î.'OMyïISSION OF THE EUROPEAN C0MMUNITI1 
C0M(91) 503 final - SYN 262 
Brussels, IfJDecember 1991 
Amended Proposal for a 
COUNCIL DECISION 
adopting a specific research and technological development 
programme in the field of Measurements and Testing 
(1990-1994) 
(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 149(3) 
of the EEC Treaty) 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 
The Commission presented its proposal (COM(90)157) to the Council on 28 May 1990. 
The European Parliament expressed its opinion at the first reading on 20th November 1991, 
adopting 31 amendments. 
The Commission is amending its initial proposal, accepting 17 amendments (n° 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 
13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24 and 25) with minor rewording. 
The Commission is not accepting those amendments that it considers not to be in conformity with 
the conclusions of the Trilogue of 17 April 1991 and which differ from the harmonized text of 
the specific Programmes already adopted. 
As indicated at the plenary session of 19 November, the Commission also proposes to reduce by 
2 MECU the funds deemed necessary for the execution of the Programme (article 2) to allow 
reinforcement of the corresponding activity to be carried out by JRC. 
CONTENTS 
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(1990-1994) 
ANNEXI 
Scientific and technical objectives and content 
ANNEXH 
Indicative breakdown of the amounts deemed necessary 
ANNEXffl 
Rules for implementing the programme Page 
3 
11 
16 
17 
Amended Proposal for a 
ÇQVNÇII PEÇISIW 
adopting a specific research and technological development 
programme in the field of Measurements and Testing 
(1990-1994) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 130q(2) thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,(1) 
in cooperation with the European Parliament, w 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee, 0) 
(1> OJ No C 
(2) OJ No C 
(J) OJ No C 
Whereas by its Decision 90/221/Euratom, EEC4), the Council adopted a third framework 
programme for Community activities in the field of research and technological development 
(1990-1994), specifying inter alia the actions required, for improved harmonisation of testing 
methods, of measurements and analysts, for the elimination of certain barriers to trade in the large 
internal market; whereas this Decision should be taken in the light of the grounds set out in the 
preamble to that Decision; 
Whereas Article 130k of the Treaty stipulates that the framework programme is to be 
implemented through specific programmes developed within each activity; 
Whereas the Joint Research Centre contributes to the realisation of these actions, by means of 
its own programme; 
Whereas fundamental research must be specifically encouraged throughout the Community in the 
field of measurement and testing. 
Whereas in addition to the specific programme concerning human resources and mobility, it might 
be necessary to encourage the training of research workers and engineers in the context of this 
programme; 
Whereas in the context of this programme it is desirable that an assessment be made of the 
economic and social impact as well as of any technological risks; 
Whereas, pursuant to Article 4 and Annex I of Decision 90/221/Euratom, EEC, the amounts 
estimated as necessary for the whole framework programme include an amount of ECU 57 million 
for the centralized dissemination and exploitation of results, to be divided up in proportion to the 
amount envisaged for each specific programme; 
(<) OJNo L 117, 8.5.1990, p.28. 
5. 
Whereas Decision 90/221/Euratom, EEC provides that a particular aim of Community research 
must be to strengthen the scientific and technological basis of European industry, and to 
encourage it to become more competitive at the international level; whereas that Decision also 
provides that Community action is justified where research contributes, inter alia, to the 
strengthening of the economic and social cohesion of the Community and to the promotion of 
its overall harmonious development, while being consistent with the pursuit of scientific and 
technical excellence; whereas this programme should contribute to the achievement of these 
objectives; 
Whereas small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) should be involved to the maximum extent 
possible in this programme; whereas account should be taken of their special requirements 
without prejudice to the scientific and technical quality of this programme; 
Whereas, in accordance with Article 130g of the Treaty, the Community's activities aimed at 
strengthening the scientific and technological basis of European industry and encouraging it to 
become more competitive include promoting cooperation on research and technological 
development with third countries, particularly the countries of Eastern Europe, and international 
organizations; whereas such cooperation may prove particularly beneficial for the development 
of this programme; 
Whereas it is necessary, as Annex II to Decision 90/221/Euratom, EEC, provides, that the 
laboratories of the Member States are equipped with the technical means necessary to carry out 
measurements and tests in a harmonised manner and are able to have the validity of their 
respective results recognised. 
