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COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) 2021/1173 of 13 July 2021 on establishing the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/1488

COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) 2021/1173

of 13 July 2021

on establishing the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/1488

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

1. Ħarsa ġenerali

Titlu	Regolamentazzjoni
Article 1 Establishment
Article 2 Definitions	Article 2 Definitions For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply: (1) ‘acceptance test’ means a test conducted to determine if the requirements of the system specification are met by a EuroHPC supercomputer; (2) ‘access time’ means the computing time of a supercomputer that is made available to a user or a group of users to execute their computer programmes; (3) ‘affiliated entity’ means any legal entity as defined in Article 187(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046; ▼M1 (3a) ‘AI-optimised supercomputer’ means a supercomputer that is designed primarily for training large scale, general-purpose artificial intelligence (‘AI’) models and emerging AI applications; (3b) ‘AI factory’ means a centralised or distributed entity that provides an AI supercomputing service infrastructure which is composed of an AI-optimised supercomputer or an AI partition of a supercomputer, an associated data centre, dedicated access and AI-oriented supercomputing services, and which attracts and pools talent to provide the competences required to use the supercomputers for AI; ▼M2 (3c) ‘Artificial Intelligence gigafactory’ or ‘AI gigafactory’ means a state-of-the-art large-scale facility with sufficient capacity to handle the complete lifecycle, from development to large-scale inference, of very large AI models and applications, providing a supercomputing service infrastructure which is composed of AI-optimised computing capacity, a supporting data centre infrastructure including high-capacity storage and networking, dedicated secure cloud user access environments, and specialised secure AI-oriented support services for its advanced operations, all of which are supported by an environmentally sustainable infrastructure, in particular for energy and water supply systems; (3d) ‘Artificial Intelligence gigafactory Consortium’ or ‘AI gigafactory Consortium’ means an association of eligible legal entities forming a consortium and bound by a consortium agreement with the purpose of establishing and operating an AI gigafactory and specifying the respective roles and responsibilities of those entities for the lifetime of the AI gigafactory, or a new legal entity established for the purpose of establishing and operating an AI gigafactory, and such consortium is duly established in the Union for a minimum duration of five years and of which one or more of the private partners may be participating in the Private Members of the Joint Undertaking; (3e) ‘AI gigafactory Coordinator’ means a legal entity, duly incorporated in the Union and validly existing under the laws of the Member State in which it is established, which: is legally authorised to represent an AI gigafactory Consortium and has the legal capacity and authority to enter into, execute and perform the AI gigafactory Hosting Agreement; is headquartered in the Union; is under the control, directly or indirectly, through ownership interest or via other means, as defined in Chapter IV of Regulation (EU) No 2024/1624 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 1 ) and relevant Union competition law principles, of legal entities or natural persons established within the Union; and may also be an existing hosting entity representing a Participating State that is a Member State or a hosting consortium of Participating States; (3f) ‘AI gigafactory Hosting Agreement’ means an agreement between the Joint Undertaking and the AI gigafactory Coordinator to host and operate an AI gigafactory; (3g) ‘AI gigafactory hosting entity’ means a legal entity which has been designated by an AI gigafactory Consortium to host and operate an AI gigafactory and its services, and which is established in a Participating State that is a Member State; (3h) ‘Artificial Intelligence gigafactory Cooperation Agreement’ is an agreement between the Joint Undertaking and a third country specifying eligibility of participation in an AI gigafactory Consortium and user access to AI gigafactories for the legal entities under the control, directly or indirectly, through ownership interest or via other means, of legal entities or natural persons established in that third country; (3i) ‘a multi-site single-country AI gigafactory’ is an AI gigafactory deployed in more than one physical location within the territory of one Member State; (3j) ‘a multi-site multi-country AI gigafactory’ is an AI gigafactory deployed in more than one physical location and in the territories of more than one Member State; ▼B (4) ‘Centre of Excellence in High Performance Computing’ means a collaborative project selected in an open and competitive call for proposals to promote the use of upcoming extreme performance computing capabilities enabling user communities in collaboration with other High Performance Computing stakeholders to scale up existing parallel codes towards exascale and extreme scaling performance; (5) ‘co-design’ means a collective approach between technology suppliers and users engaged in a collaborative and iterative design process for developing new technologies, applications and systems; (6) ‘conflict of interest’ means a situation involving a financial actor or other person as referred to in Article 61 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046; (7) ‘constituent entity’ means an entity that constitutes a Private Member of the Joint Undertaking, pursuant to the statutes of each Private Member; (8) ‘consortium of private partners’ means an association of Union legal entities coming together for the purpose of acquiring jointly with the Joint Undertaking an industrial-grade supercomputer; one or more of these private partners may be participating in the Private Members of the Joint Undertaking; ▼M1 (9) ‘EuroHPC supercomputer’ means any computing system which is fully owned by the Joint Undertaking or co-owned with other Participating States or a consortium of private partners and which is a classical supercomputer (high-end supercomputer, industrial-grade supercomputer, AI-optimised supercomputer or mid-range supercomputer), a hybrid classical-quantum computer, a quantum computer or a quantum simulator; ▼B (10) ‘exascale’ means a performance level capable of executing ten to the power of eighteen operations per second (or 1 Exaflop); (11) ‘high-end supercomputer’ means a world-class computing system developed with the most advanced technology available at a given point in time and achieving at least exascale levels of performance or beyond (i.e. post-exascale) for applications addressing problems of greater complexity; (12) ‘hosting consortium’ means a group of Participating States or a consortium of private partners that have agreed to contribute to the acquisition and operation of a EuroHPC supercomputer, including any organisations representing these Participating States; (13) ‘hosting entity’ means a legal entity which includes facilities to host and operate a EuroHPC supercomputer and which is established in a Participating State that is a Member State; (14) ‘hyper-connected’ means a communication capability of transferring data at 10 to the power of twelve bits per second (1 Terabit per second) or beyond; (15) ‘industrial-grade supercomputer’ means at least a mid-range supercomputer specifically designed with security, confidentiality and data integrity requirements for industrial users that are more demanding than for a scientific use; (16) ‘in-kind contributions to indirect actions’ funded from Horizon Europe means contributions by the Participating State or the Private Members of the Joint Undertaking or their constituent entities or their affiliated entities, consisting of the eligible costs incurred by them in implementing indirect actions less the contribution of that Joint Undertaking, of the Participating States of that Joint Undertaking and of any other Union contribution