Council Regulation (EU) 2026/150 of 16 January 2026 amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 on establishing the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 187 and Article 188, first paragraph, thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (2),

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) aims to improve the functioning of the internal market by laying down a uniform legal framework in particular for the development, the placing on the market, the putting into service and the use of artificial intelligence, in conformity with Union values and legislation.

(2) Since 2021, when Council Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 (4) was adopted, the field of artificial intelligence (AI) has seen enormous technical progress and become a highly strategic and contested domain globally. The Union is at the forefront of efforts to support responsible innovation in AI, by guiding innovation, setting guardrails and developing global governance.

(3) Large general-purpose AI models have emerged as vital drivers of economic competitiveness, scientific research and innovation. They have become pivotal in enhancing productivity across diverse sectors and transform entire value chains, thus dictating future economic value capture. The Union and its Member States are running initiatives on the development of joint AI models, including foundation models. The next generation of frontier AI models is expected to unlock a leap forward in capabilities towards AI capable of tackling highly complex and diverse tasks. Regions capable of developing and implementing such AI models at scale will lead in global innovation and attract premier talent in science and industry. At the same time, sectors at the forefront of science and industry demand substantial computing resources to undertake major AI-driven scientific discoveries and industrial innovations. Synergies between those activities and activities undertaken by Union programmes, such as the EU Space Programme and the European Data Spaces, will be exploited, with appropriate safeguards in place, to protect the strategic interests of the Union and its Member States.

(4) The most advanced AI factories in Europe will be equipped with supercomputers featuring state-of-the-art AI processors capable of developing mainly middle-range AI models. Significant investment is therefore needed to considerably scale up Europe’s computing capacities to the next level.

(5) On 9 April 2025, the Commission launched the AI Continent Action Plan to position the Union as a global leader in AI. A core pillar of that Action Plan is boosting the Europe-wide infrastructure for training advanced AI models, taking the 2024 AI factories concept to the next level.

(6) The development of the next generation of frontier AI models is expected to require large-scale facilities with, at least, three to four times the number of the most advanced AI processors currently available in the most powerful AI factories, and taking into account power capacity, energy and water efficiency, and circularity. The existing mechanisms currently provided for under Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 are not sufficient to support the establishment and operation of the AI gigafactories. A targeted amendment is therefore necessary to provide the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (the ‘Joint Undertaking’) with the legal basis needed to fulfil its commitments relating to the establishment and operation of AI gigafactories in Europe.

(7) Strengthening the scientific and technological bases of the Union is increasingly vital for its long-term competitiveness and strategic autonomy, while preserving an open economy in the Union. AI has the potential to accelerate scientific discovery and enhance research capabilities across all domains. It is therefore essential that, in addition to researchers, private and public AI users, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), start-ups and scale-ups, within the Union benefit from world-class supercomputing infrastructures in order to sustain and advance Europe’s leadership in research and innovation.

(8) The European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass (the ‘Compass’), adopted on 29 January 2025, identifies strategic technologies, including quantum technologies and high-performance computing, as essential pillars to ensure Europe’s technological sovereignty, economic resilience and global leadership. The Compass emphasises the need for coordinated investments and ecosystem development across research, infrastructure, industry and skills in order to strengthen the Union’s competitiveness in those fields.

(9) Complementing the Compass, the Commission’s communication of 2 July 2025 entitled ‘Quantum Europe Strategy: Quantum Europe in a Changing World’ sets out a comprehensive framework to accelerate quantum research, innovation, industrialisation and the deployment of quantum technologies and infrastructures. It aims to build a sustainable and competitive quantum ecosystem, covering computing, communication, sensing and metrology, with a strong focus on skills development and international cooperation. It also aims to pave the way for the building of European fault-tolerant quantum computers within the Union that would ensure the Union’s strategic autonomy.

(10) In view of the policy importance of this amending Regulation, the funding amounts initially allocated from Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme and the Connecting Europe Facility should be increased to allow the Union to reach its objective, subject to budgetary availability.

(11) Considering that basic research activities at lower technology readiness levels (TRLs) remain essential for achieving breakthroughs in high-quality quantum technologies, the Joint Undertaking should continue to support upstream research and innovation activities up to TRL 5, funded by the Union at 100 % of the total eligible costs.

(12) In light of the rapid technological developments in the quantum and AI fields, and the Union AI policy, additional Union financing could be required in the coming years. In the context of the Union AI policy, it should be possible to entrust the Joint Undertaking with additional Union funding beyond the amounts set out in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1173, drawing from existing programmes. Any such additional contribution, when directed towards AI gigafactories, should be at least matched by contributions from one or more members of the Joint Undertaking other than the Union.

(13) The selection of AI gigafactories should be based on a joint procurement between the Joint Undertaking and one or more contracting authorities from the countries that are members of the Joint Undertaking (‘Participating States’). The Joint Undertaking and the Participating States should conclude a joint procurement agreement encompassing all the core elements of the subsequent call for expression of interest, including the commitments by Participating States that are Member States to finance their share of any AI gigafactory selected for funding within their respective territory, following the outcome of the selection process conducted by the Joint Undertaking. Member States’ commitments should be submitted to the Joint Undertaking prior to the launch of the call for expression of interest.

