Communiqués
35th meeting of the Select Committee of the Administrative Council (Munich, 19 March 2026)
187th meeting of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation (Munich, 30 June and 1 July 2026)
The Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation held its 187th meeting in Munich on 30 June and 1 July 2026, under its Chairperson Josef KRATOCHVÍL (CZ).
The Council noted the Chairperson’s activities report, also taking note of the information provided by the Office on the envisaged impact assessment of Georgia’s accession request.
The Council further noted the Office’s Annual Review 2025, presented with a video illustrating the Office’s major achievements of 2025 around the five SP2028 drivers. Delegations congratulated the President, the management and the staff on the results and welcomed in particular the Office’s continued attractiveness as an employer of choice, the high levels of staff engagement and the positive contribution of the Young Professionals Programme. The efforts to promote AI literacy, ensure the responsible and human-centric use of new technologies and enhance the value of the Office’s data assets were also commended. Delegations further welcomed the excellent production results, the continued delivery of high-quality products while improving timeliness and productivity, the strengthening of co-operation with national offices and partners, the progress made on the Unitary Patent (UP), and the Office’s continued commitment to long-term financial sustainability.
On personnel and policy matters, the Council adopted a new procedure for adjusting the remuneration of EPO employees and pensioners. The simpler and more predictable method based on Eurozone inflation as the fixed reference, and on the preservation of purchasing power parity (PPP) across duty stations, aims to improve transparency and long-term financial sustainability, while safeguarding the interests of staff and pensioners, containing cost growth and maintaining the Office’s attractiveness as an employer.
Turning to financial matters, the Council unanimously approved the budget implementation statement for 2025, the financial statements for 2025 and the report of the Board of Auditors on the 2025 accounting period. It therefore discharged the President under Article 80(5) of the Financial Regulations and the Fund Administrator under Article 7(1) of the RFPSS Regulations and Article 80(4) of the Financial Regulations. The Council also unanimously authorised a transfer of EUR 260m from the Office to the Tax Adjustment segment of the Reserve Funds for Pensions and Social Security (RFPSS) and gave a unanimous favourable opinion on the initial 2027 budgetary orientations.
As regards the RFPSS, the Council unanimously adopted the regulatory adaptations linked to the insourcing of the EPO Treasury Investment Fund (EPOTIF), which had been unanimously approved by the Administrative Council in December 2025, and authorised the Fund Administrator to conclude the related Special Agreement.
In the field of technical co-operation, the Council unanimously adopted the updated Data Policy, which aims to reflect recent technological developments, particularly in the field of AI.
The Council also unanimously adopted the Rules of Procedure of the Board of Appeal for the judicial processing of personal data, which had been established by Council’s decision in December 2024.
Turning to legal and international affairs, the Council took note of the latest developments concerning the UP system, with the Office highlighting the continued growth of the system as it approaches the milestone of 100 000 requests for unitary effect since its launch, and the update by the Registrar of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) covering topics such as the expanding UPC case law and the inauguration of the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre (PMAC) on 2 June 2026. The Council also noted the status report by the delegations of Cyprus and Ireland, the member states holding the EU presidency for the first and second half of 2026 respectively.
Furthermore, the Council unanimously decided on several appointments and reappointments:
- Reappointment of Mr Michel LIND (NL) as external member and Chairperson of the RFPSS Supervisory Board and Mr Martin Paul WAGNER (CH) as external member of that Board, both for a further three-year term from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2029.
- Appointment of Ms Harsha PATEL (GB) as external member of the RFPSS Supervisory Board and Mr Lukasz BUDZYNSKI (PL/FR) as alternate external member, each for a three-year term from 30 June 2026 to 29 June 2029.
- Appointment of Ms Teresa VIOLANTE (PT) as member of the Appeals Committee for a renewable two-year term from 30 June 2026 to 29 June 2028.
In closed session, the Council unanimously decided on the appointment and reappointment of members of the Boards of Appeal and of the Enlarged Board of Appeal, based on the recommendations made by the President of the Boards of Appeal.
Also in closed session, the Council noted the information provided by the Chairperson on the President’s intentions to stand for reappointment through the respective reappointment procedure or, in case that procedure does not gather the necessary majority, in an open competition. Furthermore, the Council took note of the information provided on the next procedural steps, in accordance with the timeline it endorsed in December 2025.
Finally, the Council noted the reports from the chairpersons of its various bodies on their recent meetings, namely of the Budget and Finance Committee, the Technical and Operational Support Committee, the Select Committee and the Supervisory Board of the RFPSS.
35th meeting of the Select Committee of the Administrative Council (Munich, 19 March 2026)
The Select Committee of the European Patent Organisation held its 35th meeting in Munich on 19 March 2026 under its Chairperson Mr Paul VAN BEUKERING (NL).
The Committee unanimously adopted the second package of measures for the modernisation of the Select Committee’s governance, following the first set of measures endorsed in October 2025. The package comprises a Code of Conduct on the prevention and management of conflicts of interest, a policy on the publication of Select Committee documents, and a policy governing access requests.