to those costs; (17) ‘in-kind contributions to actions’ funded from the Digital Europe Programme or the Connecting Europe Facility means contributions by the Participating State or the Private Members of the Joint Undertaking or their constituent entities or their affiliated entities, consisting of the eligible costs incurred by them in implementing part of the activities of the Joint Undertaking less the contribution of that Joint Undertaking, of the Participating States of that Joint Undertaking and of any other Union contribution to those costs; (18) ‘mid-range supercomputer’ means a world-class supercomputer with at most one order of magnitude lower performance level than a high-end supercomputer; (19) ‘national High Performance Computing Competence Centre’ means a legal entity, or a consortium of legal entities, established in a Participating State, associated with a national supercomputing centre of that Participating State, providing users from industry, including SMEs, academia, and public administrations with access on demand to the supercomputers and to the latest High Performance Computing technologies, tools, applications and services, and offering expertise, skills, training, networking and outreach; ▼M2 (19a) ‘National Quantum Competence Centre’ means a legal entity, or a consortium of legal entities, established in a Participating State, providing users from industry, including SMEs, academia and research-performing organisations, and public administrations with access on demand to quantum technologies, tools, applications and services, as well as to national or European quantum infrastructures, and offering expertise, skills, training, networking and outreach; ▼B (20) ‘observer State’ means a country eligible to participate in the actions of the Joint Undertaking funded by Horizon Europe or the Digital Europe Programme that is not a Participating State; (21) ‘Participating State’ means a country that is a member of the Joint Undertaking; (22) ‘performance level’ means the number of floating point operations per second (flops) that a supercomputer can execute; (23) ‘Private Member’ means any member of the Joint Undertaking other than the Union or Participating States; (24) ‘quantum computer’ means a computing device that harnesses the laws of quantum mechanics to solve certain particular tasks using therefore fewer computational resources than classical computers; (25) ‘quantum simulator’ means a highly controllable quantum device that allows to obtain insights into properties of complex quantum systems or to solve specific computational problems inaccessible to classical computers; (26) ‘security of the supply chain’ of a EuroHPC supercomputer means the measures to include in the selection of any supplier of this supercomputer to ensure the availability of components, technologies, systems and knowhow required in the acquisition and operation of this supercomputer; this includes measures for mitigating the risks related to eventual disruptions in the supply of such components, technologies, and systems, including price changes or lower performance or alternative sources of supply; it covers the whole lifetime of the EuroHPC supercomputer; (27) ‘Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda’ means the document covering the duration of Horizon Europe that identifies the key priorities and the essential technologies and innovations required to achieve the objectives of the Joint Undertaking; (28) ‘multiannual strategic programme’ means a document laying out a strategy for all the activities of the Joint Undertaking; (29) ‘supercomputing’ means computing at performance levels requiring the massive integration of individual computing elements, including quantum components, for solving problems which cannot be handled by standard computing systems; (30) ‘total cost of ownership’ of a EuroHPC supercomputer means the acquisition costs plus the operating costs, including maintenance, until the ownership of the supercomputer is transferred to the hosting entity or is sold, or until the supercomputer is decommissioned without transfer of ownership; (31) ‘work programme’ means the document referred to in Article 2, point (25), of Regulation (EU) 2021/695 or, where relevant, the document which also functions as the work programme referred to in Article 24 of Regulation (EU) 2021/694, or Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1153.
Article 3 Mission and objectives
Article 4 Pillars of activity
Article 5 Union’s financial contribution
Article 6 Other Union contributions	Article 6 Other Union contributions Contributions from Union programmes other than those referred to in Article 5(1) that are part of a Union co-financing to a programme implemented by one of the Participating States that is a Member State shall not be accounted for in the calculation of the Union maximum financial contribution referred to in Article 5.
Article 7 Contributions of members other than the Union
Article 8 Management of contributions from the Participating States
Article 9 Hosting entity
Article 10 Hosting agreement
Article 11 Acquisition and ownership of high-end supercomputers
Article 12 Acquisition and ownership of quantum computers and quantum simulators
Article 12a Acquisition and ownership of AI-optimised supercomputers
Article 12b Artificial Intelligence gigafactory
Article 13 Acquisition and ownership of industrial-grade EuroHPC supercomputers
Article 14 Acquisition and ownership of the mid-range supercomputers
Article 15 Upgrading of supercomputers
Article 16 Use of EuroHPC supercomputers
Article 17 Allocation of Union’s access time to the EuroHPC supercomputers
Article 18 Union’s access time to EuroHPC supercomputers for commercial purposes
Article 19 Financial rules
Article 20 Staff
Article 21 Seconded national experts and trainees
Article 22 Privileges and Immunities	Article 22 Privileges and Immunities Protocol No 7 on the privileges and immunities of the European Union, annexed to the TEU and the TFEU, shall apply to the Joint Undertaking and its staff.
Article 23 Liability of the Joint Undertaking
Article 24 Monitoring and evaluation
Article 25 Jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union and applicable law
Article 26 Complaints to the Ombudsman	Article 26 Complaints to the Ombudsman Decisions taken by the Joint Undertaking in implementing this Regulation may form the subject of a complaint to the Ombudsman in accordance with Article 228 TFEU.
Article 27 Ex post audits
Article 28 Protection of the financial interests of the members
Article 29 Confidentiality	Article 29 Confidentiality The Joint Undertaking shall ensure the protection of sensitive information the disclosure of which could damage the interests of its members or of participants in the activities of the Joint Undertaking.
Article 30 Transparency	Article 30 Transparency Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 10 ) shall apply to documents held by the Joint Undertaking.
Article 31 Processing of personal data	Article 31 Processing of personal data Where the implementation of this Regulation requires the processing of personal data, they shall be processed in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 11 ).
Article 32 Access to results and information on proposals
Article 33 Rules for participation and dissemination applicable to indirect actions funded under Horizon Europe
Article 34 Reimbursement rates
Article 35 Rules applicable to the activities funded under the Connecting Europe Facility	Article 35 Rules applicable to the activities funded under the Connecting Europe Facility Regulation (EU) 2021/1153 shall apply to the activities funded by the Joint Undertaking under the Connecting Europe Facility.
Article 36 Rules applicable to the activities funded under the Digital Europe Programme	Article 36 Rules applicable to the activities funded under the Digital Europe Programme Regulation (EU) 2021/694 shall apply to the activities funded by the Joint Undertaking under the Digital Europe Programme.
Article 37 Support from the host Member State	Article 37 Support from the host Member State An administrative agreement may be concluded between the Joint Undertaking and the Member State where its seat is located concerning privileges and immunities and other support to be provided by that State to the Joint Undertaking.
