In collaboration with Milieu, t33 conducted the study "Experiences of regional authorities with the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) and suggestions for improvement", for the Committee of the Regions.

IPCEIs are designed to support projects that bring significant benefits to the EU by making "a very important contribution to sustainable economic growth, jobs, competitiveness and resilience of the Union's industry and economy and by strengthening its open strategic autonomy". Such projects must address "major market or systemic failures" or "societal challenges" that could prevent their implementation without public support. An IPCEI consists of a single project or a group of linked projects in areas such as infrastructure or R&D&I (research, development and innovation). 

Local and regional authorities play a key role in industrial development in the EU and IPCEIs have the potential to make a significant contribution. By mapping the obstacles faced by local and regional authorities trying to set up or join an IPCEI, the study contributed to the CoR's future policy work in this area, and provided guidance to local and regional authorities before they consider the IPCEI instrument.
The objectives of the study were therefore:

• Examine the current experience of LRAs with IPCEIs, including best practice and lessons learned.
• Identify barriers to the effective use of IPCEIs in support of place-based industrial policy.
• Propose specific changes to simplify the IPCEI process and make it more transparent and inclusive.
• Propose improvements to ensure that the process for establishing IPCEIs is more transparent and inclusive.

The study provided actionable recommendations to the Committee of Regions to improve the IPCEI instrument and ensure that it responds to regional and local needs while promoting industrial development across the EU.

The study is available here.