P6_TA(2006)0519

Specific Programme "Ideas" (Seventh RTDD Framework Programme, 2007-2013) *

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council decision concerning the specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the 7th Framework Programme (2007-2013) of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (COM(2005)0441 — C6-0382/2005 — 2005/0186(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2005)0441) [1] and amended proposal (COM(2005)0441/2) [1],

- having regard to Article 166 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6-0382/2005),

- having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and the opinions of the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Culture and Education (A6-0369/2006),

1. Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2. Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

3. Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4. Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;

5. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION | AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT |

Amendment 1

Recital 4

(4) Proposals for "frontier research" should be evaluated on the basis of the sole criterion of excellence as judged by peer review and should put the emphasis on interdisciplinary, high risk pioneering projects and new groups and less experienced researchers as well as established teams. | (4) Proposals for "frontier research"in the sense of basic research should be evaluated on the basis of the sole criterion of excellence as judged by peer review and should put the emphasis on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary high risk pioneering projects and new groups and less experienced researchers as well as established teams. |

Amendment 2

Recital 6

(6) The European Commission should be responsible for the implementation of this Specific Programme and should act as the guarantor of the European Research Council's autonomy and integrity, as well as its functional efficacy. | (6) The Commission should be responsible for the implementation of this Specific Programme, during a trial period of two to three years at the most, and should act as the guarantor of the European Research Council's autonomy and integrity, as well as its functional efficacy. |

Amendment 3

Recital 8

(8) To guarantee the ERC's integrity, the Commission should ensure that this Specific Programme is implemented in accordance with the objectives set. | (8) To guarantee the ERC's integrity, the Commission, together with the European Parliament and the Council, should ensure that this Specific Programme is implemented in accordance with the objectives set. |

Amendment 4

Recital 10

(10) The Framework Programme should complement the activities carried out in the Member States as well as other Community actions that are necessary for the overall strategic effort for the implementation of the Lisbon objectives, alongside, in particular, with those on structural funds, agriculture, education, training, competitiveness and innovation, industry, health, consumer protection, employment, energy, transport and environment. | (10) The Framework Programme should complement the activities carried out in the Member States as well as other Community actions that are necessary for the overall strategic effort for the implementation of the Lisbon objectives, alongside, in particular, those on structural funds, agriculture, education, training, culture and the media, competitiveness and innovation, industry, health, consumer protection, employment, energy, transport and the environment. |

Amendment 5

Recital 13

(13) Research activities carried out within this programme should respect fundamental ethical principles, including those which are reflected in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. | (13) Research activities carried out within this programme should respect fundamental ethical principles, including those which are reflected in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and confirm the civic and humanistic value of research, while respecting ethical and cultural diversity. |

Amendment 6

Recital 14a (new)

| (14a) To simplify calls for proposals and reduce costs, the Commission should set up a database as a prerequisite for notifying participants in calls for proposals. |

Amendment 7

Recital 17

(17) The Commission shall arrange for the independent assessment of the operation of the ERC. In the light of this assessment and taking into account the experiences of the ERC with regards to its basic principles, the possibility should be considered, no later than 2010, for reconstituting the ERC as a legally independent structure, which could be based on article 171 of the Treaty. | (17) The Commission should ensure an independent assessment of the operation of the ERC after a trial period of two to three years at the most. On the basis of the results, the ERC should be given a long-term structure to ensure that it has maximum autonomy, while maintaining transparency. Therefore, the possibility should be considered, no later than 2010, of reconstituting the ERC as a legally independent structure, which could be based on Article 171 of the Treaty. |

Amendment 8

Article 2

In accordance with Annex II of the Framework Programme, the amount deemed necessary for the execution of the Specific Programme shall be EUR 7460 million, of which less than 6 % shall be for the Commission's administrative expenditure. | In accordance with Annex II of the Framework Programme, the amount deemed necessary for the execution of the Specific Programme shall be EUR 7560 million, of which 3 % at the most shall be for administrative expenditure and expenditure on staff taken out of the annual budget made available for the ERC. |