Article 38 Repeal
Article 39 Transitional provisions
Article 40 Entry into force	Article 40 Entry into force This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
ANNEX STATUTES OF THE EUROPEAN HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING JOINT UNDERTAKING	ANNEX STATUTES OF THE EUROPEAN HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING JOINT UNDERTAKING Article 1 Tasks The Joint Undertaking shall carry out the following tasks: (a) mobilise public and private sector funds for the financing of the activities of the Joint Undertaking; (b) support the implementation of the mission, the objectives and the pillars of activities of the Joint Undertaking listed in Articles 3 and 4 of this Regulation; those activities will be funded by the Union’s budget stemming from Regulation (EU) 2021/695 establishing Horizon Europe, Regulation (EU) 2021/694 establishing Digital Europe Programme and Regulation (EU) 2021/1153 establishing the Connecting Europe Facility, in accordance with the scope of their respective Regulations and by contributions from the relevant Participating States to the Joint Undertaking; for that purpose the Joint Undertaking shall launch calls for proposals, calls for tenders, and any other instrument or procedure provided for in Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme, and the Connecting Europe Facility; (c) initiate and manage the calls for expression of interest for hosting or upgrading EuroHPC supercomputers and evaluate the offers received, with the support of independent external experts; (d) select the hosting entity of the EuroHPC supercomputers in a fair, open and transparent manner, in accordance with Article 9 of this Regulation; (e) conclude a hosting agreement in accordance with Article 10 of this Regulation with the hosting entity for the operation and maintenance of the EuroHPC supercomputers and monitor the contractual compliance with the hosting agreement, including the acceptance test of the acquired supercomputers; (f) define general and specific conditions for allocating the Union’s share of access time to the EuroHPC supercomputers and monitor access to those supercomputers in accordance with Article 17 of this Regulation; (g) ensure the contribution of its operations to the achievement of the objectives of Horizon Europe, the strategic multiannual planning, reporting, monitoring and evaluation and other requirements of that programme such as the implementation of the common policy feedback framework; (h) initiate open calls for proposals and award funding in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/695, and within the limits of available funds, to indirect actions, mainly in the form of grants; (i) initiate open calls for proposals and calls for tenders and award funding in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/694 and Regulation (EU) 2021/1153 within the limits of available funds; (j) monitor the implementation of the actions and manage grant agreements and procurement contracts; (k) ensure the efficiency of the European High Performance Computing initiative, on the basis of a set of appropriate measures; (l) monitor overall progress towards achieving the objectives of the Joint Undertaking; (m) develop close cooperation and ensure coordination with Union and national activities, bodies and stakeholders, creating synergies and improving exploitation of research and innovation results in the area of High Performance Computing; (n) develop close cooperation and ensure coordination with other European Partnerships, as well as operational synergies in common back office functions with other Joint Undertakings; (o) define the multiannual strategic programme, draw up and implement the corresponding annual work programmes for their execution and make any necessary adjustments to the multiannual strategic programme; (p) engage in information, communication, exploitation and dissemination activities by applying mutatis mutandis Article 51 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, including making the detailed information on results from calls for proposals available and accessible in a common Horizon Europe e-database; (q) perform any other task needed to achieve the objectives set out in Article 3 of this Regulation. Article 2 Members 1. The members of the Joint Undertaking shall be: (a) the Union, represented by the Commission; (b) Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden; (c) Montenegro, North Macedonia, Switzerland and Turkey, on the condition that those third countries are associated to at least one of the relevant programmes referred to in Article 5(1) of this Regulation; (d) upon acceptance of these Statutes by means of a letter of endorsement, the European Technology Platform for High Performance Computing (ETP4HPC) Association registered under Dutch law with its registered office in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and Data, AI and Robotics (DAIRO) registered under Belgian law with its registered office in Brussels (Belgium). 2. Each Participating State shall appoint its representative in the Governing Board and shall designate the national entity or entities responsible for fulfilling its obligations under this Regulation. Article 3 Changes to membership 1. Provided that they contribute in accordance with Article 7 of this Regulation or to the financing referred to in Article 15 of these Statutes to achieve the mission and objectives of the Joint Undertaking set out in Article 3 of this Regulation, Member States or third countries associated to Horizon Europe or the Digital Europe Programme that are not listed in Article 2(1)(b) of these Statutes may apply to become members of the Joint Undertaking. ▼M2 2. Any application of a Member State or a third country associated to Horizon Europe or the Digital Europe Programme for membership of the Joint Undertaking shall be addressed to the Governing Board. The candidate countries shall provide a written acceptance of these Statutes, and of any other provisions governing the functioning of the Joint Undertaking. The candidates shall also provide their motivation for requesting membership of the Joint Undertaking and indicate how their national supercomputing or quantum technology strategy is aligned with the Joint Undertaking’s objectives. The Governing Board shall assess the application, taking into account the relevance and the potential added value of the candidate as regards the achievement of the mission and objectives of the Joint Undertaking and may decide to ask for clarifications regarding the candidature before endorsing the application. ▼C1 3. Provided that it contributes to the financing referred to in Article 15 of these Statutes to achieve the mission and objectives of the Joint Undertaking set out in Article 3 of this Regulation, and that it accepts these Statutes, any legal entity that is not listed in Article 2(1)(d) of these Statutes and is established in a Member State that directly or indirectly supports research and innovation in a Member State may apply to become a Private Member of the Joint Undertaking in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article. ▼B 4. Any application for membership to become a Private Member of the Joint Undertaking made in accordance with paragraph 3 shall be addressed to the Governing Board. The Governing Board shall assess the application, taking into account the relevance and the potential added value of the applicant as regards the achievement of the mission and objectives of the Joint Undertaking and shall decide on the application. 5. Any member may terminate its membership in the Joint Undertaking. Such termination shall become effective and irrevocable six months after notification to the Executive Director, who shall inform the other members of the Governing Board and the Private Members thereof. As from the date of termination, the former member shall be discharged from any obligations other than those approved or incurred by the Joint Undertaking prior to the notification of termination of the membership. 6. Each Private Member shall inform the Joint Undertaking once a year of any significant changes in the composition of the Private Member. Where the Commission considers that the change in composition is likely to affect the Union’s or the Joint Undertaking’s interests on grounds of security, it may propose to the Governing Board to terminate the membership of the concerned Private Member. The termination shall become effective and irrevocable within six months of the decision of the Governing Board or on the date specified in that decision, whichever is earlier. 7. Membership in the Joint Undertaking may not be transferred to a third party without the prior agreement of the Governing Board. 8. Upon any change to the membership pursuant to this Article, the Joint Undertaking shall immediately publish on its website an updated list of the members together with the date of such change. Article 4 Bodies of the Joint Undertaking 1. The bodies of the Joint Undertaking shall be: (a) the Governing Board; (b) the Executive Director; ▼M2 (c) the Industrial and Scientific Advisory Board composed of the Research and Innovation Advisory Group, the Infrastructure Advisory Group and the Quantum Technologies Advisory Group. ▼B 2. When carrying out its tasks, each body of the Joint Undertaking shall only pursue the objectives set out in this Regulation and shall only act within the scope of the activities of the Joint Undertaking for the purpose of which it was established. Article 5 Composition of the Governing Board 1. The Governing Board shall be composed of representatives of the Commission, on behalf of the Union, and of the Participating States. 