6. 
Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research Committee (CREST) has been consulted, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 
Article 1 
A specific research and technological development programme in the field of measurements and 
testing, hereafter referred to as the "programme", as defined in Annex I, is hereby adopted for 
a period running from w to 31 December 1994. 
Article 2 
1. The funds estimated as necessary for the execution of the programme amount to 
ECU 47.52 million, including expenditure on staff and administration amounting to 
ECU 9 million. 
2. An indicative allocation of funds is set out in Annex II. 
3. Should the Council take a decision pursuant to Article 1(4) of Decision 90/221/Euratom, 
EEC, this Decision shall be adapted accordingly. 
Article 3 
Detailed rules for the implementation of the programme and the amount of the Community's 
financial contribution are set out in Annex 111. 
(») Dale of adoption by the Council. 
Article 4 
1. In the Course of the second year of implementation of the programme, the Commission 
shall review it and send a report on the results of its review to the European Parliament 
and the Council. This report shall be accompanied, where necessary, by proposals for 
amendment of the programme. 
2. At the end of the programme, an evaluation of the results achieved shall be conducted 
for the Commission by a group of independent experts. This group's report, together with 
any comments by the Commission, shall be submitted to the European Parliament and the 
Council. 
3. The reports referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be established having regard to the 
objectives set out in Annex I to this Decision and in accordance with Article 2(4) of 
Decision 90/221/Euratom, EEC. 
Article 5 
1. Contracts concluded by the Commission shall govern the rights and obligations of each 
party, in particular the arrangements for the dissemination, protection and exploitation of 
research results, in accordance with the provisions adopted pursuant to the second 
paragraph of Article 130k of the Treaty. 
2. A work programme shall be drawn up in accordance with the aims set out in Annex I and 
updated where necessary. It shall set out the detailed objectives and types of projects to 
be undertaken, and the corresponding financial arrangements to be made for them. The 
Commission shall make calls for proposals for projects on the basis of the work 
programme. 
a 
Article 6 
1. ITie Commission shall be responsible for the implementation of the programme. It shall 
be assisted by a Committee of an advisory nature composed of the representatives of the 
Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission. 
2. In the cases referred to in Article 7(1), the representative of the Commission shall submit 
to the Committee a draft of the 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, if necessary by taking a vote. 
3. The Opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, each Member State shall have 
the right to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes. 
4. The Commission shall take the utmost account of the Opinion delivered by the 
Committee. It shall inform the Committee of the manner in which its Opinion has been 
taken into account 
Article 7 
1. The procedure laid down in Article 6 shall apply in particular to: 
the preparation and updating of the work programme referred to in Article 5(2); 
9. 
the contents of the calls for proposals; 
the assessment of the research projects provided for in Annex III and the estimated 
amount of the Community's contribution to them; 
departures from the general rules set out in Annex III; 
the participation in any project of non-Community organizations and enterprises referred 
to in Article 8; 
any adaption of the indicative allocation of the funds set out in Annex II; 
the measures to be undertaken to evaluate the programme; 
the arrangements for the dissemination, protection and exploitation of the results of 
research carried out under the programme; 
2. The Commission shall inform the Committee on the implementation of the accompanying 
measures and concerted actions referred to in Annex III. 
Article 8 
1. The Commission is hereby authorized to negotiate, in accordance with Article 130n of the 
Treaty, international agreements with third countries which are members of COST, in 
particular the member countries of EFTA and the countries of Central and Eastern 
Europe, with a view to associating them with all or part of the programme. 
