No C 77/2 Official Journal of the European Communities 29. 3. 82 
Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the economic and practical grounds, 
Member States relating to the installation, location, 
operation and identification of controls, tell-tales and HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
indicators on wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors; 
by a unanimous vote: 
Whereas this recommendation, which will not impair 
'safety', has been accepted by the Commission on The Committee approves the proposal. 
Done at Brussels, 27 January 1982. 
The Chairman 
of the 
Economic and Social Committee 
Tomas ROSEINGRAVE 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision adopting a programme of research and 
development in the field of science and technology for development (1982- 1985) 
The text referred to the Committee has not been published in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 19 May 1981 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic and 
Social Committee in accordance with Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community. 
B. OPINION QF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 194th 
plenary session held in Brussels on 27 and 28 January 1982. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 198 
thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council of the 
European Communities on 19 May 1981 for an opinion 
on the proposal for a Council Decision adopting a 
programme of research and development in the field of 
science and technology for development (1982-1985), Nuclear Questions to draw up an opinion and report on 
the matter, 
Having regard to the opinion adopted by the Section for 
Energy and Nuclear Questions at its 67th meeting held on 
8 January 1982, 
Having regard to the oral report made by the rapporteur, 
Mr Bornard, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 
25 May 1981 instructing the Section for Energy and Having regard to the discussions on 27 January 1982 
during the 194th plenary session held on 27 and 
28 January 1982, 
29. 3. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 77/3 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
by a unanimous vote: 
1. Reasons for the proposal 
1.1. The Committee welcomes, with satisfaction, the 
fact that the Commission has proposed a programme of 
research and development in the field of science, 
technology and training for development. Science, 
technology and training have become crucial to progress 
in the various countries and to their adjustment to rapidly 
changing economic and social conditions. 
1.2. The great bulk of scientific research is still 
concentrated in the industrialized nations. The 
developing countries are severely hampered in this area by 
the weakness of their research facilities. 
1.3. It is therefore particularly appropriate that a 
widescale campaign is to be launched to provide less 
developed countries with appropriate knowledge, and 
that concrete action is to be taken to implement the 
October 1977 CREST report on scientific and 
technological cooperation with less developed countries, 
following the adoption of the Vienna Programme by the 
UN General Assembly on 23 January 1980. This is a good 
example of an attempt to coordinate Community policy 
on scientific research and Community policy on 
cooperation with the less developed countries. 
2. The choice of priorities 
2.1. The Commission proposal deals only with 
agriculture and health, although the report by CREST 
(Committee for Scientific and Technical Research) 
identified four, top-priority scientific sectors: (1) food 
and agricultural products; (2) health; (3) energy; (4) the 
utilization of natural and mineral resources. The 
Committee discussed this discrepancy. 
2.2. Of particular importance in this connection is the 
fact that in addition to their chronic difficulties, the 
indebtedness of the non-oil less developed countries has 
been increasing since the 1974 energy crisis at a pace 
which in many cases jeopardizes the chances of economic 
recovery and the success of any policy in other areas. 
There may therefore be a case for focussing efforts, 
including those in the field of science, on assisting the 
non-oil less developed countries to break out of the debt spiral by developing their alternative and traditional 
domestic energy resources. 
2.3. The Committee felt, however, that the 
programme on which it is currently being consulted could 
be devoted to food and health. These are areas where the 
needs are obvious, significant and extremely urgent. In 
agriculture, for example, there are grounds for fearing 
that, in some regions at least, major shortages are in the 
offing. Moreover, in the areas of agriculture and health, 
some types of research can contribute significantly and 
relatively swiftly to further progress. Finally, the 
proposed tight budgetary allocation leaves no room for 
spreading the research effort. 
2.4. The' Committee emphasizes however that, in 
addition to the proposed tropical agriculture and health 
programmes, a new large-scale research programme 
should be established rapidly for the energy sector. The 
Commission should also review all its programmes for 
energy cooperation with less developed countries. This 
review should take account of the CREST report and the 
scale and specific nature of the energy problems which 
were stressed in particular by the UN conference held in 
Nairobi in August 1981. It was these factors which 
prompted the Committee to recommend in its concurrent 
study on the Community's external relations that energy 
protocols be inserted in agreements made with less 
developed countries. The Committee trusts that there will 
be no delay in concluding the work already begun by the 
Commission in this area. 
2.4.1. The action programme adopted at the Nairobi 
conference highlighted the crucial role of energy problems 
in the development of. the poorer nations. On the 
institutional front, the inter-governmental committee 
provided for in the conference's conclusions (including 
representatives of Community governments) is to be 
responsible for launching the action programme. On the 
financial front, the action programme stresses the need 
for additional public and private-sector resources to meet 
the growing investment requirements. 
2.4.2. The CREST report (October 1977) had 
recommended 'original research and a substantial 
transfer of technology in the fields of solar energy, wind 
energy,, geothermal energy and energy derived from 
agricultural activities or from urban or industrial waste'. 
