveness Fund would support important projects of common interest.
"It will ensure that we use the power of our budget to leverage and de-risk private investment in our common goals," von der Leyen said in the guidelines, published shortly before a vote in the European Parliament on whether she should get a second term as head of the Commission.
Von der Leyen said the fund would be part of proposals for the next multi-annual EU budget for the period 2028-2034.
"The European Competitiveness Fund will support Important Projects of Common Interest (IPCEIs) so that Europe can use its collective strength to invest together in ambitious common projects - as has already been done on a smaller scale with batteries, hydrogen and microelectronics," she said.
"I will make IPCEIs simpler and faster to get financed and off the ground. The first new set of common projects will be proposed in early 2025," she said.
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)