Amendment 9

Article 2a (new)

| Article 2a 1. The Commission shall take all necessary steps to verify that the actions financed are carried out effectively and in compliance with the provisions of the Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002. 2. The overall administrative expenditure of the Specific Programme including internal and management expenditure for the executive agency which it is proposed to set up, should be proportional to the activities undertaken under this programme and is subject to the decision of the budgetary and legislative authorities. 3. Budget appropriations shall be used in accordance with the principle of sound financial management, namely in accordance with the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness, as well as the principle of proportionality. |

Amendment 27

Article 3, paragraph 2a (new)

| 2a. With regard to the use of human embryonic stem cells obtained prior to the approval of this framework programme, institutions, bodies and researchers shall be subject to a stringent system of licences and checks in accordance with the legal framework of the Member State or States concerned. |

Amendment 10

Article 4, paragraph 4

4. The Commission will act as the guarantor of the European Research Council's autonomy and integrity and will ensure the proper execution of the tasks entrusted to it. | 4. Together with the European Parliament and the Council, the Commission will act as the guarantor of the European Research Council's autonomy and integrity and will ensure the proper execution of the tasks entrusted to it. |

| The Scientific Council and the Commission shall submit an annual report on the work of the ERC to the European Parliament and the Council, in particular giving details of the extent to which the objectives have been achieved. |

Amendment 11

Article 4, paragraph 4a (new)

| 4a. The Commission shall ensure that the research results are evaluated and shall report on their contribution to a dynamic, knowledge-based society in Europe. |

Amendment 12

Article 5, paragraph 1

1. The Scientific Council shall be composed of scientists, engineers and scholars of the highest repute, appointed by the Commission, and acting in their personal capacity, independent of extraneous interests. | 1. The Scientific Council shall be composed of scientists, engineers and scholars of the highest repute, representing all possible scientific areas and subjects and whose qualifications include not only outstanding scientific excellence but also long experience of science management, and acting in their personal capacity, independent of extraneous interests. |

Amendment 13

Article 5, paragraph 3, point (-a) (new)

| (-a)an overall strategy for the work of the ERC, which will be regularly adjusted to scientific requirements; |

Amendment 14

Article 5, paragraph 3, point (b)

(b)the methods for peer review and proposal evaluation, on the basis of which the proposals to be funded will be determined; | (b)the methods and principles for peer review and proposal evaluation, on the basis of which the proposals to be funded will be determined; |

Amendment 15

Article 6, paragraph 1

1. The Commission shall adopt the work programme for the implementation of the Specific Programme, setting out in greater detail the objectives and scientific and technological priorities contained in Annex I, the associated funding, and the timetable for implementation. | 1. The Commission and the Scientific Council shall adopt the work programme for the implementation of the Specific Programme, setting out in greater detail the objectives and scientific and technological priorities contained in Annex I, the associated funding, and the timetable for implementation. |

Amendment 16

Article 7a (new)

| Article 7a The Commission shall provide prior information to the budgetary authority whenever it intends to depart from the breakdown of expenditure stated in the remarks in and annex to the general budget of the European Union. |

Amendment 17

Article 8, paragraph 6

6. The Commission shall regularly inform the committee of the overall progress of the implementation of the specific programme. | 6. The Commission shall regularly inform the Committee and the committee responsible within the European Parliament of the overall progress of the implementation of the Specific Programme, and shall provide them with information about all RTD actions funded under the Specific Programme. |

Amendment 18

Article 8, paragraph 6a (new)

| 6a. The Commission's report shall contain an assessment of the soundness of financial management and an evaluation of the efficiency and regularity of the budgetary and economic management of the Specific Programme. |

Amendment 19

Article 8a (new)

| Article 8a 1. After a trial period of two to three years at the most, the ERC's work shall be assessed by independent experts. They shall, inter alia, assess whether the ERC's objectives have been achieved, whether its procedures have been structured efficiently and transparently, and whether the scientific independence is ensured and whether the concept of scientific excellence has been taken into account. Moreover, the assessment shall address the question of what structure would be the most appropriate for the ERC in the long term. 2. Notwithstanding this assessment, at all events a longterm structure shall be chosen for the ERC that ensures its maximum autonomy of the Scientific Council while maintaining transparency and accountability with regard to the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council. |

