Article 33

Report on the 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.