2. When framework agreements for scientific and technical co-operation have been 
concluded between the Community and European non-Member States, bodies and 
enterprises established in those countries may, in accordance with the procedures laid 
down in Article 6 and on the basis of the criterion of mutual benefit, be allowed to 
become partners in a project undertaken within the programme. 
10. 
No contracting body based in the countries referred to in paragraph 2 and participating 
as a partner in a project undertaken under the programme may benefit from Community 
financing for this programme. Such a body shall contribute to the general administrative 
costs. 
Article 9 
This Decision is addressed to the Member Stales. 
Done at Brussels, 
For the Council 
The President 
Annex I 
11. 
SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES AND CONTENT 
This specific programme fully reflects the approach embodied in the Third Framework Programme 
in terms of the scientific and technical goals and the underlying aims which it pursues. 
Paragraph 2C of Annex II of the Framework Programme forms an integral part of the present 
specific programme. 
The aim is to achieve better harmonisation of measuring, analytical and testing methods. To 
attain this objective, advances must be made in measurements, testing techniques and chemical 
analyses where they are not sufficiently accurate and therefore laboratories cannot mutually agree 
on their results and where the measurement methods are insufficient to satisfy the new challenges 
in industry, in the monitoring of the environment, food quality and health. 
The research activities will be closely connected to the requirements of the Internal Market (as 
specified in the White Paper(S) on the Completion of the Internal Market) and to the 
implementation of specific Community policies. Close coordination with the relevant research 
programmes of the Community, and of the Member States, especially in the field of methods and 
standardization, will also be assured. 
The following presents an analytical description of the content of the programme, based on and 
taking account of the above elements. 
0) COM (85)310 
12. 
Area 1. Support to Regulations and Directives 
The aim is to improve methods of obtaining reliable and internationally accepted results for the 
application of Directives, in particular, on food products, industrial products, and environment and 
health. 
Hie work will consist in developing, improving or harmonizing the test methods required for the 
implementation of existing Directives and the preparation of new Regulations and Directives. 
Accordingly, work will concentrate, in particular, on: 
analysis of agricultural products, including animal feeding stuffs, 
analysis of prepared foodstuffs, 
measurement of contaminants in the air, in water and in soil (including bacterial 
contamination), 
measurement of noise and of harmful substances in the workplace, 
biomedical analysis, 
testing of industrial products. 
For existing Regulations and Directives, collaboration between the different laboratories will be 
encouraged so as to help overcome difficulties in the application and harmonization of 
methodologies. 
13. 
Area 2. Sectoral testing problems 
The aim will be to contribute to the implementation of "the Global Approach to Conformity 
Assessment" of industrial products (Council Resolution of 21/12/1989(<)) through support to 
European Standardization, laboratory accreditation and mutual recognition. 
The work will consist in developing collaborative projects to improve measuring and testing 
techniques for industrial products where different laboratories within a particular industrial sector 
do not agree on their results. This will include: 
collaborative projects for improving or developing new testing methods which are likely 
to become European standards (CEN, CENELEC) where advances in the corresponding 
field are insufficient for the introduction of a directive on a given product 
collaborative projects for the improvement of standardized measuring and testing methods 
where the application thereof presents difficulties. 
support for the organization of comparative studies amongst laboratories where this is 
necessary to facilitate mutual recognition agreements amongst test laboratories. 
In this context encouragement will be given to the setting up of an interlabOratory methodology 
and sample exchange network to maintain a high level of reliability and efficiency. Support will 
lilso be given to the harmonization of operating methods and practices by organizing exchanges 
of operators. 
<*> OJNoO|«/l(k,/l/l9«*l) 
14. 
Area 3. Common means of calibration for the Community 
The objective is to support projects to develop the calibration means required by testing 
laboratories in the Community, to ensure that measurements and tests are done on a common 
basis and can be compared also with measurements done outside the Community. 
With regard to physical measurements, transfer standards will be developed to enable smaller 
national metrology laboratories to establish relations with larger organizations (with a view to 
establishing the traceability of the measurements). This will be done with particular attention to 
the needs of the newer Member States. 