2. The Commission and each Participating State shall appoint one representative to the Governing Board. ▼M2 3. For activities under the quantum technologies pillar, the Participating States may decide to use the same representative as for the other pillars of activity, assisted by the appropriate representatives and experts from their relevant competent authorities in the field of quantum technologies, or may appoint an additional representative from their relevant competent authorities in the field of quantum technologies. ▼B Article 6 Functioning of the Governing Board 1. The representatives of the members of the Governing Board shall make every effort to achieve consensus. Failing consensus, a vote shall be held. 2. The Union shall hold 50 % of the voting rights. The voting rights of the Union shall be indivisible. 3. For the tasks referred to in Article 7(3) of these Statutes, the remaining 50 % of the voting rights shall be distributed equally among all Participating States. For the purpose of this paragraph, decisions of the Governing Board shall be taken by a majority consisting of the Union’s vote and at least 50 % of all votes of the Participating States, including the votes of the members who are absent. 4. For the tasks referred to in Article 7(4) of these Statutes, except points (f), (g) and (h), the remaining 50 % of the voting rights shall be held by the Participating States that are Member States. For the purpose of this paragraph, decisions of the Governing Board shall be taken by a qualified majority. Qualified majority shall be deemed established if it represents the Union and at least 55 % of the Participating States that are Member States, comprising at least 65 % of the total population of these States. To determine the population, the figures set out in Annex III to Council Decision 2009/937/EU ( 12 ) shall be used. 5. For the tasks referred to in Article 7(4)(f), (g) and (h) of these Statutes, and for each EuroHPC supercomputer, the voting rights of the Participating States shall be distributed in proportion to their committed financial contributions and to their in-kind contributions to that supercomputer until either its ownership is transferred to the hosting entity in accordance with Article 9(3) of this Regulation or until it is sold or decommissioned; the in-kind contributions shall only be taken into account if they have been certified ex ante by an independent expert or auditor. For the purpose of this paragraph, decisions of the Governing Board shall be taken by a majority of at least 75 % of all votes, including the votes of the members who are absent. ▼M2 5a. For the tasks referred to in Article 7(4a), points (a) to (e) and point (g), of these Statutes, the remaining 50 % of the voting rights shall be held by the Participating States that are Member States. For the purpose of this paragraph, decisions of the Governing Board shall be taken by a qualified majority. Qualified majority shall be deemed established if it represents the Union and at least 55 % of the Participating States that are Member States, comprising at least 65 % of the total population of those States. To determine the population, the figures set out in Annex III to Decision 2009/937/EU shall be used. 5b. For the tasks referred to in Article 7(4a), point (f) of these Statutes, and for each AI gigafactory, the voting rights of the Participating States shall be distributed in proportion to their committed financial contributions to that AI gigafactory until either its ownership is transferred or it is sold or decommissioned, or until the contract expired for a pre-agreed guaranteed purchase of access time to the AI gigafactory referred to in Article 12b(5) of this Regulation. For the purpose of this paragraph, decisions of the Governing Board shall be taken by a majority of at least 75 % of all votes, including the votes of the members who are absent. ▼B 6. ►M2 For the tasks referred to in Article 7(5) to (7) of these Statutes, decisions of the Governing Board shall be taken in two stages. ◄ At the first stage, the remaining 50 % of the voting rights shall be distributed equally among all Participating States. Decisions of the Governing Board shall be taken by a majority consisting of the Union’s vote and at least 55 % of all votes of Participating States, including the votes of the members who are absent. At the second stage, the Governing Board shall decide by the qualified majority referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article. 7. Without prejudice to the previous paragraphs, countries that were members of the Joint Undertaking under Regulation (EU) 2018/1488 and contributed to the acquisition or operation of the supercomputers acquired by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, established under that Regulation, but which are no longer members of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, shall maintain voting rights limited exclusively to decisions relating to those supercomputers in accordance with Articles 6(5) and 7(5) of the Statutes of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking annexed to Regulation (EU) 2018/1488. 8. The Governing Board shall elect a chair for a period of two years. The mandate of the chairperson may be extended only once, following a decision by the Governing Board. 9. The vice chair of the Governing Board shall be the representative of the Commission, substituting the chair where necessary. 10. The Governing Board shall hold its ordinary meetings at least twice a year. It may hold extraordinary meetings at the request of the Commission, of a majority of the representatives of the Participating States, at the request of the chair, or at the request of the Executive Director in accordance with Article 15(5) of these Statutes. The meetings of the Governing Board shall be convened by its chair and shall usually take place at the seat of the Joint Undertaking. The Executive Director shall have the right to attend the meetings and take part in the deliberations but shall have no voting rights. The Governing Board may invite, on a case-by-case basis, other persons to attend its meetings as observers. Each observer State may appoint one delegate in the Governing Board, who shall receive all relevant documents and may participate in the deliberations of the Governing Board unless decided otherwise by the Governing Board on a case-by-case basis. Those delegates shall have no voting rights and shall ensure the confidentiality of sensitive information in accordance with Article 29 of this Regulation and be subject to the rules of conflict of interest. 11. The representatives of the members shall not be personally liable for any actions they have taken in their capacity as representatives on the Governing Board. 12. The Governing Board shall adopt and publish its own rules of procedure. Those rules shall include specific procedures for identifying and avoiding conflicts of interest and for ensuring the confidentiality of sensitive information. 13. The chairs of the Research and Innovation Advisory Group and of the Infrastructure Advisory Group of the Joint Undertaking shall be invited, whenever issues falling within their tasks are discussed, to attend meetings of the Governing Board as observers and take part in its deliberations, but shall have no voting rights. They shall ensure the confidentiality of sensitive information in accordance with Article 29 of this Regulation and be subject to the rules of conflict of interest. 14. The chairs of the Private Members of the Joint Undertaking shall be invited to attend the meetings of the Governing Board as observers and take part in its deliberations, but shall have no voting rights. They shall ensure the confidentiality of sensitive information in accordance with Article 29 of this Regulation and be subject to the rules of conflict of interest. Article 7 Tasks of the Governing Board 1. The Governing Board shall have overall responsibility for the strategic orientation and the operations of the Joint Undertaking and shall supervise the implementation of its activities. It shall ensure that the principles of fairness and transparency are properly applied in the allocation of public funding. 2. The Commission, in its role in the Governing Board, shall seek to ensure coordination between the activities of the Joint Undertaking and the relevant activities of Union funding programmes with a view to promoting synergies when developing an integrated supercomputing and data infrastructure ecosystem and when identifying priorities covered by collaborative research. 