ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES 
DE LA COMMISSION 
 
 
 
COLLECTION RELIEE DES 
DOCUMENTS "COM" 
 
 
 
 
COM (83) 107 
 
 
 
Vol. 1983/00 34 
  
 
Disclaimer  
Conformém ent au règlement (CEE, Euratom) n° 354/83 du Conseil du 1er février 1983 
concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique 
européenne et de la Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique (JO L 43 du 15.2.1983, 
p. 1), tel que modifié par le règlement (CE, Euratom) n° 1700/2003 du 22 septembre 2003 
(JO L 243 du 27.9.2003, p. 1), ce dossier est ouvert au public. Le cas échéant, les documents 
classifiés présents dans ce dossier ont été déclassifiés conformément à l'article 5 dudit 
règlem ent. 
In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983 
concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Economic 
Community and the European Atomic Energy Communit y (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as 
amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/2003 of 22 September 2003 (OJ L 243, 
27.9.2003, p. 1), this file is open to the public. Where necessary, classified documents in this 
file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation. 
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom  1. 
Februar 1983 über die Freigabe der historischen Archive der Europäischen 
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europäischen Atomgem einschaft (ABI. L 43 vom  15.2.1983, 
S. 1), geändert durch die Verordnung (EG, Euratom) Nr. 1700/2003 vom 22. Septem ber 2003 
(ABI. L 243 vom 27.9.2003, S. 1), ist diese Datei der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Soweit 
erforderlich, wurden die Verschlusssachen in dieser Datei in Übereinstimmung mit Artikel 5 
der genannten Verordnung freigegeben. 
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
C O M (8j) 107 final  
Brussels 3 March 1983
THE FUTURE ACTIVITIES OF THE JOINT RESEA5CH CENTRE 
(Communication from the Commission to the Council)
10? final

T H E  F U T U R E  ACTIVITIES O F  T H E  JOINT R E S E A R C H  C E N T R E
INTRODUCTION 1
I. P A R T  O N E  : The nature and role of the J R C  3
1. The JRC's a c tiv itie s  must be on a  sig n ifican t scale 3
2. The JR C  must not work in iso la tion  3
3. The JR C  and the Community's general R & D  strategy 4
4. The J R C  decision-making process 5
I I .  P A R T  T W O  :  The programmes - motivation and content 6
1. Safety and the environment 7
1.1. Nuclear safety 8
1.2. Non-nuclear safety 15
2. Thermonuclear fusion 17
3. Other fie ld s  of research 18
3.1. Remote sensing - application to agriculture and to
developping countries 18
3.2. Support to industry :  m aterials, measurements and standards 19
3.3. Renewable sources of energy and harnessing of energy 2 1
3.4. Data processing 22
4. Other a c tiv itie s  23
4.1. E xploitation of the H F R  reactor 23
4.2. D iffusion of knowledge 24
5. The JR C  as a  host site  for international large-scale
in s ta lla tio n s  and project teams 25
I I I .  P A R T  T H R E E  :  The JRC'S resources 27
1. The JRC's level of a c tiv ity  over the period 1984-1987 27
2. Revamping the infrastructures 28
3. S taff rejuvenation and m obility 28
C O N C LU SIO N  29
A N N E X E  A  :  Use of the resources o rig in a lly  allocated to the 
Super-SARA project
A N N E X E  B  : Decommissioning of the E S S O R  reactor

1.
INTRODUCTION
The Council has before it  a  communication from the Commission on the 
JRC's programme for 1984-87, C O M  (82) 250 fin a l (7359/82 - A T O  46 of 
28 M ay 1982) a  communication from the Commission on the revision for 1983 
of the 1980-83 programme, C O M  (82) 489 fin a l (9107/82 - A T O  72 of 
6 August 1982) and a  report from the Permanent Representatives Committee, 
11550/82 - A T O  94 of 9  December 1982, which was used as the basis for 
discussion on 13 December 1982.
Meeting on 8  February, the Council of Research Ministers took note of the 
report from the three experts w hom  the Commission has consulted at its  
request. O n  the basis of the report it  asked the Commission to let it  have, 
for its  next meeting, detailed proposals on a  J R C  programme which would not 
include Super-SARA.
In response to th is request the Commission now presents proposals for 
programme guidelines which, according to the Commission, e ffe ctive ly bestow 
upon the J R C  "a central role in the Community's research strategy", entrusting 
it  with "work of com m on interest based on current resource levels".
These proposals have been worked out on the "broad lines set out in the 
Commission's working document" and include, in p a rticu la r, "measures aimed 
at improving s ta ff m o b ility".

2.
The main features of the new guidelines for the JRC's programme are 
a  substantial development of research on safety in general, both nuclear 
and non-nuclear, and in itia tiv e s  with potential in the fie ld s  of 
thermonuclear fusion reactors and remote sensing. They emphasize the fact 
that the Ispra Establishment is available for housing or developing large 
machines of interest to the Community.
Annex A  goes into som e d e ta il on the use the Commission intends to make of 
the resources o rig in a lly  earmarked for the Supei—S A R A  project.
Annex B  describes the steps which w ill have to be taken with regard to 
the E S S O R  reactor.
O n  the basis of the Council's conclusions the Commission has also prepared 
specific proposals for improving the decision-making process at the JRC. 
These proposals are set out in a  separate document.
The Commission's communications have been brought to the atte n tion  of 
Parliament as w ell, to enable i t  to follow  the progress of the work from the 
beginning and to decide right away on how  i t  w ill contribute to the major 
decisions on the future of the Joint Research Centre in the development 
of the Community.

