Budget Implementation
The budget implementation reached 99% in terms of commitment appropriations and 67% in terms of payment appropriations.
Overall, in 2024, the total available appropriations reached EUR 1.062.816.190,27 for commitment and EUR 724.397.816,46 for payment appropriations. The budget implementation reached 99% in terms of commitment appropriations and 67% in terms of payment appropriations. Under Horizon 2020, the budget implementation in terms of payment appropriations reached 37%.
The program is reaching its final phase. There were several projects which were finalised in 2024 and for their payments the Joint Undertaking consumed unused appropriations from previous years. There was not any injection and use of new appropriations.
Under HE, the budget implementation in terms of payment appropriations reached 96%.
Under DEP, the budget implementation in terms of payment appropriations reached 6%.
Financial and in-kind contributions from Members other than the Union
Two types of contribution are concerned here:
• In accordance with Article 11(1)(a) SBA, the contributions of private members shall consist of financial contributions and in-kind contributions to operational activities and in-kind contributions to additional activities.
• In accordance with Article 11(3) SBA, the contributions of participating states shall consist of financial contributions. Participating states shall report by 31 January of each year to the governing board on the financial contributions made in the previous financial year.
For year 2024, participating states have collectively reported the following amount: EUR 94.472 thousand.
Contributions from JU Members other than the Union in 2024
Values of IKOP - Evolution (in EUR)
The annual IKOP report is based on the contributions reported by participating states, the memberships reported by the Industry Associations through the in-house IT reporting tool, the IKOP platform. Additionally, the grant beneficiaries report relevant information for the IKOP calculation and validation via eGrants. The total planned IKOP for the programme is the total planned amount indicated in their respective SBA. The Private members of the Chips JU do not provide contributions in the form of IKAA.
Administrative Procurement and contracts
Public Procurement procedures and contracts are managed in accordance with the provisions of the Chips JU Financial Rules21 and Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (recast) (hereinafter referred as ‘the EU Financial Regulation’)22, and coordinated within the Chips JU Administration and Finance team. To reach its objectives and adequately support its operations and infrastructures, the JU allocated funds to procure the necessary services and supplies. In the context of sound financial management and efficiency, the Chips JU made to the most possible extent use of the various Service Level Agreements (SLAs) already concluded with relevant Commission Services and also made use of inter-institutional framework contracts. The Chips JU has launched several procurement procedures, mostly negotiated procedures for very low, low or middle value contracts, with the exception of an Open Procedure for the provision of services related to the organisation of EFECS 2024. One negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice was launched in accordance with point 11.1(b)(ii) of Annex I of the Financial Regulation for the rental of a booth space at the SEMICON 2024 event held in Munich. The Chips JU had to use the exceptional procedure as the organiser of the event was the only authorised economic operator to provide these services for the SEMICON 2024 event, and competition was absent for technical reasons.
In the context of the BOA Procurement, the Chips JU acted as the lead contracting authority in several inter-JU procurement procedures, particularly related to the building management: - Architect services; - Usufruct Contract for the 8 JUs in the White Atrium (together with Clean Hydrogen JU); - Facility management; - Assets and furniture insurance;
Additionally, the Chips JU acted as participating contracting authority in inter-JU procurements for the following services: - On-line data protection services (Lead: EU-Rail JU); - Legal and operational support to data protection activities (Lead: SESAR JU); - Call for Expression of interest for remunerated legal experts (Lead: CAJU); - Communication Services (Lead: Clean Aviation JU); - Provision of Event Organisation Services (Lead: SESAR JU); - Thematic Communication Services (Lead: CBE JU); For more information on the calls for tenders launched by the Chips JU or where the Chips JU has participated, please see the relevant section of the Chips JU website24.
Although the primary objectives of the BOA procurement concept was to centralise administrative procurement capability, enhance the synergies among the JUs and increase their operational efficiency, a closer cooperation across 2024 proved that, despite limited resources, the JUs managed to quickly establish an effective mechanism of a joint services’ model.