Amendment 20

Annex I, Activities, paragraph 1a (new)

| Multi-disciplinarity and inter-disciplinarity will be encouraged, the first by means of common mechanisms applicable to more than one technological or scientific theme. Inter-disciplinarity will tackle the challenges posed by the complexity of the problems, including those in priority themes, in relation to most of which a merely unidisciplinary approach is incapable of obtaining relevant scientific progress and prevents the results from being suitable for conversion into social, environmental or economic progress. |

Amendment 21

Annex I, The Scientific Council, paragraph 1

The Scientific Council will consist of representatives of the European scientific community at the highest level, acting in their personal capacity, independently of extraneous interests. Its members will be appointed by the Commission following an independent procedure for their identification. | The Scientific Council shall consist of representatives of the European scientific community at the highest level, whose qualifications include not only outstanding scientific excellence but also long experience of science management, representing as many subject areas and branches of research as possible, acting in their personal capacity, independently of extraneous interests. |

| Its members will be selected from the scientific community by the Scientific Council, which shall ensure the diversity of the scientists' research fields, following general criteria set by European legislator, under the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty and appointed by the Commission after a hearing in the European Parliament. |

| The term of office of members shall be 4 years, with the possibility of re-election for 3 years. A rotating system shall be used to elect members, so that at each election one third of the members are newly elected. |

| The members of the Scientific Council shall adopt a code of conduct to prevent conflicts of interest. |

| The Scientific Council will appoint a Secretary-General to assist in the organisation of its work and ensure effective liaison with the Commission and the dedicated implementation structure. |

Amendment 22

Annex I, Dedicated implementation structure

The dedicated implementation structure will be responsible for all aspects of administrative implementation and programme execution, as provided for in the annual work programme. It will, in particular, implement the evaluation procedures, peer review and selection process according to the principles established by the Scientific Council and will ensure the financial and scientific management of the grants. | The Scientific Council will initially be supported by a dedicated implementation structure responsible for all aspects of administrative implementation and programme execution, as provided for in the annual work programme. It will, in particular, implement the evaluation procedures, peer review and selection process according to the principles established by the Scientific Council and will ensure the financial and scientific management of the grants. |

| The dedicated implementation structure will be staffed by temporary scientific and administrative personnel, the former selected by the Scientific Council following a transparent, public procedure. The administrative personnel may be recruited specifically for this purpose or seconded from the Community institutions. |

| Administration shall be efficient and kept to the minimum necessary to ensure the smooth running, stability and continuity of the ERC. |

Amendment 23

Annex I, Dedicated implementation structure, paragraph 1a (new)

| The dedicated implementation structure will report regularly to the Scientific Council. |

Amendment 24

Annex I, "Role of the European Commission", introductory part

The European Commission will act as the guarantor of the ERC's full autonomy and integrity. Its responsibility for the implementation of the programme will relate to ensuring that the programme is executed according to the scientific objectives stated above and to the requirements of scientific excellence, as determined by the Scientific Council, acting independently. In particular the Commission will: | Together with the European Parliament and the Council, the Commission will act as the guarantor of the ERC's full autonomy and integrity. Its responsibility for the implementation of the programme will relate to ensuring that the programme is executed according to the scientific objectives stated above and to the requirements of scientific excellence, as determined by the Scientific Council, acting independently. In particular the Commission will: |

Amendment 25

Annex I Subheading "Role of the European Commission", bullet 2

—Adopt the work programme and the positions regarding implementing methodology, as defined by the Scientific Council. | —With the Scientific Council, adopt the work programme and the positions regarding implementing methodology, as defined by the Scientific Council. |

Amendment 26

Annex I, Role of the European Commission, bullet 5a (new)

| —Appoint the director and the managerial staff of the dedicated implementation structure, in agreement with the Scientific Council. |

[1] Not yet published in OJ.

--------------------------------------------------