P A R T  O N E  - T H E  N A T U R E  A N D  R O L E  O F  T H E  J R C
The Council has confirmed that the J R C  w ill have to continue to play a  
central role in the Community's research strategy. The JRC's main purpose 
is therefore to promote and/or conduct sig n ifica n t a c tiv itie s  of 
a  centralized nature that the Community wishes to have carried out, 
on a  Community basis, with a  J R C  contribution. To put this intention 
into practice there has to be a  commitment on the part of the Council 
acknowledging that the follow ing conditions have to be met :
1. The_JRÇ^s_açt2yi.t2es_must_be_on_a_S29n2flçant_sçaJ1e
The JRC's programme must not be simply a  collection of a  large number 
of minor a c tiv itie s . Itmust, instead, take account of the substantial 
f a c ilit ie s  available to the Community w ithin the JRC. The a c tiv itie s  
carried out must be on a  scale commensurate with the size of the J R C  
in general, and with that of each of its  establishments in p articula r.
A  look at the programme reveals that a  large proportion of the projects 
placed with the Ispra establishment are on a  scale which would be beyond 
the capacity of any of the other three establishments.
2. The_JRC_must_ngt_work_ 2n_isolatign
It is not simply a  matter of deciding on projects for the J R C  which 
are w ithin its  ca p a b ility. The projects must in addition have 
significance in re la tion  to a ll sim ilar a c tiv itie s  under way within 
and even outside the Community. This need for the Community action

to be consistent w ill cause the Commission to Look for a  role for the 
J R C  whereby it  "federates" certain projects being undertaken at national 
Level or even becomes a  catalyst for the development of new national 
a c tiv itie s . This is the role which the JR C  has played, and continues 
to play, in the fie ld  of remote sensing from space.
■  iB£_§£tlviil§s_must_be_an_integral_part_gf_the_Çommun 2ty^s_general 
R_&_D_strategy
The a c tiv itie s  in the JRC's programme which are described in th is 
document are a ll in keeping with the opinions of the framework programme 
defining the Community's o verall R & D  strategy.
These a c tiv itie s  correspond to the follow ing options set out in the 
framework programme :
a) Agriç u ltu ra l_cgmget H^yness :
- Remote sensing :  study of so il occupation;
models fo r management of rural areas; 
v itic u ltu r a l records; 
su bstitu tion  models.
b) Industrial_com getit 2yeness :
- Reference m aterials and methods
- Solar component testing
- Materials for use at high temperature
- Data processing
c) IiDB£oyement_gf_energy_source_management :
- Nuclear safety
- Fusion technology
- Renewable forms of energy and harnessing energy
- Materials for use at high temperature

d) Sçienti^f 2ç_and_techn 2çal_sugggrt_fgr_de\/e]1ggment
- Remote sensing :  agricultural productivity (Sahel)
desert formation 
forestry protection
- Education and training
e) LlylQ9_§[]d_workjng_cgndjt 2gns :
- Nuclear and non-nuclear safety
- Environmental protection
The Commission's R&D activities will be described in detail in the 
action programmeswhich are in preparation. The research carried out 
by the JRC will be an integral part of these action programmes.
Ih^-deci^i^n^mak i^g_grgcess_must_be_ 2mgrgved
To enable the JRC to perform the role entrusted to it by the Council, 
it must be given powers to take decisions in the technical and 
managerial fields that are commensurate with those exercised by other 
research ventures in general, and European undertakings such as JET 
or CERN in particular. In line with the Council's conclusions on this 
specific point, the Commission has prepared some proposals which, as 
mentioned above, are the subject of a separate communication.

PART TWO - THE PROGRAMMES :  MOTIVATION AND CONTENT
The JRC programme guidelines presented here are different from those 
so far proposed (see ATO 46) in that the Super-SARA project is no Longer 
included and that the Commission proposes, for reasons which are 
elaborated upon below, to make use of the resulting flexibility in the 
fol lowing ways :
a) a considerable proportion of the finance will be devoted to studying 
safety as a whole, both nuclear and non-nuclear, this being the 
dominant theme of the programme.
b) Thermonuclear fusion technology will also be the subject of 
a special development.
c) The other areas of research will be maintained at approximately
the same level as before with the exception of the "Hydrogen" programme 
which has achieved its aims and will not be continued and the "Remote 
sensing" programme which will be intensified.
These activities will concentrate on :
- the development of remote sensing methods and their application
to problems of the environment, agriculture and aid to development;
- support to industry in the materials and reference substances field;
- solar energy and harnessing energy;
- data processing.
These research activities represent the specific contributions 
of the JRC to the Community's general R&D policy as defined in 
the outline programme.
d) Finally, the JRC will continue with other activities already 
under way, such as the exploitation of the HFR and training.