The Committee then noted the update by the Registrar of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), Mr Alexander RAMSAY, on the latest developments. The UPC has seen a continued increase in case numbers at the Court of First Instance as well as a steady rise in appeals. The audited budget figures for the period 2022–2024 show that expenditure is consistently below budget, that revenues have exceeded expectations, and that the UPC is well on track toward achieving its aim of being self-financed through its fee income.
Further, the Committee took note of the information provided by the Office on its contribution to the European Commission’s report on the operation of Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012. The contribution highlighted the strong uptake of the Unitary Patent (UP), in particular among European SMEs, micro‑entities, startups and universities. It also highlighted the robustness of the governance framework, the positive financial projections for participating Member States, and the effective interaction between the EPC framework and EU legislation. The European Commission outlined the consultation process for preparing the report, with a view to its delivery by the end of 2026.
Turning to operational matters, the Office presented its UP operational report, which confirmed sustained growth in demand with more than 86 000 requests for unitary effect to date and an 18.5% increase in requests filed in 2025 compared with the previous year. Uptake continued to rise across user groups and regions, with high participation by European micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, universities and research centres. Updates were provided on high operational efficiency, short processing times and a very low rejection rate, as well as the annual revision of the UP Guidelines.
As for financial performance, the Committee noted the quarterly budget implementation statements on income and expenditure relating to UP protection for 2025, which showed performance to be above budgetary expectations. The Committee also noted in closed session the reports on the distribution of fees among participating Member States for 2025.
The Committee took note of an update from the Office and the European Commission on UP‑related communication activities.
Council Secretariat
186th meeting of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation (Munich, 18 and 19 March 2026)
The Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation held its 186th meeting in Munich on 18 and 19 March 2026, under its Chairperson Josef KRATOCHVÍL (CZ).
After the Chairperson's activities report, the Council noted the Office’s quarterly activities report, which highlighted planned actions under each of the SP2028 drivers and the robust progress made to date. The Office also reported on the launch of the EPO Technology Dashboard and the record levels of applications seen in 2025, with more than 200 000 European patent applications received for the first time in a single year.
The Council noted the high productivity and continued improvements in quality and timeliness, as well as updates on how the European Patent Network has been continuously strengthened following strategic decisions taken in 2018, including through extensive IT co-operation support. Further updates were provided on how the patent system has been made more accessible, particularly for smaller applicants, including through the promotion of the Unitary Patent. There was also an update on the strategic foresight initiative, “Scenarios for the Future 2025–2045.”
The Council noted the 2025 Management Report of the President of the Boards of Appeal (PBoA). The Council congratulated the PBoA and the Boards of Appeal (BoA) staff on the excellent results, praised the transparent, systematic and thorough reporting, and noted the value of monitoring appeal trends and outcomes over time.
The Council also noted the advance information provided by the Board of Auditors on the audit report on Votebox and welcomed the Office’s commitment to implementing the auditors’ recommendations ahead of the June Council meeting.
Turning to legal affairs, the Council unanimously approved the recommended common practices regarding double patenting and broad claims, as developed under the convergence of practice programme. It adopted the core elements of the third basket of legal changes, establishing a future-oriented framework for enabling a fully paperless patent granting process with simplified procedures that preserve legal certainty and quality.
Furthermore, the Council took note of the latest developments in the Unitary Patent (UP) system, with more than 86 000 UP requests filed since the system’s launch in June 2023 and high uptake among European SMEs, startups, micro-entities and universities. A further update was presented by the delegation of Cyprus – the country holding the Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2026 – on its activities.
Turning to validation, the Council unanimously authorised the President to conclude a validation agreement with the Republic of Angola and, in alignment with the updated validation policy unanimously adopted by the Council in 2025, authorised the President to open negotiations with the Republic of Burundi, the Republic of El Salvador and the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. In addition, in closed session, the Council noted the request from Georgia to be invited to accede to the EPC and that further consideration and discussions, including on governance, would be necessary.
On personnel and policy matters the Council gave a favourable opinion on the orientations for a new salary adjustment procedure, considering various aspects of the orientation, which aimed to strike a careful balance between sustainability, predictability, simplicity and fairness. Delegations underlined the importance of a safety clause enabling the Council to respond to exceptional circumstances.
The Council also unanimously adopted the revised Appeals Committee Rules of Procedure, reflecting updates since 2018 and ensuring consistency and continuity in appeals processes.
In addition, the Council unanimously decided on the individual appointments and reappointments:
- Reappointment of Mr Thomas GROFFMANN as Fund Administrator for a third term beginning 1 January 2027, with his term of office ending when he reaches the statutory retirement age.
- Re-election of Mr Pascal FAURE (FR) as Chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee from 13 October 2026 to 12 October 2029
- Re-election of Ms Karin ŽVOKELJ (SI) as Deputy Chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee from 15 December 2026 to 14 December 2029
- Appointment of Mr Malik CHAPUIS (FR) as external member of the Boards of Appeal Committee (BOAC) from 13 October 2026 to 12 October 2029
The Council also unanimously decided on the appointment and reappointment of members of the BoA and of the external members of the Enlarged Board of Appeal based on recommendations by the PBoA.
Finally, the Council noted the reports from the chairpersons of its various bodies on their recent meetings, namely of the BOAC and of the Committee on Patent Law.
Council Secretariat