The Commission departments have already prepared a 
number of projects which could be implemented quickly 
under a new programme. 
No C 77/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 29. 3. 82 
2.4.3. More generally the Community (and the EIB in 
particular) have already earmarked substantial resources 
for energy projects in the less developed countries ranging 
from straightforward studies via demonstration pFojects 
to complete installations. The Commission should study 
which type of project is (in the light of this experience) 
most suited to developing countries' needs in present 
circumstances. 
2.4.4. The Committee would point out that the 
CREST report and past experience prove that in the areas 
of health and agriculture, some forms of energy 
development can make great contributions, e.g. 
refrigeration or other forms of processing of food, using 
solar techniques, could have considerable added value for 
less developed countries inter alia for marketing 
agricultural products. Various forms of biomass 
conversion are obviously capable of being developed 
more widely to meet the needs of poor rural areas. The 
Commission should check its energy programmes to see 
how they can better contribute to the needs of the rural 
areas and the poorer countries. 
2.4.5. The Committee emphasizes, moreover, that 
action must focus on both new forms of energy and 
traditional forms whose potential is far from exhausted in 
the less developed countries. 
2.4.6. The Committee would also point out that in 
addition to entering into appropriate new financial 
commitments, it should be examined whether the general 
appropriations available under the Lome Convention can 
be used for these projects, including those on research and 
development. 
2.5. The case for considering such an extra effort to 
make scientific resources in the energy field available to 
those who need them most is strengthened by the pressing 
moral obligation to prevent an economic collapse of the 
poorest countries - a collapse which would moreover 
inevitably exacerbate the current slump in the 
industrialized nations. 
3. The nature of the scientific research 
3.1. The Committee debated whether the proposed 
programme should focus on research proper or on 
adapting the results achieved so far to meet the specific 
needs of the less developed countries. 
3.2. The Committee notes that under the 
Commission's proposals, aid for research could be allocated at various levels and across a wide spectrum of 
activities. Using the nomenclature now current in the 
IBRD and FAO these can be classified as follows: 
(a) Basic research designed to generate new 
understanding of, for example, biological and medical 
problems (not necessarily of relevance to developing 
countries), without any immediate practical 
objective. 
(b) Strategic research designed for the solution of certain 
key problems of specific research, many of them of 
considerable importance to the proposed 
development of tropical countries both in the fields of 
agriculture and health. 
(c) Applied research designed to create new techniques in 
the specific areas of agriculture and medicine for 
application in developing countries. 
(d) Adaptive research designed to adjust established 
technology to the specific needs of particular 
countries or particular environmental conditions. 
3.2.1. The Committee considers that though in due 
course the Community might usefully be involved at all 
these levels, it should in the initial stages concentrate on 
certain areas of activity described in more detail below, 
where it can best complement and reinforce the existing 
international effort in the fields of agricultural and 
medical research. 
3.2.2. The Committee notes that this effort is now 
considerable. In agriculture there are now 13 agricultural 
institutes (10 of them in developing countries), controlled 
and financed by the Consultative Group on International 
Agricultural Research to which most Community 
governments contribute, engaged in applied research into 
the problems of particular crops and particular regions. 
Many countries have their own institutions for adaptive 
research, many financed by European bilateral aid 
programmes. These institutes have been very successful. 
Nevertheless a recent report prepared for the IBRD has 
clearly shown that there is a serious need (which is not 
being met by present arrangements) for 'strategic research 
to develop entirely new approaches to biological 
problems of special relevance to the developing world'. 
To reinforce the existing institutions, it is 'necessary to 
encourage research workers in advanced national 
institutions to widen the scope of their work to include 
appropriate aspects of problems peculiar to low-income 
countries in the tropics'. 
3.2.3. The Committee considers that, properly 
managed, the programme proposed by the Commission 
29. 3. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 77/5 
could fulfill such a role and successfully complement the 
efforts of existing institutions both in research and in 
training. 
3.2.4. In the field of medical research, the Committee 
notes that the situation is somewhat different. There is 
already a considerable international research programme 
for which the WHO is the executing agency. The 
Committee wishes to point out, however, that this covers 
only six diseases (malaria, leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, 
filariasis, trypanosomiasis and leprosy). The Committee 
endorses the Commission's proposal to go beyond this 
e.g. into environmental hygiene, with particular 
emphasis on water. 
3.2.5. The Committee also notes that much of the 
present international effort in the medical field is being 
devoted to building up institutions in developing 
countries while those in developed countries are 
declining. This may be justified in the long run (i.e. in 
about 20 years' time) but meanwhile important results 
can be achieved more quickly by well-devised projects or 
programmes of research carried out in institutions 
already operating within the Community. This is the kind 
of research, much of it also 'strategic research', on which 
Community programmes should concentrate. 