7.
1  .  Safet^_and_the_envi_£QD!I!§Dt
Working document SEC (83) 198, placed before the Council by the 
Commission, contained several ideas put forward, in particular, by 
the European Parliament on how to fill in certain gaps in Community 
research.
Parliament placed special emphasis on the following points :
-safety in general (nuclear and non-nuclear);
- an agency for innovation and assistance to inventors;
- promotion of centres of excellence.
The research needs identified, the existing capabilities of the JRC 
and activities currently under way bring the Commission to the 
conclusion that the "safety in general" option is the most realistic 
and most highly motivating solution at the present time.
For several years, the JRC has played a central role in studies on 
nuclear safety. In close cooperation with the Member States, 
it conducts experiments or studies of a central nature and of general 
interest which are not performed in the laboratories of the Member 
States. For example, mention may be made of the LOBI experiment, 
the in-pile PAHR studies, the development of a European fast-reactor 
accident code, the setting up of a European data bank on the 
reliability of nuclear power-station components and the assessment 
of the risks associated with the continental storage of radioactive 
waste.
In the guidelines for the 1984-87 programme, it is proposed that the 
experience acquired in these safety studies be extended to the 
D2Dl0y£iê§C_ÎlêJid.
In the Commission's view, sufficient consideration has so far not been 
given to research needs in the area of safety and the environment 
which justify concentrating a considerable part of the JRC resources 
on this topic, which will become the main topic in its programme.

8.
The European Parliament has encouraged the JRC to undertake studies 
on safety in general by approving Mr. Linkhor's report on the common 
research policy by a massive majority.
Like Parliament, the Commission considers that this type of research 
should benefit from the situation of independence enjoyed by the 
Commun i  ty1s J RC.
The research topics that will be taken into consideration in the next 
programme are as follows :
- reactor safety;
- safety of the fuel cycle;
- safety in industrial activities with a high level of risk (chemistry, 
biology, etc .).
This programme on safety and the environment accounts for more than 
60 % of the overall activity at the JRC.
1.1. Nuclear Safety
This topic will account for about 45 % to 50 % of the activity at 
the JRC.
1.1.1. Reactor safety
Most of the principal activities that already formed part of the 
programme, apart from Supei— SARA (see reorientation proposal 
ATO 46), will be intensified or developed further.
They will account for about 25 % to 30 % of the activity at the 
JRC.

Water reactors
After the termination of the Super-SARA project, it will still 
be important for the Community to acquire through other channels 
the information that that project was originally intended to 
provide. To this end, the Commission proposes that an 
international team be set up for the analysis and evaluation 
of the results expected from major experiments throughout the 
World such as LOBI, REBECCA, PHEBUS, PBF, NRU, etc.
This measure was recommended by the three independent experts 
consulted by the Commission in order to obtain an assessment 
of the Super-SARA project.
New studies dealing with containment-structure safety will be 
initiated :
- in particular, a study will be made of the reaction of 
structures to dynamic stresses produced by over-pressure 
resulting from a loss of coolant, to gas explosions or to 
external events (missiles, earthauakes).  The advisability 
of installing a large vibrating p laf o«'m in order to study 
dynamic and seismic effects on structures will be examined. 
Such a facility could be used for similar studies in the field 
of non-nuclear safety, which is dealt with further on.
A study will also be made of the containment structure's 
capacity to retain fission products and aerosols.
The projects of a central nature that are currently under way 
will be continued and reinforced with some of the staff from 
the Super-SARA project, particularly the following projects :
- Reliability and risk analysis :  emphasis will be placed on 
the collection and analysis of reliability data from power 
stations (European Reliability Data System), on "Benchmark" 
exercises concerning the reliability of certain systems and

10.
on the improvement of probabilistic analytical methods (PRA) 
with a view to applying them to a European probabilistic risk 
analysis system in cooperation with UNIPEDE.
- Study of los — of-coolant accidents in the LOBI facility. 
Expansion of the current programme to the study of special 
transients and to the man-machine interface. Participation 
in the validation of European accident codes (for example, 
CATHARE, DRUFAN, etc.).
- Studies on fracture mechanics, diagnostic methods (PISC)
and the analysis of component lifetimes. Expansion to include 
the examination of irradiated components from decommissioned 
reactors.
E§st_reactors
The activities which the Commission had considered discontinuing
in the reorientation proposal (ATO 46) will be continued and
i  ntensi f ied.
The JRC will concentrate on :
- the development of the European Accident Code (EAC) in 
cooperation with national projects. In order to make this 
Code as realistic as possible, it is proposed that the team 
participate in processing the results of major European 
Irradiation experiments (Cadarache, Mol, etc.);
- the development of physical models and their experimental 
validation for accident sequences that are still poorly 
understood;
- the study of phenomena associated with partial core 
meltdown :

11.
in particular, the in-pile PAHR experiments in the reactors 
at Grenoble and Mol will enter the implementation phase as soon 
as the new programme starts. A team for analysing the 
results of these experiments will be set up at Community level. 
The out-of-pile PAHR experiments in the FARO facility at Ispra 
can also start at the beginning of the programme.
- the study of the behaviour of materials and mechanical 
components will also be continued. A special effort will 
be devoted to the development of two- or three-dimentional 
structure codes.

