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COUNCIL DECISION
of 26 February 1990
adopting a specific Community research and technological development programme in the field of competitiveness of agriculture and management of agricultural resources (1989-1993)
(90/84/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 130 q (2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
In cooperation with the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas Article 130 k of the Treaty stipulates that the framework programme shall be implemented through specific programmes developed within each of the activities;
Whereas, by Decision 87/516/Euratom, EEC (1), as amended by Decision 88/193/Euratom, EEC (2), the Council adopted a framework programme for Community activities in the field of research and technological development (1987-1991) providing for activities to be implemented to ensure the exploitation and optimum use of biological resources;
Whereas that Decision provides that Community action is justified where it contributes, inter alia, to the strengthening of the economic and social cohesion of the Community and the promotion of its overall harmonious development while being consistent with scientific and technical excellence in research; whereas it is intended that the specific research and technological development programme in the field of competitiveness of agriculture and management of agricultural resources should contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the common agricultural policy;
Whereas the framework programme provides for a specific research and technological development programme in the field of competitiveness of agriculture and management of agricultural resources with the purpose of increasing the efficiency of human and financial resources devoted to agriculture and of providing a response to the economic, social, environmental and region al challenges arising from the way farming activities are changing in the socio-economic framework of rural areas;
Whereas the Community must endeavour to overcome the problems of agricultural surpluses, adjust production in line with market demand, maintain agricultural incomes at a reasonable level and rationalize and modernize agricultural structures and ensure the competitiveness of European Community agriculture on the world market while at the same time protecting and improving the environment;
Whereas those endeavours must be directed towards the promotion and development of products which are in deficit in the Community, the improvement of the quality of agricultural products to give higher added value;
Whereas numerous regions in the Community lag behind others in development and whereas there is therefore a need to define all the available opportunities for reducing the economic and social disparities between the regions with a slower rate of development and the economically more developed regions of the Community, in particular in those areas where the disparities are most acute;
Whereas one of the major problems facing agricultural research will be containing the rapidly escalating costs of agricultural inputs, inter alia, by developing new production, processing and conservation systems aimed at reducing costs;
Whereas the elaboration of long-term schemes in resource management can result in new ways of managing land and water to the advantage of agriculture, the environment and the countryside;
Whereas the development of methods and services to disseminate agricultural research results will facilitate adaptation to changes and development in the common agricultural policy;
Whereas the programme will be implemented and developed in close coordination with the activities of the framework programme, in particular the ECLAIR and FLAIR Programmes,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
A specific Community research and technological development programme in the field of competitiveness of agriculture and management of agricultural resources, as
defined in Annex I, is hereby adopted for a period of five years beginning on 26 February 1989.
Article 2
The funds estimated as necessary for the execution of the programme amount to ECU 55 million, including expenditure on a staff of sixteen.
An indicative allocation of these funds is set out in Annex II.
Article 3
Detailed rules for the implementation of the programme are set out in Annex I.
Article 4
1. In the third year of the programme's implementation, the Commission shall review it and send a report on the results of its review to the European Parliament and Council; this report shall be accompanied, where necessary, by proposals for amendment or extension of the programme.
2. At the end of the programme, an evaluation of the results shall be conducted by the Commission, which shall report thereon to the European Parliament and the Council.
3. The abovementioned reports shall be established having regard to the obejctives set out in Annex I to this Decision and in accordance with Article 2 (2) of Decision 87/516/Euratom, EEC.
Article 5
The Commission shall be responsible for implementing the programme.
The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee composed of the representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission.
Article 6
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The Chairman shall not vote.
The Commission shall adopt measures, which shall apply immediately. However, if these measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, they shall be communicated by the Commission to the Council forthwith. In that event, the Commission may defer application of the measures which it has decided for a period of not more than one month from the date of such communication.
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision within the time limit referred to in the second paragraph.
Article 7
The procedures laid down in Article 6 shall apply in particular to:
- the contents of invitations to tender,
- the assessment of the proposed projects and the estimated amount of the Community's contribution to them,
- departures from the general rules governing Community participation set out in Annex I,
- any adaptation of the indicative allocation of funds set out in Annex II,
- the measures to be undertaken to evaluate the programme,
- arrangements for the dissemination, protection and exploitation of the results of research carried out under the programme.
Article 8
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 26 February 1990.