RESOLUTION OF THE ECSC CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE ON THE FUTURE OF COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH IN THE COAL AND STEEL SECTORS (adopted unanimously during the 336th Session of 20 June 1997) (97/C 220/05)

(Text with EEA relevance)

1. Basic elements

THE ECSC CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE

1.1. has noted the conclusions of the Council of Ministers of the European Union concerning the gradual incorporation of certain elements of the ECSC Treaty into the general treaty (phasing-in) (1);

1.2. has taken note of the following reference documents:

1.2.1. Court of Auditor's annual report on the ECSC (1995 financial year) (2);

1.2.2. Europan Parliament report on the draft ECSC operating budget for 1997 (rapporteur: Mr J.-A. Giansily) (3);

1.2.3. European Parliament report on the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament entitled 'Fresh impetus for restructuring the steel industry in the Community` (rapporteur: Mr G. Caudron) (4);

1.2.4. European Parliament report on the incorporation of the ECSC into the budget of the European Communities (rapporteur: Mr J. Colóm I Naval) (5);

1.2.5. proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision concerning the Fifth European Community Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration (1998-2002) (6);

1.3. recalls its previous opinions adopted in the light of the expiry of the ECSC Treaty, in particular the Memorandum on matters connected with the expiry of the ECSC Treaty in 2002 (7) and the Resolution on ECSC social research (8), both adopted on 28 June 1995, and the Memorandum on social aspects, adopted on 10 October 1996 (9);

2. Recitals

THE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE CONSIDERS THAT

2.1. The achievements of ECSC collaborative research in the technological and social fields have been and are excellent.

2.1.1. ECSC research, the first example of European research, has contributed to the technological and social progress of the coal and steel sectors, the establishment of a vast network of European experts, and the creation of a favourable climate for cooperation and the exchange of information and experience.

2.1.2. The studies carried out by independant bodies have high-lighted that ECSC technical research has had major measurable effects for a limited overall cost and that social research has made a significant contribution to the improvement of working conditions, to which, in particular, the studies and statistics on accidents at work and occupational diseases in the industries concerned testify (10) (11) (12).

2.1.3. ECSC collaborative research is the only example of applied interdisciplinary research to include the aims of improving health and safety at work and the environmental compatibility of production activities, as a result of which a body of knowledge and results has been produced which has profoundly influenced the social culture of Europe.

2.1.4. the ECSC Treaty provides for the promotion of basic technologies which are indispensable for a competitive economy.

It can be made clear, particularly in the case of the coal and steel industries, that the highly developed industries of Europe can maintain this competitiveness only if the necessary basis is provided by innovative and forward-looking technical research.

2.2. The operation of ECSC research is perfectly in keeping with the principles of the Fifth Framework Programme, as the traditional features of this research show:

- an experienced and operational European cooperation network,

- considerable European value added as a result of the transnational nature of the research,

- a significant contribution to the competitiveness of the ECSC sectors and user industries,

- projects close to the market and to the needs of industriy and its workers,

- sufficient flexibility to be able to adapt rapidly to changes in the context and to new needs,

- optimum and rapid dissemination of results.

2.3. The need to maintain a high degree of collaborative research in both the technical and social fields stems form the following considerations:

2.3.1. Faced with new challenges in terms of competitiveness, cost reduction, product quality, environmental protection and the necessity to open up new markets, the ECSC industries still vitally need the backing of the efficient applied technical research, also in the interests of the user sectors. In addition to developing new products, the coal and steel industries are called upon to offer to their clients systems and solutions which meet those clients' needs;

2.3.2. The requirements of the ECSC industries for social research will continue to be centred in the areas of health, safety, ergonomics and physical working conditions, since these areas have been and will continue to be influenced by the introduction of new production technologies and new methods of work organization and by the need to improve productivity and cope with successive restructurings and considerable changes in the age pryramid.

3. Positions

THEREFORE, THE ECSC CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE

3.1. would like to see an overall response by the European Commission to the previous requests regarding technical and social collaborative research contained in its Memorandums of June 1995 and October 1996;

3.2. notes with satisfaction that the proposal for a Decision concerning the Fifth Framework Programme lists, among the activities of research and development of generic technologies to be given appropriate support, the development of new materials and production technologies in the coal and steel sectors as well as technologies for the clean production and use of fossil fuels;

3.3. requests that account be taken of the social aspects affecting the ECSC industries in the fourth activity (stimulation of the training and mobility of researchers) provided for by the Fifth Framework Programme;

3.4. urges that, in order to maintain the present level of collaborative research to assist the coal and steel industries and their workers, sufficient resources be granted in the following two ways:

- improved access to the general framework programmes;

- appropriate funding by the ECSC budget until 2002, and thereafter via the ECSC reserves in the form of a research fund, which the Consultative Committee has always felt should be used primarily for the benefit of undertakings and their workers, who since 1952 have provided most of the funds with which these reserves have been constituted;

3.5. in this connection, welcomes the fact that the European Council, in its Resolution on growth and employment adopted in Amsterdam on 16 June 1997, requested the Commission to make appropriate proposals in order to ensure that, upon expiry of the ECSC Treaty in 2002, the revenues from the outstanding reserves are used for a research fund for sectors related to the coal and steel industries. In this context the Consultative Committee stresses its understanding that this fund will assure the financial future of ECSC research, the value of which has been proven;

3.6. stresses that there should be single management of collaborative research in the coal and steel industries, whether conducted as part of a framework programme or not, so as to avoid duplication of work and to promote synergies;

3.7. recommends that, even after the expiry of the ECSC Treaty, the existing ECSC networks and bodies (SERDEC, CRC and Technical Executive Committees) be used for this single management, with an interdisciplinary approach and appropriate representation of the coal and steel industries, their workers and the user sectors;

3.8. stresses that the research fund decided upon by the European Council in Amsterdam must be managed under the joint supervision of the European authorities and representatives of the ECSC sectors;

3.9. requests that provision be made for appropriate links with the existing bodies, i.e. the Health and Safety Commission for the Mining and Other Extractive Industries and the Joint Committee on Harmonization of Working Conditions in the Coal and Steel Industries;

3.10. requests that for collaborative research, whether conducted as part of a framework programme or not, there should be a system for exchanging information on results (technical and social) in which the user sectors are also involved.

(1) Conclusions of 20 April 1991 (ref.:) and 24 November 1992 (ref.:).

(2) OJ No C 377, 13. 12. 1996, p. 5.

(3) PE 219.047.

(4) PE 214.031.

(5) PE A4-0302/96.

(6) COM(97) 142 final.

(7) OJ No C 206, 11. 8. 1995, p. 7.

(8) OJ No C 206, 11. 8. 1995, p. 7.

(9) OJ No C 334, 8. 11. 1996, p. 3.

(10) 'Evaluation of the economic effects of ECSC research programmes`, June 1994, report drawn up by Mr Trentini.

(11) 'Evaluation of the ECSC research programme`, September 1996, report drawn up by Smith Vincent & Co. and Geoffrey Walton Practice.

(12) 'ECSC Social Research`, 1996, report drawn up by Enrico Gibellieri et al.