12.
1.1.2. Safety_of_the_fuel_çyçle
This part of the nuclear safety topic corresponds to two of the 
objectives of the general Community policy :  the monitoring and 
management of radioactive waste and the Euratom safeguards 
concerning the non-proliferation of fissile materials. It also 
covers research on actinides and the safety of the actinide cycle, 
a field in which the Institute for Transuranic Elements in 
Karlsruhe has become a centre of excellence.
This research work accountsfor about 20 % to 25 % of the activity 
at the JRC.
a) The programme on radioact 2ye_waste fits into the twelve-year 
(1980-92) Community plan of action. This programme will be 
slightly expanded in comparison with the preceding proposal 
(ATO 46). The expansion will concern studies on improvements 
to waste processing, with particular regard to the separation 
of alpha-emitting waste. The JRC can make use of the ADECO 
hot cells in the ESSOR complex for these studies.
The Commission also proposes that non-destructive testing 
methods be developed for the quality assurance of conditioned 
radioactive waste. Here as well, the hot cells of the ESSOR 
complex could serve as a test laboratory.
The remaining activities will be concentrated on :
- an analysis of the risks of continental geological disposal. 
Special importance will be accorded to the setting up of
a data base and the experimental validation of models prepared 
for the various barriers.
- the feasibility and safety of disposal by means of burial
in the sediments of the ocean floor. This involves long-term 
research work which will require the development of broadly 
based international cooperation. Such work has already been 
started by the NEA, whose working party on "sub-seabed 
disposal" constitutes the reference point.

13.
b) The programme on the saf eguardi^g_and_management_of _f i l  ss i  le 
materi^a^s is intended to provide the information required by 
the Directorate for Euratom Safeguards and by the European 
operators so that they can comply with their obligations under 
the Euratom and Non-Proliferation Treaties.
Emphasis will be placed in future on the technological transfer 
of methods and instruments developed in the laboratory to 
industrial-scale plant. Work on the development of software 
for the processing and transmission of materials-accounting 
data will be intensified as will studies on the integration 
of safeguarding activities.
The main projects concern :
- Methods and instruments for determining the presence of 
fissile materials and for containing and supervising them;
- The processing, transmission and validation of materials- 
accounting data;
- The integration of safeguarding activities.
c) The programme on nuçlear_f ue l_and_acti.ni^e_research is 
implemented by the Institute for Transuranic Elements in 
Karlsruhe (ITE). That institute is currently playing a central 
role in Europe in actinide research. The Commission's intention 
is to confer the status of leader on the Karlsruhe Establishment 
where basic studies on fuel, are concerned. In that capacity, 
the laboratory will have to assume responsibility for studies 
on the source and release of fission products under severe 
fuel-damage conditions (SFD), which will be conducted in 
parallel with the fuel behaviour analyses which form part of
the programme on Reactor Safety (II.1.1.1.).
The resources allocated to this programme are unchanged.

14.
The four projects Listed below are covered by the
programme :
- Operating Limits of nuclear materials;
- Safety of the actinide cycle;
- Research on actinides, comprising theoretical and experimental 
work on crystal chemistry and the solid-state physical 
propert i  es;
- Studies on the source and release of fission products under 
accident conditions.

15.
1.2. Non-nuclear.safet^_and_the_envjronment (from 10 % to 15 % of the 
activity at the JRC)
In this field, the Commission proposes to give a new dimension and 
a consistent direction to the activities and techniques initiated 
under several of its previous programmes in order to develop a new 
programme on the safety of non-nuclear installations in compliance 
with the Resolution of the European Parliament.
This programme concerns three additional aspects :
- technological assessment of the overall risk;
- technclogica l  assessment of the individual risks;
- management of dangerous industrial wastes.
1.2.1. Where the overall risk is concerned, the work involves the
development of techniques for assessing technologies which may 
give rise to the release into the environment of products dangerous 
to man and the ecosystem.
To a large extent, this programme takes over the activities of 
the 1980-83 environment programme together with the sea- 
surveillance part of the programme cr. remote sensing by increasing 
their scope within the framework of the central topic "non-nuclear 
safety" (atmospheric micropolluants, acid rain, coastal sediments, 
etc.  ).
1.2.2. The studies relating to the technological assessment of individual 
risks, are, or. the other hand, a new activity transposed from 
techniques developed in the field of nuclear safety. They will 
cover probabilistic analysis, reliability data banks, studies or. 
mechanics and the detection of faults in materials and structures 
in industrial processes under severe operational conditions 
(high temperatures, vibrations, catastrophic external events and 
their impact on nuclear and non-nuclear structures), the 
supervision of installations, man-machine communication, and 
assessment of the "source term" and the release into the 
environment of dangerous substances which are covered by Community 
Directives.

16.
1.2.3. The studies on the recovery, conditioning and storage of dangerous 
industrial wastes are obviously based on the techniques developed 
in the field of radioactive waste :  assessment of the long-term 
reliability of waste containers, study of the migration of 
dangerous substances in geological formations in which waste is 
buried, recovery of substances released accidentally into the 
environment (for example Seveso) with a view to rehabilitating 
the soil.
★
* *
It is in the field of non-nuclear safety that the shcrt-term 
redirection of the JRC programme is taking place in the most dramatic 
fashion, foreshadowing at this point the Icr.g-term directions which 
are part of the major guidelines in the Commission's proposal.

