5. 3. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 62/7 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Decision to adopt a first multiannual programme (1988 to 1993) for 
biotechnology-based agro-industrial research and technological development — 'Eclair' 
(European collaborative linkage of agriculture and industry through research) 
COM(87) 667 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 22 December 1987) 
(88/C 62/08) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty setting up the European 
Economic Community, and in particular to Article 
130Q(2) thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
In cooperation with the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas Article 130K of the Treaty stipulates that the 
framework programme shall be implemented through 
specific programmes developed within each of its 
activities; 
Whereas by its Decision of 28 September 1987 the 
Council has adopted a framework programme for 
Community activities in the field of research and techno­
logical development (1987 to 1991) ('), providing for 
activities to be implemented to ensure the exploitation 
and optimum use of biological resources; 
Whereas the specialized skills and capabilities relevant to 
agro-industrial development are numerous, and Europe's 
most internationally competitive capabilities are located 
in diverse Member States, mutual benefit shall be derived 
from collaboration in a Community programme; 
Whereas the European Parliament, in its assessment of 
the potential for biotechnology in the European farming 
industry (2), has emphasized that it must be used to 
promote an agricultural policy geared to quality, with 
high added value, and that the Community should 
support biotechnological research aimed at improving 
alternative forms of production and/or finding new 
ones; 
(») OJ No L 302, 24. 10. 1987. 
O OJ No C 76, 23. 3. 1987, p. 22. Whereas such activities would constitute a logical 
complement to the Community research programmes in 
the areas of biotechnology and of agriculture, promoting 
the application of their results to the social and economic 
objectives of the Community; 
Whereas development activities at the interfaces between 
agriculture and industry could contribute to the solution 
of some of the problems which agriculture is currently 
facing within the Community; 
Whereas it is necessary to involve small- and medium-
sized enterprises to the maximum extent possible in the 
biotechnology-based agro-industrial technological devel­
opment programme; 
Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research 
Committee (CREST) has expressed its opinion on the 
Commission's proposal, 
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 
Article 1 
A research and development programme of the 
European Economic Community in the field of biotech­
nology-based agro-industrial development is hereby 
adopted in the form set out in Annex I for a five-year 
period starting on 1 July 1988. 
The programme shall consist of work carried out as 
contract-research and as coordination actions and by 
training/mobility grants. Participants may be industrial 
and agricultural enterprises, research institutions, univer­
sities or combinations of them, established in the 
Community. 
Normally, research institutes and universities should 
participate in a group together with one or more 
industrial organizations. Research institutes which are 
funded principally or exclusively by industrial organi­
zations shall be considered as industrial participants. 
No C 62/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 5. 3. 88 
Projects must be carried out by participants from more 
than one Member State. 
As a general rule, the Community contribution will not 
exceed 50 %, the remainder to be provided predomi­
nantly from industrial sources. 
Article 2 
The funds necessary for the execution of the programme 
are estimated at 80 million ECU, including expenditure 
on a staff of 13. 
Article 3 
In the third year of the programme implementation, the 
Commission shall undertake a review. An evaluation will 
be conducted before the end of the programme and in 
the light of the objectives set out in Annex II. Article 4 
The Commission shall be responsible for the execution 
of the programme and will be assisted in its implemen­
tation by a Management and Coordination Advisory 
Committee (CGC), created in accordance with Council 
Decision No 84/338/Euratom, ECSC, EEC of 29 June 
1984 (»). 
Article 5 
This Decision shall apply from 1 July 1988 until 30 June 
1993. 
(') OJ No L 177, 4. 7. 1984, p. 25. 
ANNEX I 
PROGRAMME 
for the first multiannual action programme for biotechnology-based agro-industrial research and 
technological development (1988 to 1993) 
Aims 
The objective of the programme here proposed is to promote in Europe the useful application of recent 
developments in the life sciences and biotechnology. This shall be achieved by a programme of 
pre-competitive research and technical development projects and coordination activities, based on close 
collaboration between agriculture and industrial activities, and supported by training/mobility grants. The 
programme will contribute in the medium and longer terms to enhancing Europe's competitiveness in the 
economic activities which will be based on these developments. 
Conservation, enhancement of nature and environmental protection issues will be systematically taken into 
consideration in the execution of the programme. 
Content 
The programme shall consist of the following sectors: 
1. PRODUCTION AND EVALUATION TRIALS OF CANDIDATE SPECIES OR ORGANISMS 
2. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES 
3. INTEGRATED APPROACHES 
1. PRODUCTION AND EVALUATION TRIALS OF CANDIDATE SPECIES OR ORGANISMS 
shall consist of test trials at appropriate scale and under various conditions of novel or modified 
species or organisms (plants, livestock, other) in order to test performance, pest resistance, input 
requirements, and aspects relevant to suitability for industrial processing, animal nutrition and market 
acceptability of the organism, its constituents, and the products derived from them with special 
emphasis on the use of new biotechnological methods in the identification, characterization, 
selection, modification, propagation, cultivation or other aspect of developing and appraising the 
candidate organisms. 