The BOA procurement concept was presented at the NAPO 2024 annual conference, which is hosting head of Procurement units and sectors working in different EU regulatory and executive agencies. The feedback received was very positive, full of appreciation and interests. This confirmed the scale of the achievement reached by the JUs and reinsures the coordinator that the BOA procurement is worth the investment and time and that the collaboration in the area of public procurement and contract management should continue.
Through joint initiatives in the area of public procurement and contract management for subjects of common interest and use, the JUs complement each other and work in synergy towards an economically efficient way of using their available resources and establishing a stronger negotiation position.
Sharing knowledge and best practices, as well as providing legal/procurement support by the entities possessing specific expertise and practical experience in management of call for tenders, leads to time and costs savings among participating JUs. At the same time, an interchangeable system among the BOA procurement members who perform an LCA role further optimises the use of resources.
Integration and the balancing of individual efforts ensures a smooth and harmonious teamwork and makes it possible to achieve greater result. Through the publication of inter-institutional calls for tenders, the JUs have increased their purchasing power, which affects market response.
Additionally, in 2024, the Chips JU has been onboarded in PPMT, the public procurement tool of the European Commission. The Chips JU used PPMT to successfully prepare and launch the only Open procurement procedure of 2024 (EFECS 2024). PPMT provides more legal security, reinforcing the work of the procurement team of the JU office.IT and logistics
IT and logistics
In 2024, significant advancements were made in the IT and logistics domain to enhance the efficiency and security of the Chips JU’s digital infrastructure. One of the key developments was the creation and deployment of the Chips JU website, designed to provide stakeholders with streamlined access to critical information, funding opportunities, and project updates. The website was enhanced with improved navigation, a more user-friendly interface, and new functionalities, ensuring a more interactive and informative experience for users. Additionally, the Boards portal was upgraded, introducing new functionalities that optimise the reporting and monitoring of in-kind contributions from JU members. The portal's enhancements focused on simplifying data input processes, increasing automation, and integrating improved reporting tools to facilitate compliance and transparency in financial contributions. In line with regulatory requirements, the implementation of the Cybersecurity Regulation was initiated to bolster the resilience and security of the JU’s IT infrastructure. A comprehensive cybersecurity framework was developed to address risks associated with data protection, network security, and information governance. Measures included enhanced access control mechanisms, regular security audits, and the establishment of a cybersecurity awareness programme for staff. These advancements collectively contributed to a more robust and efficient digital environment, supporting the JU’s operations and ensuring compliance with security and data protection standards. A new mobile phone policy was adopted and is expected to be implemented in the first quarter of 2025. This policy intends to ensure the protection of communications through work-related applications installed in the JU staff’s mobile phones. In the last quarter of 2024, in a joint effort between the IT team and the Document Management and the Data Protection Teams, and with the assistance of the Managed IT services provider, an exercise to improve the security of documents and the protection of confidentiality and personal data was launched, in connection with the use of SharePoint as a document management system and together with the use of HAN25 as a record management system.
BOA IT
The BOA IT Annual Work Programme for 2024, which plans joint activities shared within the JUs, contained the following 7 actions and related budget:
Action 1
Back-office IT (BOA) implementation. The service level agreement for the BOA ICT was approved in November (see below).
Action 2
Common infrastructure migrations. The migrations for the IaaS and Testa secured connection were finalized in March
Action 3
Upgrade of AV Equipment in Common Meeting Rooms. The MoU with OIB for audio-visual services was signed in September and the choice of design for the meeting rooms to equip agreed in December.
Action 4
Cybersecurity – data protection – Infosec regulation. The common BCP has been revised and approved
Action 5
EULogin integration with M365. This action was dropped with the lack of maturity/availability of the DIGIT solution.
Action 6
SaaS O365 assets. The SLA was signed in December amongst the JUs to launch a request for services for a revised M365 DPIA. The leadership of this project in 2025 is ensured by the DPO network supported by the ITOs
Action 7
Reconversion White Atrium building. - A disposal exercise for IT equipment was organised in each JU with centralization and common pick-up. - New equipment was implemented on the 1st floor to accommodate SNS JU and Global Health EDCTP3 JU with optic fiber and wi-fi antennas - UPS renewal project was launched in December with installation in Q1 2025
Logistics and building management
In the second quarter 2024 the Chips JU took over, from the Clean Hydrogen JU, the building management file. This entailed taking over legal and administrative tasks.