17.
2 -  Itl2£!I]2Q2£i£2£_£y§.i22_l££!222i22Z
The European programme on Thermonuclear Fusion comprises all the relevant 
research projects in Europe, including the JET Project whose execution is 
integrated at Community level.
The JRC contribution to the Fusion programme covers the following fields :
- Conceptual studies of post-JET devices (INTOR/NET). Specifically, the 
JRC will provide the NET Project Group with an important contribution in 
the form of a "system study".
- Investigation and development of materials for the inner walls of post-JET 
devices. Behaviour of these materials under irradiation elicited from 
experiments in the HFR at Petten and the light-ions cyclotron at Ispra. 
Moreover, in this field of irradiations the Community will have to devise 
a policy relating to the utilization of intense neutron sources (under 
construction in the USA or to be constructed in Europe). The Commission 
proposes that the JRC be assigned the central role in the study of this 
problem.
- Studies of the breeding blanket. JRC activity in this field is concentrated 
on liquid breeding blankets (e.g., Li-Pb).
The commission hopes to extend the scope of the JRC in this programme and 
develop considerably the fusion reactor safety studies which have just been 
initiated under the present programme.
The JRC will apply the risk analysis methods developed in the context of fission 
reactor safety and will evaluate the feasibility of carrying out mock-up 
safety experiments. The effort will be applied to a systems study and, in 
particular, to the combined risks.
These studies are the more urgent in that very little has been done so far in 
the Community on the "licensing" of fusion reactors. The Commission proposes 
that the JRC be assigned the leading role in regard to the specific topic 
of "licensing".
Ignitor
Since the Ignitor experiment was the subject of a feasibility study which has 
been examined by an "Ignitor Assessment Panel" set up by the Commission and 
since this Panel has found such a device to be of interest and has recommended

18.
that a study of the construction project be carried out by starting with the 
feasibility study which is now available, the Commission will submit a 
Proposal on the execution of a project study by an international team centred 
at Ispra to the Fusion Programme Advisory Committee (F.P.A.C.).
The tritium problem.  Contrary to what has been done in other parts of the world 
(U.S.A. and USSR), the Community still has no specific civil solution to the 
tritium handling problem in fusion reactors. The Commission intends to broaden 
the study of this problem. The conclusions of this study will be submitted to the 
FPCC with a view to the JRC being entrusted in due course with the task of 
setting up a specialized laboratory on the subject.
When all the proposals are implemented, the JRC's contribution to the Fusion 
programme will represent about 10 % of the JRC's volume of work under the 
present programme.
3. Qther_areas_of_research
This heading covers the topics dealing with remote sensing, new energy sources, 
support to industry and computerized data-processing. Of these four topics, 
only remote sensing is being developed on a substantially increasing scale.
On the other hand, although work on the three other topics has been pegged at 
existing levels, a process of internal reorganization is under way with a view 
to initiating or boosting technical developments, so as to achieve a greater 
degree of consistency with the Framework Programme and the Programmes of 
Action. All in all, these activities will account for between 25 and 30 % of 
the JRC's work load.
3.1. AQgj^cat 2on_of_remote-sensi_Q 2_technigue_to_a 2£^cu^ture_and_the^eve^oQ^ng 
countries
In view of the fact that part of this topic now comesunder the chapter on 
non-nuclear safety (II.1.2.1) and that the rest of the programme, applicable 
more particulary to agriculture and the developing countries, represents in 
its own right a work load which is at Least equal to that of the entire 
previous programme, it is clearly apparent that research activities employing 
this particular technique are very much on the increase. This programme is the 
underlying factor in several important European projects involving a large 
number of national laboratories in the research activities of the JRC.
With the impending launch of more powerful observation satellites and as a 
result of growing interest in this new technology on the part of those

19.
responsible for the Common Agriculture Policy and on the part of the 
developing countries, the JRC has been prompted to prepare new projects to 
ensure a rapid transition from the pilot-project stage to the point where 
pre-operational systems can be demonstrated.
3.1.1. In particular, with a view to evolving a European agricultural information 
network, the Commission is considering developing a model to depict the 
agricultural potential of the semi-arid regions of the European Commuty. 
Such a model would facilitate decisions on investment aimed at improving 
agricultural conditions (e.g., irrigation systems), interchanging of crops 
and introduction of a second crop (e.g., addition of olive plantations for 
the production of certain earlies), while at the same time helping to 
assess the cost-benefit ratio and to evaluate the associated problems 
(e.g., socio-economic).
3.1.2. As far as support to the developing countries is concerned, the JRC is 
proposing to extend its current activities in the Niger basin to take in 
a.study of the hydrological dynamics governing agriculture and fisheries 
in this region. In keeping with the Commission proposal on ways of 
combating hunger (C0M(82)320 Final), the JRC will study the harvest 
estimates for the Sahel and Sudan regions by drawing up hydrological data 
and, on the basis of these and other meteorological and earth-observation 
data, by building a forward-assessment model.
3.2. Support_to_2ndustry_2__materi_als^_measurement_and_standards
In the past the JRC has not played a prominent role in this field. The new 
proposal by the Commission is an indication of the latter's desire to 
encourage, instigate and promote applied research by the JRC and thus 
strengthen the level of technological achievement in the Community.