3. The Governing Board shall, in particular, carry out the following general administrative tasks of the Joint Undertaking: (a) assess, accept or reject applications for membership in accordance with Article 3(2) of these Statutes; (b) decide on the termination of membership in the Joint Undertaking of any member that does not fulfil its obligations; (c) discuss and adopt the financial rules of the Joint Undertaking in accordance with Article 19 of this Regulation; (d) discuss and adopt the annual administrative budget of the Joint Undertaking, including the corresponding staff establishment plan indicating the number of temporary posts by function group and by grade, the number of contract staff and seconded national experts expressed in full-time equivalents; (e) appoint, dismiss, extend the term of office of, provide guidance to and monitor the performance of the Executive Director; (f) discuss and approve the consolidated annual activity report, including the corresponding expenditure referred to in Article 18(1) of these Statutes; (g) exercise the powers of the appointing authority with respect to staff in accordance with Article 20 of this Regulation; (h) where appropriate, establish implementing rules to the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment in accordance with Article 20(3) of this Regulation; (i) where appropriate, lay down rules on the secondment of national experts to the Joint Undertaking and on the use of trainees in accordance with Article 21(2) of this Regulation; (j) where appropriate, set up advisory groups in addition to the bodies of the Joint Undertaking referred to in Article 4 of these Statutes; (k) lay down rules and specific criteria for the selection, appointment and dismissal of members of the advisory groups set up in accordance with point (j), including considerations of gender and geographical diversity, and approve the rules of procedure laid down autonomously by these advisory groups; (l) discuss and approve the organisational structure of the Programme Office upon recommendation of the Executive Director; (m) where appropriate, submit to the Commission a request to amend this Regulation proposed by a member of the Joint Undertaking; (n) define the general and specific access conditions to use the Union’s share of access time of the EuroHPC supercomputers, in accordance with Article 17 of this Regulation; (o) establish the level of the fee of the commercial services referred to in Article 18 of this Regulation, and decide on the allocation of the access time for those services; (p) discuss and approve the Joint Undertaking’s communication policy upon recommendation by the Executive Director; (q) be responsible for any task that is not specifically allocated to a particular body of the Joint Undertaking; it may assign such tasks to any body of the Joint Undertaking. 4. The Governing Board shall, in particular, carry out the following tasks related to the acquisition and operation of the EuroHPC supercomputers and generated revenues referred to in Article 16 of this Regulation: (a) discuss and adopt the part of the multiannual strategic programme that is related to the acquisition of EuroHPC supercomputers referred to in Article 18(1) of these Statutes; (b) discuss and adopt the part of the annual work programme that is related to the acquisition of EuroHPC supercomputers and the selection of hosting entities and the corresponding expenditure estimates referred to in Article 18(4) of these Statutes; (c) approve the launch of calls for expression of interest, in accordance with the annual work programme; (d) approve the selection of the hosting entities for the EuroHPC supercomputers selected through a fair, open and transparent process in accordance with Article 9 of this Regulation; (e) decide annually on the use of any revenue generated by the fees for commercial services referred to in Article 18 of this Regulation; (f) approve the launch of calls for tenders, in accordance with the annual work programme; (g) approve the tenders selected for funding; (h) decide on the possible transfer of ownership of the EuroHPC supercomputers to a hosting entity, their sale to another entity or their decommissioning, in accordance with Articles 11(5), 12(7) and 14(6) of this Regulation; (i) decide on the possible transfer of ownership of the EuroHPC supercomputers to a consortium of private partners, their sale to another entity or their decommissioning, in accordance with Article 13(6) of this Regulation. ▼M2 4a. The Governing Board shall carry out the following tasks related to the AI gigafactories referred to in Article 12b of this Regulation: (a) discuss and adopt the part of the multiannual strategic programme that is related to the establishment of AI gigafactories referred to in Article 18(1) of these Statutes; (b) discuss and adopt the part of the annual work programme that is related to the establishment of AI gigafactories and the selection of AI gigafactory Consortia and the corresponding expenditure estimates; (c) approve the launch of calls for expression of interest, in accordance with the annual work programme; (d) approve the selection of the AI gigafactory Consortia which will establish and operate the AI gigafactories; (e) determine the conditions of the Union’s access time to the AI gigafactories; (f) make decisions related to the AI gigafactory public governance body; (g) approve framework contracts established by the Joint Undertaking for the provision of essential and high-demand components of AI gigafactories. ▼B 5. The Governing Board shall, in particular, carry out the following tasks related to the research and innovation activities, as well as the data use and skills activities of the Joint Undertaking: (a) discuss and adopt the part of the multiannual strategic programme that is related to the research and innovation activities referred to in Article 18(1) of these Statutes at the beginning of the initiative and amend it throughout the duration of Horizon Europe, if necessary; the multiannual strategic programme shall identify, inter alia, the other European partnerships with which the Joint Undertaking shall establish a formal and regular collaboration, as well as possibilities for synergies between the Joint Undertaking’s actions and national or regional initiatives and policies based on information received by the Participating States; (b) discuss and adopt the part of the annual work programme that is related to the research and innovation activities and the corresponding expenditure estimates referred to in Article 18(4) of these Statutes to implement the multiannual strategic programme, including the content of the calls for proposals, the applicable funding rate per call topic, as well as the related rules for submission, evaluation, selection, award and review procedures; (c) approve the launch of calls for proposals, in accordance with the annual work programme; (d) approve the list of actions selected for funding on the basis of the recommendation of the Executive Director pursuant to Article 8 of this Regulation; (e) be responsible for the close and timely monitoring of the progress of the Joint Undertaking’s research and innovation programme and individual actions in relation to the priorities of the Commission and the multiannual strategic programme and take corrective measures where needed to ensure that the Joint Undertaking meets its objectives. ▼M2 5a. For activities under the quantum technologies pillar, Article 7(5) of these Statutes applies, with the exception of activities related to the acquisition and operation of quantum computers to which Article 7(4) of these Statutes applies. ▼B 6. The Governing Board shall, in particular, carry out the following tasks related to the capability building and widening activities of the Joint Undertaking: (a) discuss and adopt the part of the multiannual strategic programme that is related to the capability building and widening activities referred to in Article 18(1) of these Statutes; (b) discuss and adopt the part of the annual work programme that is related to the capability building and widening activities and the corresponding expenditure estimates referred to in Article 18(4) of these Statutes; (c) approve the launch of calls for proposals and calls for tenders, in accordance with the annual work programme; (d) approve the list of actions selected for funding on the basis of the recommendation of the Executive Director. 7. The Governing Board shall, in particular, carry out the following tasks related to the federation and connectivity of the High Performance Computing and data infrastructure activities, as well as the international cooperation activities of the Joint Undertaking: (a) discuss and adopt the part of the multiannual strategic programme that is related to the federation and connectivity of the High Performance Computing and data infrastructure activities, as well as the international cooperation activities referred to in Article 18(1) of these Statutes; (b) discuss and adopt the part of the annual work programme that is related to the federation and connectivity of the High Performance Computing and data infrastructure activities, as well as to the international cooperation activities and the corresponding expenditure estimates referred to in Article 18(4) of these Statutes; (c) approve the launch of calls for proposals and calls for tenders, in accordance with the annual work programme; (d) approve the list of actions selected for funding on the basis of the recommendation of the Executive Director. Article 8 Appointment, dismissal or extension of the term of office of the Executive Director 1. The Commission shall propose a list of candidates for Executive Director after consultation of the members of the Joint Undertaking other than the Union. For the purpose of such consultation the members of the Joint Undertaking other than the Union shall appoint by common accord their representatives as well as an observer on behalf of the Governing Board. The Executive Director shall be appointed by the Governing Board from a list of candidates proposed by the Commission following an open and transparent selection procedure. 