5. 3. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 62/9 
2. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES shall consist of: 
2.1. more precise and effective inputs to agriculture through research and development work, based on 
the use of life sciences and biotechnology, aiming at the creation of products and services for 
use in agriculture, offering advantages in terms of precision, cost-effectiveness, enhanced plant 
or animal performance, suitability for subsequent product processing and/or marketing, and 
avoiding possible undesirable side effects; and 
2.2. more precise and effective extraction, transformation and production processes through research and 
development work on methods to increase the use and value of agricultural produce, by 
extraction, transformation or other processes, in industry or elsewhere, which by biotechno-
logical or other means make greater or more valuable use of the intrinsic properties of these 
materials. 
3. INTEGRATED APPROACHES shall consist of: 
3.1. whole-crop harvesting, preservation and separation systems through trial systems to develop whole 
plant harvesting and its fractionation into constituents appropriate for subsequent applications, 
such system(s) to be of adequate scale to provide a basis for economic appraisals, and the 
significant participation of industrial and agricultural interests. Priority to be given to projects 
using new biotechnology; and 
3.2. studies and development projects for the integrated use of new technologies shall focus on the joint 
exploitation of progress in biological knowledge and techniques in conjunction with new-tech­
nology-based agricultural systems. 
Implementation 
Implementation of the projects shall be through cost-shared research and development actions and coordi­
nation activities. Training/mobility grants shall be included to facilitate the assembly of relevant skills at 
appropriate locations for the work of the projects, and to promote effective diffusion of the knowledge 
resulting from them. The programme shall also include the organization of meetings, consultation of 
experts, and diffusion of information on the progress and results of the projects. 
ANNEX II 
EVALUATION CRITERIA 
for the first multiannual action programme for biotechnology-based agro-industrial research and 
technological development (1988 to 1993) 
The Commission's communication to the Council concerning a Community plan of action relating to the 
evaluation of Community research and development activities for the years 1987 to 1991 (COM(86) 660 
final) states that the objectives and milestones of each research programme have to be set out in a testable 
form. The objectives and milestones of the above programme are set out below. 
1. The long-term objective of this programme is to contribute to the competitiveness of Europe's agri­
culture and industries by improving the links between these two fundamental sectors of our economy. 
The Commission proposes to achieve this objective by launching this programme of pre-competitive 
development projects. The projects seek to promote the close collaboration between agricultural and 
industrial activities, by their participation in the research and technological development of the recent 
progress in the life sciences and biotechnology. 
2. The primary short term objective is that the programme should succeed in eliciting proposals, with 
commitments to co-finance from industry, for development projects on a scale commensurate with the 
Community resources proposed. This objective shall be testable in 1991 and 1992. 
At this time, the programme should also demonstrate its promotion and encouragement of inter-sectoral 
collaboration, across the Member States. 
No C 62/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 5. 3. 88 
3. Particular objectives to be attained within three years of the programme implementation are as follows: 
3.1. that tests of new or modified species or organisms have been conducted, and have given grounds to 
expect that these organisms, or the processes used to produce or modify them, represent progress 
and could find applications; 
3.2. that tests have been conducted of new or modified products, techniques or services for use in 
agriculture; that advantages in terms of precision, effectiveness, or the avoidance of possible 
adverse side-effects have been indicated; and that as a result of the tests the products, techniques or 
services have practical applications; 
3.3. that tests have been conducted of more precise and effective extraction, transformation and 
production processes, applying biotechnological and/or other methods to an agricultural output; 
and that as a result of the tests, the processes are useful; 
3.4. that through the programme, arrangements shall be organized between farming and 
industrial/processing interests, and facilities or equipment created, modified or made available, to 
test on one or more crops the technical feasibility of 'whole-crop harvesting', and that corre­
sponding measures of performance have been or are in the course of being defined, to provide a 
basis for further system improvements, and a basis for decision on the replication and diffusion of 
similar larger scale activities; and 
3.5. that studies have been financed and completed, and development projects supported, involving the 
use in agriculture of new technologies (e.g. involving sophisticated detection/measurement/ 
recording techniques, information processing, automation of equipment and facilities), in 
conjunction with the application of biotechnology; and that as a result of such studies and projects 
new applications have been found. 
4. In addition, the programme should ensure that the following general criteria are met: 
4.1. that the potential increase in market opportunities, in medium or long-term, as a result of the 
improvements or benefits demonstrated, is of a size to justify the Community expenditures 
committed; 
4.2. taking account of the final reports on the biotechnology action programme which ends in 
December 1989, and of the biomolecular engineering programme (1982 to 1986), and of the 
evaluation report(s) on these programmes, consideration should be given to whether this 
programme is in fact effectively promoting the transfer towards application of the results of the 
earlier biotechnology (or biomolecular engineering) research programmes; 
4.3. that throughout the execution of the programme the projects should have taken into consideration 
adequately the conservation, enhancement of nature and environmental issues; 
4.4. taking account of the results of Community, national or private sector research activities in biotech­
nology, the evaluation panel shall consider whether the 'Eclair' programme has contributed to the 
application of the results of the said research activities in regions of the Community other than 
those in which the research was conducted, and has produced added value attributable to the 
Community character of the programme (i.e. not readily obtainable via Member State actions 
alone).