20.
3.2.1. The field of reference_materi_ajis_and_nuc]1ear_techno_log^, which involves 
the production of these materials so vital to the nuclear industry and 
to safeguards, is one of the cornerstones on which the well established 
reputation and professional aptitude of the JRC's Geel establishment 
have been built. The same is true of the field of nuclear-constant
The Commission intends to capitalize on the experience acquired by the 
Central Office for Nuclear Measurements in this research and service sector. 
Accordingly, it is to consider extending the activities of this 
establishment to reference substance and methods in the non-nuclear field, 
as part of the CBR programme.
3.2.2. In the field of hi 2h-temgerature_materi_a_ls the aim of the programme is to 
satisfy industrial needs as regards materials for long-term use in 
aggressive environments. The method chosen involves the promotion, 
coordination and execution of studies aimed at assessing the behaviour
of materials in conditions applicable in the critical areas of important 
industrial processes. In this way the programme offers a scientific 
service by providing information on materials, by processing the data and 
by providing direct research programmes to help in the development of 
steels ans alloys capable of withstanding the more stringent demands 
relating to corrosion, mechanical stresses, etc., as encountered in modern 
technological applications. The research will be extended to the field 
of ceramics, and a special effort will be devoted to the development of 
the information service for industry.

21.
3.3. RenewabLe_sources_of_ener 2X_and_harnessi_n 2_of_ener2X
The JRC will concentrate its efforts on a more Limited number of subjects 
(rational management of energy in the physical environment, testing and 
diagnostic techniques in the solar-energy sector), so as to increase the 
JRC's impact on the coordination of research by the Member States in these 
areas. Solar energy continues to be of primary topical concern, both as an 
export technology and as a contribution to the more general and pressing 
problem of energy conservation, notably in the physical environment and 
in undertakings in the agricultural - or agri-foodstuffs - sector.
3.3.1. The research on solar energy has led to the setting-up at Ispra of a 
central unit which tests solar equipment and specializes in the quality 
and service life of components. Apart from providing a service to 
industry, this test centre is the focal point for the national test 
laboratories when it comes to developing and comparing reference methods for 
checking performance, quality and service life. The emphasis will be 
placed on optimum industrial utilization of the test installations.
3.3.2. The "solar habitat" programme will gradually move into the more general 
context of the rational management of energy in the physical environment 
and the elaboration of energy-assessment methods, involving the rapid 
deployment by the Ispra establishment of teams and techniques capable of 
tackling the problem on a Community scale (studies of energy systems 
applied to pilot projects organized on a sector-by-sector basis).

2 2.
3.4. Data-grocessi_nç]
Both rapid progress made in data-processing technologies and international 
competition are strongly reflected in the fields of microelectronics and 
computer software and all their ensuing applications, particularly in the 
field of communications.
JRC activities centre upon the "soft" aspects of the problem and, above 
all, communications.
3.4.1. In line with the Commission's other activities, the JRC has gradually 
shifted the centre of gravity of its data-processing research towards 
communication with databanks (common interrogation language), then the 
high-level protocols governing communication between computers on the 
commercial computerized telecommunications networks (the JRC manages
the Test and Reference Centre for theseEURONET protocols), and lastly the 
study of internal and high-speed networks (via satellite or optical 
fibres). There is a special emphasis on experiments involving the new 
applications of computerized telecommunications to office automation and 
communication in general (standards).
3.4.2. It should also be mentioned that data-processing research at the JRC is 
also being developed in two other fields, not under the heading of data 
processing research perse, but as part of the nuclear safety and remote 
sensing research programmes. The areas in question are artificial 
intelligence (expert systems and man/machine communication) and image- 
processing and shape recognition (remote sensing from space and 
monitoring of fissile materials management).
In a few year's time, the increased activities in these two areas could 
result in a JRC proposal to extend the research to the field of robotics 
where the Community is fairly well-placed as regards th( micro-mechanics 
aspect, but somewhat behind in terms of "intelligent" robots.

23.
4. Other activities (around 10 % of the JRC total)
This heading covers two forms of activity which amount to service functions 
rather than research :
- exploitation of the high flux reactor (HFR) ;
- diffusion of knowledge ;
The Commission considers it important that the investments made in the various 
activities should be exploited for the benefit of the Community as a whole.
What this amounts to is making the exploitation of a large irradiation plant 
as profitable as possible and increasing the means available for direct 
transfer of knowledge.
4.1. Exploitation of the high flux reactor
The HFR at Petten is one of the four most powerful materials testing 
reactors (MTR) in the European Community. The simplicity of its design 
and use make it extremely reliable and suitable for a range of exceptional 
experiments.
The Commission has been at pains to make constant improvements to the 
installation in order to keep up with the latest technological developments. 
In recent years, the HFR has been operating fully-loaded.
This objective will no longer be covered by a complementary programme, but 
will be included in the joint programme.
The HFR will, in any case, be operated on a commercial basis, the irradiation 
tariffs and charges for services being adjusted periodically to ensure 
100 % coverage of the operating costs for which the budget provides only 
pre-financing.