With regard to chemical analyses, reference materials will be developed for the most important 
parameters of the measurements made in the food sector, agriculture, the environment, health 
and hygiene at the workplace, biomedical analysis and industrial products, as described in 
Area 1. 
******* 
15. 
Area 4. Development of new methods of measurements 
The aim is to develop new methods of measurements and analysis as required by Community 
policies. Basic research will be undertaken to achieve this aim. 
Such development will concentrate on: 
R&D on measurement principles which could lead to new types of instrumentation 
new measurement methods in the specialist areas mentioned above (Area 1), in particular 
the determination of the chemical form of polluting elements (speciation), food and 
biomedical analyses. 
The work will be carried out in coordination with other specific R&D programmes within the 
framework programme. 
Annex II 
16. 
INDICATIVE BREAKDOWN OF AMOUNTS DEEMED NECESSARY 
Area 1. Support to Regulations and directives 20 - 30 % 
Area 2. Sectoral testing problems 20 - 30 % 
Area 3. Support to means of calibration 20 - 30 % 
Area 4. Development of new methods of measurements 20 - 30 % 
The breakdown between different areas does not exclude the possibility that projects could cover 
several areas. 
(1) Including expenditure on staff amounting to 6 MECUs and administration expenditure 
totalling 3 MECUs. 
(2) An amount deemed necessary of 0.48 MECUs, not included in the 47.52 MECUs, will be 
earmarked as the contribution from this specific programme to the centralized scheme for 
the dissemination and exploitation of results. 
An amount equivalent to at least 10% of the total shall be used for projects encouraging 
fundamental research which shall be clearly identified. 
An amount equivalent to at least 2% of the total shall be devoted to projects encpuraging the 
training ofresearchers in the fields covered by this specific programme. 
Annex III 
17. 
RULES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAMME 
1. The Commission will implement the programme on the basis of the objectives and the 
scientific and technical content described in Annex I. 
2. The rules for implementing the programme, referred to in Article 3, comprise research 
and technological development projects, accompanying measures and concerted actions. 
Selection of projects must take account of the criteria listed in Annex III to Decision 
90/221/Euratom, EEC and of the objectives set out in Annex I to this programme. 
Research projects 
The projects will be the subject of share-cost research and technological 
development contracts and Community financial participation will not normally be 
more than 50%. Universities and other research centres participating in shared-
cost projects will have the option of requesting, for each project, either 50% 
funding of total expenditure or 100% funding of the additional marginal costs. 
Shared-cost research projects must, as a general rule, be carried out by 
participants established within the Community. The projects, which may involve, 
for example, universities, research organizations and industrial firms, including 
small and medium-sized enterprises, must, as a general rule, provide for 
participation by at least two mutually independent partners established in different 
Member States. Contracts relating to shared-cost research projects must as a 
general rule be concluded following a selection procedure based on calls for 
proposals published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 
18. 
Concerted actions 
Concerted actions consist of action by the Community to co-ordinate: the individual research 
activities carried out in the Member States. They may benefit from funding of up to 100% of co­
ordinating expenditure. 
Accompanying measures 
The accompanying measures referred to in Article 7 and described in -Annex I will in particular 
be implemented through: 
the organization of seminars, workshops and scientific conferences; 
internal co-ordination through the creation of integrating groups (in particular between 
testing laboratories); 
training of specialists; 
storage and dissemination of the reference materials certified at Community level; 
promotion of the exploitation of results; 
independent scientific and strategic evaluation of the operation of the projects and the 
programme. 
3. The knowledge acquired in the course of the projects will be disseminated both within the 
specific programme and by means of a centralized activity, pursuant to the Decision 
referred to in the third subparagraph of Article 4 of Decision 90/221/Euratom, EEC. 

ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(91) 503 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 15 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-91-567-EN-C 
ISBN 92-77-78512-8 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
Lr2985 Luxembourg