Most importantly, as the usufruct contract for the office spaces in the White Atrium Building was close to reach its expiry, Chips JU took over the process of drafting and signature of the contract following the procurement launched by the Clean Hydrogen JU. The new contract allowed to correctly reflect the current occupation of the building by the Joint Undertaking, which now hold 100% of the office spaces within the building.
The building management file also carried the task of drafting the new facility management contract between the JU’s and the Building management company. Signature is envisioned by the first quarter of 2025.
Further tasks involved the conclusion of an insurance contract to cover the assets of the Joint Undertakings and other administrative tasks to cover common logistics and the refurbishment of the common meeting room under the guidance of DG SCIC.
Human Resources
HR Management
The staff establishment plan of Chips JU for 2024 has foreseen 19 temporary (TA) and 23 contract agents (CA). At the end of 2024, the JU employed 38 statutory staff members (19 TA and 19 CA), with 10 nationalities (8 ES ,7 BE, 7 FR, 4 EL, 3 BG, 3 IT, 3 RO, 1 PL, 1 FI, 1 PT), of whom 18 are male and 20 female. The JU has at its disposal as of 31/12/2024 the following non-statutory staff members: 1 SNE and 4 interims. Concerning the SNE, due to conflict of interest and confidentiality reasons, and the needs of the service to recruit for the operational unit, was not able to be recruited.
Due to high workload, significant number of staff members have been on stress related sick leave.
Staff turnover
As for the staff turnover, the Head of Unit for Administration and Finance and the Accounting and Finance Correspondent left on 29/02/2024. A Financial Assistant was terminated on 16/07/2024. Special attention was paid during the selection panels to respect the gender balance.
External service providers
In addition to the statutory posts, the JU relies on external service providers: - Four trainees, providing support to the Communications team, Programmes’ unit and Legal Services, HR Services and - two interims providing support to the Communications team, one interim supporting Operations and one interim support Administration (partial support to HR, audits and programmes).
Appraisal and reclassification
In 2024, the JU conducted the 2023 appraisal exercise and was concluded on 14 May 2024. The JU was able to proceed with the reclassification exercise following ED 2024.183. As a result, 4 temporary agents and 0 contact agents were reclassified.
Staff committee
There are no updates in 2024. In April 2023, the staff committee was renewed following internal elections. Three staff members and one substitute have been elected for a mandate of three years.
SYSPER and SYSTAL
The HR management system developed by the European Commission, SYSPER, has been implemented internally in 2023. We have used it throughout 2024.
Chips JU has also started using SYSTAL (recruitment tool) to start new advertisements and recruitments from October 2023, following the Governing Decision GB_2023.45 BOA HR. The recruitments from 2024 have been done through this platform.
TestReach
In within the Back Office Arrangements for HR (BOA HR), the JUs have signed a common contract with TestReach to provide online testing and invigilation services, as from October 2024.
Due to feedback from other JUs, Chips JU has not made use yet due to reported issues with the platform and the service provider. A follow up meeting with the provider is planned for March/April 2025 to solve the issues.
BOA HR
The following actions have been taken jointly with the other JUs, in the context of the BOA HR:
• A cooperation exercise on establishing a common selection and procedure guidelines is ongoing;
• Sharing of reserves lists in order to gain efficiency (reducing recruitment time);
• Specific contracts were signed within the FWC SIDE III DPS MC! Software acquisition and related services (contract DI08030): Remotely Invigilated Exams – TEst & Supervision for 9 JUs (Service Provider: TestReach). An SLA between the JUs was in place for this.
• A future SLA is planned on the initial stage to HRT (Human Resources Transformation) to join the European Commission on an integrated recruitment tool with direct connection to SYSPER. The expectation is that this would be implemented in 2026. The BOA HR staff is attending meetings on the evolution of the project with the European Commission.
Internal Audit Service (IAS) on HR
In 2024, the Chips JU was audited on HR management and ethics.