24.
4.2. Di_ffus2on_of_knowlLed2e
4.2.1. One means of directly transferring knowledge is short-term postgraduate- 
level training, focused on those disciplines and techniques especially 
developed at the JRC :  in short, the Ispra Courses. The number of courses 
will be increased with a view to meeting the specific needs of countries 
linked with the Community through cooperation agreements.
4.2.2. Experience has shown that there is a case for integrating the formal
machinery involved in taking out a patent, and for granting licences on 
JRC inventions. This could be done by developing and adapting the 
procedure to the specific requirements of the industry concerned, the 
impetus coming initially from the inventoi— laboratory.
It was for this reason that "exploitation" was included in the 1980-83 
programme, a move that has been rewarded immediately with excellent results. 
Accordingly, the Commission proposes an increase in the small, but 
significant body of work being accomplished in this area.

5- The;_JBÇ_3s_a_hgst_site_for_internationaL_Large-scaLe_instalLations 
§Dd_grgieçt_tearns
The Commission believes that consideration should be given to the 
possibility cf the JRC establishment sites' playing host to large-scale 
international projects in fields covered by the Community's general 
research strategy or, more specifically, by the JRC itself :  experience 
has shown that, in most cases, an international executive structure 
(joint venture, association, etc) is set up to administer- large-scale 
research instruments which are subsequently housed at a national or 
i  nt ernait i  ona l  establishment, depending on the circumstances.
A similar formule would allow future facilities to be installed on 
a JRC site, particularly Ispra, which has considerable potential in 
this respect. It would then be possible :
- to make a profitable infrastructure out of one that is expensive 
at present because its costs are written off for a level of 
scientific activity well below the capacity of a site oesigned with 
highly ambitious programmes in mind;
- to give such projects the obvious benefit of assistance from JRC 
scientific and technical staff arc' specialist back-up services 
(Computer Centre, workshop, etc);
- to facilitate assimilation of the multinational staff brought 
together for projects, giver, the JRC arrangements (schooling, fcr 
example) whereby language and social problems have long been overcome.
The type of plant which could be considered are those with relevant
■ < vapplications to materials (mineral or.organic) (ESRF) fusion 
(NET and IGNITOR) or the studies of the behaviour of structures under 
dynamic stresses (large vi brating table). In the long term, it is to 
be expected that the Community will choose a Community site, should 
it decide to build NET.
(*) European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. In view of the fact that Ispra 
has a large Materials section, the JRC would also be one of the major 
users.

26.
The Commission has not had time to look into these possibilities 
in greater detail or to investigate others. In the case of IGNITOR , 
however, the Commission can now firmly state its intention to propose 
constituting an international project study team to be based at Ispra 
(see II.2) .

27.
The programme described in the preceding sections would use the same 
total resources in an average year as normal activities during anIII. PART THREE - THE JRC’S RESOURCES
1. The_JRC^s__levej._of_acti_vi_t^_over_the_geri_od_1984-87
average year of the 1980-83 programme.
1.1. The resources required amount to a staff of 2.260 and a budget of 
174 million ECU at 1983 prices :
As the Commission stated in section 5(b) of its additional 
communication to the Council of 7 December 1982, the annual budget can 
be broken down as follows :
Average gross budget (see Annex I to the report of the
Atomic Questions Group No 7614/1/82 Rev. 1, ATO 47,
dated 16 June 1982) ...........................  167,5 MECUs
Av
erage revenue from Italy .....................  2 MECUs
Aver
age revenue from the Federal Republic of Germany 1,5 MECUs
Increase in the average annual wage bill
following the Court Judgment ...................  3 MECUs
To
tal 174 MECUs
1.2. The annual budget will be reappraised each year to take account of 
Council decisions adjusting salaries and economic fluctuations 
concerning other expenditure.

28.
RevamQiQ2_t jie_inf rast ructures
The JRC's general and technical back-up services and infrastructures, 
whose status has deteriorated during preceding multiannual programmes, 
will be revamped during the period 1984-87 to a level commensurate 
with :
a) the satisfactory execution of the research programme ;
b) an improvement in the JRC's capacity to act as a host to international 
teams and large machines.
Staf f _rej_uvenat i_on_and_mobill i_ty
The Commission would draw attention to the measures designed to develop 
staff mobility and acquire new skills that it outlined in working 
paper SECC83) 198, namely provision for a temporary excess workforce 
coupled with staff reduction measures to restore the staff complement 
to its average level of 2.260 by the end of 1985.
The exact details of the arrangements cannot of course be established 
before the basic policy decisions and the budget for the 1984-87 
programme are known.
Mobility among researchers will also be sought through exchanges of 
staff between the JRC, laboratories in the Member States and industry; 
an increase in the flow of scientific visitors to the JRC and the number 
of trainees allocated to the Centre will form an integral part of the 
proposals for the period 1984-87.·

29.
CONCLUSION
The Commission would like the Council to approve at its forthcoming meeting, 
in the light of the tasks it intends to entrust to the JRC, the proposals 
for the latter's future activities put forward in this paper, it being 
understood that :
- the topies proposed are the result of a choice that is both in line with 
the Community's priority options and for the most part compatible with 
the JRC's capacity ;
- the relative importance given to the different project topics will be 
specified by the Commission when the latter presents the 1984-87 JRC programme, 
while the Council will have to plan its activities so as to take a formal 
decision on the 1984-87 programme by the end of November at the latest and
at all events before the second reading of the 1984 budget ;
- improvements in theTRC's own decision-making process, which is the 
subject of a separate paper, will also be proposed for a decision in principle 
at the next Council meeting and a formal decision at the meeting in June ;
- the resources made available in 1983 wil-l be used by the Commission as 
proposed in Annex A.