(14) A Member State that intends to support the establishment and operation of an AI gigafactory should be able to allocate part of the financial contribution it receives under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) to cover, in whole or in part, its voluntary financial contribution to such an AI gigafactory. That contribution is to be managed and disbursed by the Joint Undertaking on the basis of an administrative agreement between that Member State and the Joint Undertaking. Where that AI gigafactory is subsequently selected for funding by the Governing Board of the Joint Undertaking, the funding will be complemented by funding from the Union as set out in this amending Regulation. If the AI gigafactory supported by the Member State is not selected, the amount should be allocated under the management of the Joint Undertaking either to that AI gigafactory or to another investment in the field of AI or quantum technologies, without Union contribution, and as identified by the Member State in its Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).

(15) In order to accelerate the development of strategic infrastructures such as High Performance Computers, AI factories or quantum computers across the Union, Member States should be able to choose to allocate their remaining RRF funds to finance their national contributions to such infrastructures or to another investment identified in their RRP that aligns with the objectives of the Joint Undertaking. To that end, Member States should be allowed to make financial contributions to the Joint Undertaking, which is to manage and allocate such contributions in accordance with an administrative agreement with the respective Member State.

(16) Upon the signature of an RRF administrative agreement and the full and irrevocable transfer of the designated RRF funds to the Joint Undertaking no later than 31 August 2026, the Member State will be considered as having met the deadline set in Regulation (EU) 2021/241. That mechanism would provide a flexible and secure way for Member States to commit and channel significant national resources, in particular from the RRF, in support of strategic priorities related to High Performance Computing (HPC), AI, quantum technologies and digitalisation activities.

(17) AI, HPC and quantum computing service and data infrastructures are essential for advancing scientific research and innovative industrial applications across the Union. In addition to joint investments in infrastructures and ecosystems under the Joint Undertaking, Member States should be able to use funds from programmes co-financed by structural and regional funds, from the RRF or from national programmes to support investments in the acquisition and operation of new, advanced, state-of-the-art AI, HPC and quantum computing service and data infrastructures established within their territory. Through the wide networking and federation of those advanced national public AI and compute service and data infrastructures at Union level, integrated, federated, secure and hyper-connected world-class AI, HPC and quantum computing services, data infrastructures and ecosystems will be created across the Union that promote scientific excellence, foster the development of innovative applications, and attract talent, with benefits extending well beyond users in the Member States concerned. While not contributing to their financing, the Joint Undertaking should be able to facilitate the networking and federation of those advanced national public infrastructures with those at Union level, provided that is requested and duly justified by interested Member States. The Joint Undertaking would award such national public infrastructures a ‘EuroHPC AI and Compute Infrastructure Seal’ and ensure their networking and federation with the network of AI factories and quantum computers.

(18) To meet user demand for AI computing resources, the Member States concerned should be able to make available to the Joint Undertaking an agreed amount of access time to national public AI, HPC or quantum infrastructures that have been awarded the EuroHPC AI and Compute Infrastructure Seal.

(19) In order to address the ever-growing demand for AI computing facilities, Member States should be able to provide the Joint Undertaking with access time to one or more of their EuroHPC AI factories or AI gigafactories, to the extent that such access time is available and has not already been committed. In such cases, Member States should, on a voluntary basis, provide the Joint Undertaking with a reasonable share of access time to their EuroHPC AI factories or AI gigafactories in order to enable the Joint Undertaking to address user demand. That access time should be used primarily to grant start-ups and SMEs access for research or innovation activities. Such provision of access time should not be considered a financial or in-kind contribution by the Member State to the Joint Undertaking.

(20) Additional Union contributions to AI gigafactories from other programmes not listed in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 should also be possible through the conclusion of specific ad hoc contribution agreements, provided they are matched by a commensurate contribution from one or more members of the Joint Undertaking other than the Union.

(21) In order to mobilise national financial contributions, in particular via RRF funds, for strategic investments, including AI gigafactories, in a timely manner and with sufficient legal certainty, it is necessary that this amending Regulation enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 is amended as follows:

(6) in Article 16, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1.   Without prejudice to Article 17(9), the use of EuroHPC supercomputers shall be open to users from the public and private sectors. Except for the industrial-grade EuroHPC supercomputers, their use shall be primarily for research and innovation purposes falling under public funding programmes, for public sector applications and for private innovation activities of SMEs, start-ups and scale-ups, where appropriate.’

(7) Article 34 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 34 Reimbursement rates

Article 2

The Annex to Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 is amended as follows:

(1) in Article 3, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘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.’

(3) in Article 5, the following paragraph is added: ‘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.’

(7) the following article is inserted: ‘Article 12a Functioning of the Quantum Technologies Advisory Group

(9) Article 16 is replaced by the following: ‘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.’.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

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

Done at Brussels, 16 January 2026.

For the Council The President M. RAOUNA

(1) Not yet published in the Official Journal.

(2) Opinion of 18 September 2025 (OJ C, C/2026/43, 16.1.2026, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/43/oj).

(3) Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence and amending Regulations (EC) No 300/2008, (EU) No 167/2013, (EU) No 168/2013, (EU) 2018/858, (EU) 2018/1139 and (EU) 2019/2144 and Directives 2014/90/EU, (EU) 2016/797 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Artificial Intelligence Act) (OJ L, 2024/1689, 12.7.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj).

(4) Council Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 of 13 July 2021 on establishing the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/1488 (OJ L 256, 19.7.2021, p. 3, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1173/oj).

(5) Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility (OJ L 57, 18.2.2021, p. 17, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/241/oj).