Funding the ITER project in 2012 - Main contents

Brussels, 27 January 2012 - Following the 13 December 2011 agreement between the two branches of the budgetary authority (Council and Parliament), the Commission has adopted a draft amending budget to meet part of this year's financial needs for the ITER project (€ 650 million) without asking Member States for additional contributions.

The break down of the extra €1.3 billion needed for ITER in 2012 and 2013 is as follows:

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  € 100 million included in the 2012 budget;
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  € 840 million covered through an increase in the part of the budget dedicated to Competitiveness for Growth and Employment (from which ITER is financed): € 650 million in 2012 and € 190 million in 2013. These needs were covered by the reducing the 2011 ceilings for agriculture and for administration by € 450 million and € 243 million respectively and the 2012 ceiling for administration by € 147 million;
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  € 360 million to be made available in the 2013 budget;

Today's draft amending budget is to materialise an important part of the deal that increases the commitment appropriations by € 650 million through the change of the current multiannual limits.

Information on ITER

ITER is the world's biggest energy research project, aiming to prove the feasibility of fusion power as a possible source of safe, sustainable and abundant energy. The European Union together with China, India, Japan, the Russian Federation, South Korea and the USA are working together on this major research facility. It is an example of international scientific collaboration on an unprecedented scale that will provide the link between plasma physics and engineering and future commercial fusion-based power plants. ITER is expected to boost technological competence and industrial competitiveness within the EU.