JEF-IPCEI national best practices collection - Key Priorities 1 to 6

Sep 12, 2026

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This collection compiles 2024 recommendations from the Joint European Forum for Important Projects of Common European Interest (JEF-IPCEI) working group on National Best Practices. It supports Member States in sharing experience and building best practices for managing IPCEI processes at national level, aiming to improve efficiency and speed. The package covers six Key Priorities (KPs): assessment framework, expressions of interest calls, governance, pre-screening before pre-notification, assessment-phase practices, and national budgeting, endorsed in April 2025 by a high-level forum meeting.

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Executive summary

Key Priorities (KPs)

Key Priority n°1 - National assessment framework for participating in an IPCEI

Lessons learnt from national experiences

Joint European Forum for Important Projects of Common European Interest Working Group on National Best Practices Collection of recommendations on Key Priorities 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 Endorsed by the high-level meeting of the Joint European Forum for IPCEIs on 9 April 2025 Executive summary This collection gathers the recommendations prepared in 2024 by the working group on National Best Practices, which aims at enabling Member States to share and learn about their respective experiences in managing IPCEI processes at national level, with the objective of establishing best practices to improve the efficiency and speed of those processes. The National Best Practices working group prepared recommendations on six topics (‘Key Priorities’, or‘KPs’): 1. National assessment framework for participating in an IPCEI 2. National calls for expression of interest 3. National IPCEI governance 4. National pre-screening of projects prior to pre-notification 5. National best practices during the assessment phase 6. National budgeting process Disclaimer These recommendations do not express an applicable legal position or constitute a legally binding approach, neither for the Member States nor for the European Commission nor for the undertakings of an IPCEI ecosystem. They do not create any further rights, nor impose any new obligations, in addition to those laid down in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Procedural Regulation 1, the Implementing Regulation2 and the Code of Best Practice for the conduct of State aid control procedures3, as well as the IPCEI Communication as interpreted by the Union Courts4. All work of the JEF-IPCEI is done on the basis of existing State aid rules. It is neither the mandate of a Working Group nor the JEFIPCEI to consider, propose or prepare any changes of these rules, nor to legally interpret these rules. These recommendations constitute a common basis of what has been observed in past IPCEIs proceduresand may be used to facilitate the processing of future IPCEIs but do not prevent Member States to adapt the design to the needs and specificities that may arise in potential future IPCEIs neither preclude the Commission assessment or decision. These recommendations are without prejudice to any existing national rules Member States may have for managing IPCEI processes. 1 OJ L 248, 24 .9.2015, p. 9 2 OJ L 325, 10.12.2015, p. 1 3 OJ C 253, 19.7.2018, p. 14 4 This document does not contain an exhaustive overview of the State aid rules. Key Priority n°1 – National assessment framework for participating in an IPCEI Objective of this Key Priority is to offer guidance in the national decision-making process regarding whether to participate in an IPCEI initiative. The target group would be national governments and potentially extend to external stakeholders and national parliaments, depending on the internal decisionmaking process of each Member State. Typically, the national assessment framework would be used from the moment that an IPCEI initiative has been introduced at EU level and the idea and scope have already been somewhat defined. The national assessment can be carried out in parallel to all the steps of the identification work at EU level, from the moment of initiating a new IPCEI concept up to the Design phase of an IPCEI, as it states the rationale to participate in an IPCEI from a national point of view. The decision to join an IPCEI would be typically followed by the launch of the national call for expression of interest (Key Priority n°2) . 1. Lessons learnt from national experiences In the initial stages of the IPCEIs on Hydrogen and Microelectronics and Connectivity (ME/CT), within the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, major discussions were held if the Netherlands should join. To assess whether market/systems failures, relevant to the Netherlands, needed to be addressed both at national and EU level, more analysis

FAQs

What is the purpose of the JEF-IPCEI National Best Practices recommendations?

They help Member States share and learn from national experiences in managing IPCEI processes and establish best practices to improve efficiency and speed.

Which six Key Priorities topics are covered in the collection?

The collection covers KP1 assessment framework, KP2 calls for expression of interest, KP3 IPCEI governance, KP4 pre-screening before pre-notification, KP5 best practices during the assessment phase, and KP6 the national budgeting process.

Do the recommendations create legal obligations for Member States or the European Commission?

No. The recommendations are not a legally binding approach and do not create additional rights or obligations beyond existing EU and related rules.

Sep 12, 2026

Upload by McQueen