ANNEX A
U § § _ ° i _ i ! 2 £ _ £ £ § 2 y £ £ —_ 2 l i 2 i Q — £ _ ~E£El—5 i i L E £ 2 i £ £ i
1. Staff
The Commission proposes :
a) to assign immediately the staff of 90 corresponding to the Supei— SARA 
project team to safety activities :  40 to work on reactor safety, 10 
to fuel cycle safety and 40 to safety in the non-nuclear field ;
b) to use the 57 additional posts already entered in the 1983 budget for 
the benefit of safety research, for which the Commission will request 
approval when this option has been adopted by the Council ;
c) to use the staff gradually released from work on the ESSOR reactor to 
reinforce the technical back-up services and prepare the Ispra site to 
act as a host Centre for one or more scientific machines of interest 
to the Community (probably in the sphere of fusion).
The funds that will be made available are those directly allocated to the 
Super-SARA project, which amount to 23.24 million ECU(status at the end 
of February 1983).
This amount is broken down as follows :2. Funds
- appropriations specific to the draft 1983 budget :
- appropriations carried forward from the previous year :
- appropriations not yet committed for orders ready to2,19 million ECU 
3,88 million ECU
be placed : 17,27 million ECU

-  2 -
The penalties for the termination of contracts, which should amount to 
some 2,0 million ECU at the most, should be deducted from this figure.
It is also possible to withdraw from a few more contracts, although there 
may be further payments to be made for services rendered, and the 
amounts that can be withdrawn are liable to be lower than the amounts 
that appear to be free.
On balance, a sum of approximatively 21 million ECU may be put into reserve. 
The Commission proposesthat it be used for the expenditure on the 
reversible decommissioning of the ESSOR reactor and for reinforcing certain 
nuclear safety activities in 1983.

ANNEX B
De comm i^ssi_onin2_tHe_ESS0R_ reactor
«
1. The purpose of decommissioning is to bring the reactor into a condition 
which would make it possible, legally, to release the operating, safety 
and maintenance staff and to permit access, without controls or particular 
precautionary measures, to a part of the buildings and installations.
2. Various levels of decommissioning can be contemplated, ranging from merely 
unloading the special materials (fuel and heavy water) to completely 
dismantling it, which would permit a fresh use of the site.
Each level of decommissioning assumes a specific cost, a relevant timescale 
and the appropriate possibilities of using the buildings afresh.
3. In 1982, a decommissioning project involving the complete dismantlement of 
the reactor and a large-scale decontamination operation which would make it 
possible, without the restrictions of radiological protection, to reuse most 
of the buildings of the ESSOR complex was devised, under the auspices of the 
Commission, on the basis of an initial report going back to 1978. This 
option would give rise to a decommissioning programme lasting four years
at a total cost of 46,5 million ECU (including a margin of 15,5 million ECU).
4. In view of the need to release staff to execute its new programme, the 
Commission now proposes a different option which does not result in outright 
nuclear decommissioning but which, on -the other hand, releases as quickly
as possible most of the ESSOR reactor operating, safety and maintenance 
staff.
Under this option the decommissioning programme is reduced to two years and, 
from 1985 onwards, a large proportion of the staff could be re-assigned to 
the two alternative projects to Super-SARA proposed by the Commission, i.e., 
initially :

-  2 -
a) a strengthening of the technical support services and the preparation 
of the Ispra Establishment to house one or more scientific devices of 
Community interest on its site and, secondly,
b) the development of new projects concerning safety as a whole.
The cost of this decommissioning option is in the process cf h^ng estimated ;  
it should, in any case, come under the 1983 appropriations for the 
Supei— SARA project.
5. The limited and reversible decommissioning option is characterized by the
following guidelines :
5.1. unloading of the reactor core and the blocking of all means of access 
(cocooning) ;
5.2. removal of the special material (fissile materials and heavy water) ;
5.3. modification of the systems to ensure that the high-, medium- and low- 
activity laboratories of the ESSOR complex, which will carry on being 
used, can function independently ;
5.4. searching in conjunction with the Italian safety authorities, for an 
optimum solution to the question of a nuclear operating permit which 
would allow both the caretaker staff to be reduced to the lowest 
possible level and a statute authorizing, as necessary, the performance 
of other nuclear experiments inside the ESSOR complex to be preserved. 
This option, which could effect several programmes, will be studied 
closely.
The present operating permit has a-n unspecified period of validity, but 
is subject to revision every five years; the next revision is due, 
precisely, in 1983.