2. The Executive Director shall be a member of staff and shall be engaged as a temporary agent of the Joint Undertaking under Article 2(a) of the Conditions of Employment. For the purpose of concluding the contract of the Executive Director, the Joint Undertaking shall be represented by the chair of the Governing Board. 3. The term of office of the Executive Director shall be four years. By the end of that period, the Commission, associating the members other than the Union as appropriate, shall undertake an assessment of the performance of the Executive Director and the Joint Undertaking’s future tasks and challenges. 4. The Governing Board, acting on a proposal from the Commission which takes into account the assessment referred to in paragraph 3, may extend the term of office of the Executive Director once, for a period of no more than four years. 5. An Executive Director whose term of office has been extended may not participate in another selection procedure for the same post at the end of the overall period. 6. The Executive Director may be dismissed only upon a decision of the Governing Board pursuant to Article 7(3)(e) of these Statutes acting on a proposal from the Commission associating the members other than the Union as appropriate. 7. The Commission may designate a Commission official to act as interim Executive Director and exercise the duties assigned to the Executive Director for any period that the position of Executive Director is vacant. Article 9 Tasks of the Executive Director 1. The Executive Director shall be the chief executive responsible for the day-to-day management of the Joint Undertaking in accordance with the decisions of the Governing Board. 2. The Executive Director shall be the legal representative of the Joint Undertaking. The Executive Director shall be accountable to the Governing Board and perform his or her duties with complete independence within the powers assigned to him or her. 3. The Executive Director shall implement the budget of the Joint Undertaking. 4. The Executive Director shall carry out, in particular, the following tasks in an independent manner: (a) submit for discussion and adoption to the Governing Board the draft multiannual strategic programme referred to in Article 18(1) of these Statutes; (b) prepare and submit to the Governing Board for discussion and adoption the draft annual budget, including the corresponding staff establishment programme indicating the number of temporary posts in each grade and function group and the number of contract staff and seconded national experts expressed in full-time equivalents; (c) prepare and submit to the Governing Board for discussion and adoption the draft annual work programme including the scope of the calls for proposals, calls for expression of interest and calls for tenders needed to implement the research and innovation activities programme, the procurement programme, the capability building and widening activities programme and the federation, connectivity and international cooperation activities programme, as proposed by the Industrial and Scientific Advisory Board, and the corresponding expenditure estimates, as proposed by the Participating States and the Commission; (d) submit the annual accounts to the Governing Board for its opinion; (e) prepare and submit for approval to the Governing Board the consolidated annual activity report, including the information on corresponding expenditure; (f) sign individual grant agreements, contracts and decisions in his or her remit on behalf of the Joint Undertaking; (g) sign procurement contracts; (h) monitor the operations of the EuroHPC supercomputers owned or funded by the Joint Undertaking, including the allocation of the Union’s share of access time, compliance with the access rights for academic and industrial users and quality of provided services; (i) propose the Joint Undertaking’s communication policy to the Governing Board; (j) organise, direct and supervise the operations and the staff of the Joint Undertaking within the limits of the delegation by the Governing Board as provided for in Article 20(2) of this Regulation; (k) establish and ensure the functioning of an effective and efficient internal control system and report any significant change to it to the Governing Board; (l) ensure that risk assessment and risk management are performed; (m) arrange, as appropriate, for the establishment of an internal audit capability of the Joint Undertaking; (n) allocate access time for emergencies and crisis management, in agreement with the access policy defined by the Governing Board; (o) take any other measures needed to assess the progress of the Joint Undertaking towards its objectives, as set out in Article 3 of this Regulation; (p) perform any other tasks entrusted or delegated to the Executive Director by the Governing Board. 5. The Executive Director shall set up a Programme Office for the execution, under his or her responsibility, of all support tasks arising from this Regulation. The Programme Office shall be composed of the staff of the Joint Undertaking and shall in particular carry out the following tasks: (a) provide support in establishing and managing an appropriate accounting system in accordance with the financial rules referred to in Article 19 of this Regulation; (b) manage the calls for proposals as provided for in the annual work programme and administer the grant agreements and decisions; (c) manage the calls for tenders as provided for in the annual work programme and administer the contracts; (d) manage the process for the selection of the hosting entities and administer the hosting agreements; (e) provide the members and the other bodies of the Joint Undertaking with all relevant information and support necessary for them to perform their duties, as well as respond to their specific requests; (f) act as the secretariat of the bodies of the Joint Undertaking and provide support to advisory groups set up by the Governing Board. Article 10 Composition of the Industrial and Scientific Advisory Board ▼M2 1. The Industrial and Scientific Advisory Board shall be composed of a Research and Innovation Advisory Group, an Infrastructure Advisory Group and a Quantum Technologies Advisory Group. ▼B 2. The Research and Innovation Advisory Group shall consist of no more than twelve members, of which up to six shall be appointed by the Private Members taking into account their commitments to the Joint Undertaking and up to six shall be appointed by the Governing Board, in accordance with Article 7(3)(k) of these Statutes. 3. The Research and Innovation Advisory Group may include up to six observers proposed by Participating States and appointed by the Governing Board. 4. The Infrastructure Advisory Group shall consist of twelve members. The Governing Board shall appoint the members of the Infrastructure Advisory Group, in accordance with Article 7(3)(k) of these Statutes. 5. The members of the Research and Innovation Advisory Group and of the Infrastructure Advisory Group shall be appointed for a period of up to two years, renewable once. 6. The Research and Innovation Advisory Group and the Infrastructure Advisory Group shall meet at least once a year in order to coordinate their activities. ▼M2 7. The Quantum Technologies Advisory Group shall consist of no more than twelve members, of which up to six shall be appointed by the Private Members taking into account their commitments to the Joint Undertaking and up to six shall be appointed by the Governing Board, in accordance with Article 7(3), point (k), of these Statutes. The Quantum Technologies Advisory Group may include up to six observers proposed by Participating States and appointed by the Governing Board. ▼B Article 11 Functioning of the Research and Innovation Advisory Group 1. The Research and Innovation Advisory Group shall meet at least twice a year. 2. The Research and Innovation Advisory Group may appoint working groups where necessary under the overall coordination of one or more members. 3. The Research and Innovation Advisory Group shall elect its chair. 4. The Research and Innovation Advisory Group shall adopt its rules of procedure, including the nomination of the constituent entities that shall represent the Advisory Group and the duration of their nomination. Article 12 Functioning of the Infrastructure Advisory Group 1. The Infrastructure Advisory Group shall meet at least twice a year. 2. The Infrastructure Advisory Group may appoint working groups where necessary under the overall coordination of one or more members. 3. The Infrastructure Advisory Group shall elect its chair. 4. The Infrastructure Advisory Group shall adopt its rules of procedure, including the nomination of the constituent entities that shall represent the Advisory Group and the duration of their nomination. ▼M2 Article 12a Functioning of the Quantum Technologies Advisory Group 1. The Quantum Technologies Advisory Group shall meet at least twice a year. 2. The Quantum Technologies Advisory Group may appoint working groups where necessary under the overall coordination of one or more members. 3. The Quantum Technologies Advisory Group shall elect its chair. 