3.2.6. While the existing highly specialized 
institutions must be given priority, there is a need to 
transfer knowledge to the less developed countries. This 
being the case, less developed countries' nationals must be 
guaranteed access to the specialized research centres so 
that they can round off their knowledge and play their 
part in harnessing research to the needs of their home 
countries and in developing centres in their home 
countries when the appropriate conditions have been 
met. 
3.2.7. For both agriculture and health, it is also 
essential to place more emphasis on the training of teams 
capable of implementing and adapting the new 
techniques in the various countries. The Committee feels 
that an important role must be assigned to such training in 
the general cooperation policy programmes. The 
Committee also urges that considerable attention be 
devoted to developing 'demonstration projects' and 
'pilot projects', which can be highly effective in adapting 
research findings and can also have a significant 
'knock-on' impact. 
3.2.8. It is particularly important that the 
Community's efforts should not duplicate those being 
made by other bodies. In this connection, the Committee wishes to emphasize the importance of coordinating 
programmes with the WHO (in the field of health) and 
with such groups as the CGIAR (in agriculture) and with 
all the national and international bodies, both public and 
private, already active in this area. 
4. The content of programmes 
4.1. It is of p aramount importance to prevent aid from 
being scattered too thinly for political or other reasons, 
particularly in view of the tight budgetary allocations. 
The Committee therefore urges that steps be taken to 
concentrate objectives and thus avoid a dissipation of 
effort which would be detrimental to efficiency. 
4.1.1. For the same reasons the Committee urges that 
resources be focused on the best existing research 
institutes mentioned above. 
4.1.2. To ensure that the programme has the 
maximum beneficial impact on all the developing 
countries, strict criteria must be worked out for 
considering proposals for financing e.g.: 
(a) likely effect on different types of country (e.g. least 
developed, most seriously affected by energy crisis 
etc.); 
(b) relevance to different types of agriculture (e.g. wet 
area, dry area etc.); 
(c) effect on products (e.g. on nutritional value); 
(d) effect on social groups (e.g. subsistence farmers, 
plantation workers, nursing mothers etc.) 
4.1.3. Attention should also be paid to the possible 
economic effect of research proposals within the 
Community. 
4.1.4. Coordination, even complementarity between 
the various research centres is a further factor. 
4.2. The Committee noted that the highly diversified 
programme proposed by the Commission is merely a first 
step designed to identify the points of interest and the 
various possible agencies. 
4.3. The programme is to be reviewed after three 
years, or possibly even after two. This opportunity must 
be taken to retarget in the same spirit of efficiency. 
No C 77/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 29. 3. 82 
5. Funding and arrangements for the programmes 
5.1. Given the objectives involved, the budget of 
40 million u.a. is extremely modest, particularly in view 
of the fact that it is spread over four years. 
5.2. The Committee considers that a scientific 
programme has to be based on a long-term scenario, well 
beyond the proposed four years. Furthermore, young 
people who consider embarking on highly specialized 
training courses may well feel that a four-year programme 
does not offer adequate security. 
5.3. The Committee stresses the need to monitor the 
projects and to supervise how funds are used. 
5.4. The Committee stresses the importance of 
ensuring 'additionally', i.e. Community funds should be 
used to 'top-up' national funds assigned to research 
programmes in this area rather than as a substitute for 
expenditure which would have been undertaken in any 
case. 
6. Programme management 
6.1. Finally the Committee would recall the 
recommendation contained in its study of February 1980 
in connection with the proliferation of committees: 'The Committee accordingly recommends, as a 
short-term measure, that no new committee should 
be approved unless it can be shown that its creation is 
absolutely necessary, i.e. that it would make a 
genuine contribution to the Community's R&D 
work and that the work cannot be satisfactorily 
carried out by adapting the terms of reference and 
membership of existing bodies.' 
6.2. However, in view of the structure of existing 
advisory committees and the highly specialized nature of 
research on tropical agriculture and tropical diseases, the 
Committee, by way of exception, does not oppose the 
Commission proposal that two new advisory committees 
be set up for the areas in question. 
6.3. At all events, the Committee insists that these 
Committees must observe the selection criteria adopted 
for the programmes. This is essential in the interests of 
immediate efficiency and in line with the priority 
objectives of expanding research in the less developed 
countries, assisting the training of less developed 
countries research workers and stepping up cooperation 
in this area between the industrialized nations and the less 
developed countries. 
Done at Brussels, 27 January 1982. 
The Chairman 
of the 
Economic and Social Committee 
Tomas ROSEINGRAVE 
Opinion on the proposal for a Directive on procedures for informing and consulting the 
employees of undertakings with complex structures, in particular transnational 
undertakings 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in the Official Journal of the European 
Communities No C 297 of 15 November 1980, page 3. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 24 October 1980 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic and 
Social Committee in accordance with Articles 100 and 117 of the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community.