4. The Quantum Technologies Advisory Group shall adopt its rules of procedure, including the nomination of the constituent entities that shall represent the Advisory Group and the duration of their nomination. ▼B Article 13 Tasks of the Research and Innovation Advisory Group 1. The Research and Innovation Advisory Group shall: (a) draw up its contribution to the draft multiannual strategic programme in relation to research and innovation activities referred to in Article 18(1) of these Statutes and review it regularly in accordance with the evolution of the scientific and industrial demand; (b) organise public consultations open to all public and private stakeholders having an interest in the fields of High Performance Computing and quantum computing to inform them about, and collect feedback on, the draft multiannual strategic programme and the related draft activities of the research and innovation work programme for a given year. 2. The contribution to the draft multiannual strategic programme referred to in paragraph 1 shall include: (a) the strategic research and innovation agenda identifying the research and innovation priorities for the development and uptake of technologies and end-user applications for High Performance Computing across different application areas, in order to support the development of an integrated High Performance Computing, quantum computing and data ecosystem in the Union, to increase the Union’s resilience and to help create new markets and societal applications and measures to promote the development and uptake of European technology; (b) potential international cooperation activities in research and innovation that add value and are of mutual interest; (c) training and education priorities for addressing key competences and the skills gap in High Performance Computing and quantum computing technologies and applications, in particular for industry. Article 14 Tasks of the Infrastructure Advisory Group 1. The Infrastructure Advisory Group shall provide advice to the Governing Board for the acquisition and operation of the EuroHPC supercomputers. For that purpose, it shall: (a) draw up its contribution to the draft multiannual strategic programme referred to in Article 18(1) of these Statutes in relation to acquisition of EuroHPC computers and capability building and widening activities and review it regularly in accordance with the evolution of scientific and industrial demand; (b) organise public consultations open to all public and private stakeholders having an interest in the field of High Performance Computing, including quantum computing, to inform them about, and collect feedback on, the draft multiannual strategic programme for the acquisition and operation of the EuroHPC supercomputers and the related draft activities of the work programme for a given year. 2. The contribution to the draft multiannual strategic programme referred to in paragraph 1 shall address: (a) the acquisition of the EuroHPC supercomputers taking into account, inter alia, the planning of the acquisition, the needed capacity increases, the types of applications and user communities to be addressed, the relevant user requirements and appropriate system architectures, the user requirements, and the architecture of the infrastructure; (b) the federation and interconnection of this infrastructure, taking into account, inter alia, the integration with national High Performance Computing or quantum computing infrastructures, and the architecture of the hyper-connected and federated infrastructure; and (c) the capability building, including the national High Performance Computing Competence Centres and widening and training activities for end-users, as well as opportunities for promoting the take-up and use of European technology solutions notably by the national High Performance Computing Competence Centres. ▼M2 Article 14a Tasks of the Quantum Technologies Advisory Group 1. The Quantum Technologies Advisory Group shall: (a) draw up its contribution to the draft multiannual strategic programme in relation to quantum technology activities and related subjects referred to in Article 18 of these Statutes and review it regularly in accordance with the evolution of scientific, industrial and policy demand; (b) organise public consultations open to all public and private stakeholders having an interest in the field of quantum technologies to inform them about, and collect feedback on, the draft multiannual strategic programme and the related draft activities of the quantum technologies part of the work programme for a given year. 2. The contribution to the draft multiannual strategic programme referred to in paragraph 1 shall address: (a) the strategic research, innovation, deployment and infrastructure priorities for the development and uptake of quantum technologies and their integration into the European digital ecosystem, to support the Union’s resilience, strategic autonomy and technological sovereignty; (b) potential international cooperation activities in quantum technologies that add value and are of mutual interest, while ensuring alignment with Union values and security interests; (c) training, education and workforce development priorities for addressing key competences and the skills gap in quantum technologies, including awareness of security-sensitive applications; (d) the acquisition, deployment and operation of quantum infrastructures, including the interconnection and federation with High Performance Computing infrastructures and other digital infrastructures such as quantum communications and quantum sensing; (e) measures for capability building, interoperability, standardisation and security in the field of quantum technologies with specific consideration of dual-use risks and protection of the strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security of the Union. ▼B Article 15 Sources of financing 1. The Joint Undertaking shall be jointly funded by its members through financial contributions paid in instalments and in-kind contributions as set out in paragraphs 2 and 3. 2. The administrative costs of the Joint Undertaking shall not exceed EUR 92 000 000 and shall be covered by means of the financial contributions referred to in Article 5(1) of this Regulation. If part of the Union contribution for administrative costs is not used, it may be made available to cover the operational costs of the Joint Undertaking. 3. The operational costs of the Joint Undertaking shall be covered by means of: (a) the Union’s financial contribution; (b) financial contributions by the Participating State where the hosting entity is established or by the Participating States in a hosting consortium to the Joint Undertaking, including the Union contributions that are considered to be contributions of the Participating State pursuant to Article 15(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, for the acquisition of the high-end EuroHPC supercomputers or quantum machines and for their operation until their ownership is transferred to the hosting entity, they are sold or decommissioned in accordance with Articles 11(5) and 12(7) of this Regulation, less the contributions by the Joint Undertaking and any other Union contribution to those costs; (c) in-kind contributions by the Participating State where the hosting entity is established or by the Participating States in a hosting consortium, including the Union contributions that are considered to be contributions of the Participating State pursuant to Article 15(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, consisting of the operating costs of the EuroHPC supercomputers owned by the Joint Undertaking, incurred by the hosting entities, less the contributions by the Joint Undertaking and any other Union contribution to those costs; (d) financial contributions by the Participating State where the hosting entity is established or by the Participating States in a hosting consortium, including the Union contributions that are considered to be contributions of the Participating State pursuant to Article 15(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, consisting of the costs incurred for the acquisition, jointly with the Joint Undertaking, of the mid-range EuroHPC supercomputers, less the contributions by the Joint Undertaking and any other Union contribution to those costs; (e) financial contributions by a consortium of private partners consisting of the costs incurred for the acquisition and operation, jointly with the Joint Undertaking, of the industrial-grade EuroHPC supercomputers, less the contributions by the Joint Undertaking and any other Union contribution to those costs, until their ownership is transferred to the hosting entity, they are sold or decommissioned in accordance with Article 13(6) of this Regulation; (f) financial contributions by Participating States to the eligible costs incurred by beneficiaries established in that Participating State, including the Union contributions that are considered to be contributions of the Participating State pursuant to Article 15(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, in implementing indirect actions corresponding to the research and innovation agenda as a complement to the reimbursement of these costs made by the Joint Undertaking, less the contributions by the Joint Undertaking and any other Union contribution to those costs. Such contributions shall be without prejudice to state-aid rules; ▼C1 (g) in-kind contributions by the Private Members or their constituent entities and affiliated entities as defined in Article 2, points (16) and (17) of this Regulation. ▼B 4. The resources of the Joint Undertaking entered in its budget shall be composed of the following contributions: (a) Union financial contributions to the administrative costs; (b) members’ financial contributions to the operational costs; (c) any revenue generated by the Joint Undertaking; (d) any other financial contributions, resources and revenues; (e) any interest yielded by the contributions paid to the Joint Undertaking shall be considered to be its revenue. 5. Should any member of the Joint Undertaking be in default of its commitments concerning its financial contribution, the Executive Director shall put this in writing and shall set a reasonable period within which such default shall be remedied. If the situation is not remedied within that period, the Executive Director shall convene a meeting of the Governing Board to decide whether the defaulting member’s membership is to be revoked or whether any other measures are to be taken until its obligations have been met. The defaulting member’s voting rights shall be suspended until the default of its commitments is remedied. The Joint Undertaking or any of its members shall not be obliged to cover the defaulting members’ financial contribution. 6. The resources and activities of the Joint Undertaking shall be intended for the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 3 of this Regulation. 7. The Joint Undertaking shall own all assets generated by it or transferred to it for the achievement of its objectives set out in Article 3 of this Regulation. This shall not include the EuroHPC supercomputers whose ownership the Joint Undertaking has transferred to a hosting entity in accordance with Articles 11(5), 12(7), 13(6) and 14(6) of this Regulation. 8. Except when the Joint Undertaking is wound up, any excess revenue over expenditure shall not be paid to the members of the Joint Undertaking. ▼M2 Article 16 Budgetary commitments Budgetary commitments of the Joint Undertaking may be divided into annual instalments. From January 2025, at least 20 % of the cumulative budget of the residual years shall not be covered by annual instalments. ▼B Article 17 Financial year The financial year shall run from 1 January to 31 December. Article 18 Operational and financial planning 1. The multiannual strategic programme shall specify the strategy and plans for achieving the objectives of the Joint Undertaking set out in Article 3 of this Regulation. It shall include the following: the acquisition of supercomputers; the research and innovation activities including the strategic research and innovation agenda; the capability building and widening activities; the federation, connectivity and international cooperation activities. It shall also include the multiannual financial perspectives received from the Participating States and the Commission. 2. Private Members shall draft the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda and shall submit it to the Research and Innovation Advisory Group. 3. The Industrial and Scientific Advisory Board shall consolidate the multiannual strategic programme and submit it to the Executive Director. It shall be the basis for the Executive Director to draft the annual work programme. 4. The draft annual work programme shall include the research and innovation activities, the procurement activities, the capability building and widening activities, the federation and connectivity activities, the international cooperation activities, the administrative activities and the corresponding expenditure estimates for the following year. 5. The Executive Director shall submit to the Governing Board the administrative agreements referred to in Article 8(2) of this Regulation supporting the expenditure estimates. 6. The annual work programme shall be adopted by the end of the year prior to its implementation. The annual work programme shall be made publicly available. 7. The Executive Director shall prepare the draft annual budget for the following year and shall submit it to the Governing Board for adoption. 8. The annual budget for a particular year shall be adopted by the Governing Board by the end of the year prior to its implementation. 9. The annual budget shall be adapted in order to take into account the amount of the Union’s financial contribution as set out in the general budget of the Union. Article 19 Operational and financial reporting 1. The Executive Director shall report annually to the Governing Board on the performance of his or her duties in accordance with the financial rules of the Joint Undertaking referred to in Article 19 of this Regulation. The consolidated annual activity report shall include, inter alia, information on the following matters: (a) research, innovation and other actions carried out and the corresponding expenditure; (b) acquisition and operation of infrastructure, including the use of and access to the infrastructure, including the access time effectively used by each Participating State; (c) the proposals and tenders submitted, including a breakdown by participant type, including SMEs, and by country; (d) the indirect actions selected for funding, with a breakdown by participant type, including SMEs, and by country, and indicating the contributions of the Joint Undertaking to the individual participants and actions; (e) the tenders selected for funding, with a breakdown by type of contractor, including SMEs, and by country, and indicating the contributions of the Joint Undertaking to the individual contractors and procurement actions; (f) the outcome of the procurement activities; (g) progress towards the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 3 of this Regulation and proposals for further necessary work to achieve those objectives. 2. The accounting officer of the Joint Undertaking shall send the provisional accounts to the Commission’s accounting officer and the Court of Auditors in accordance with the financial rules of the Joint Undertaking. 3. The Executive Director shall send the report on the budgetary and financial management to the European Parliament, the Council and the Court of Auditors in accordance with the financial rules of the Joint Undertaking. 4. The discharge procedure shall be carried out in accordance with the financial rules of the Joint Undertaking. Article 20 Internal audit 1. The Commission’s internal auditor shall exercise the same powers over the Joint Undertaking as those exercised in respect of the Commission. 2. The Joint Undertaking shall be capable of performing its own internal audit. Article 21 Liability of members and insurance 1. The financial liability of the members of the Joint Undertaking for the debts of the Joint Undertaking shall be limited to their financial contributions made to the Joint Undertaking. 2. The Joint Undertaking shall take out and maintain appropriate insurance. Article 22 Conflict of interest 1. The Joint Undertaking, its bodies and staff shall avoid any conflict of interest in carrying out their activities. 2. The Governing Board shall adopt rules for the prevention and management of conflicts of interest in respect of the persons serving in the Governing Board and in the other bodies or groups of the Joint Undertaking. Article 23 Winding-up 1. The Joint Undertaking shall be wound up at the end of the period laid down in Article 1 of this Regulation. 2. In addition to paragraph 1, the winding-up procedure shall be automatically triggered if the Union or all members other than the Union withdraw from the Joint Undertaking. 3. For the purpose of conducting the proceedings to wind up the Joint Undertaking, the Governing Board shall appoint one or more liquidators, who shall comply with the decisions of the Governing Board. 4. When the Joint Undertaking is being wound up, its assets shall be used to cover its liabilities and the expenditure relating to its winding-up. The supercomputers owned by the Joint Undertaking shall be transferred to the respective hosting entities or consortium of private partners, sold or decommissioned upon decision of the Governing Board and in accordance with the hosting agreement. The members of the Joint Undertaking shall not be liable for any costs incurred after the transfer of ownership of a supercomputer or its sale or decommissioning. In the event of transfer of ownership, the hosting entity or the consortium of private partners shall reimburse the Joint Undertaking the residual value of the supercomputers that are transferred. Any surplus shall be distributed among the members at the time of the winding-up in proportion to their financial contribution to the Joint Undertaking. Any such surplus distributed to the Union shall be returned to the general budget of the Union. 5. An ad hoc procedure shall be set up to ensure the appropriate management of any agreement concluded or decision adopted by the Joint Undertaking, as well as any procurement contract with a duration longer than the duration of the Joint Undertaking.

1.1 Referenzi

1.2 Rekwiżiti identifikati

1.3 Standards relatati

2. Rekwiżiti identifikati

Rekwiżiti
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3. Standards relatati

Standards
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Kwistjonijiet marbuta

Links
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is related to	Imported: Verordnung (EU) 2021/1173 zur Gründung des Gemeinsamen Unternehmens für europäisches Hochleistungsrechnen (CELEX:02021R1173-20260120)

Builddate: 20.01.2026 00:00:00 -Doknr: CELEX:32021R1173
EULAW -
European Regulation published on http://eur-lex.europa.eu/