16. 7. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 186/9 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Re-examined proposal for a Council Decision (EEC) on a research and development 
programme for the European Economic Community in the field of applied metrology and 
chemical analysis (1988 to 1992) — Community Bureau of Reference — BCR 
COM(88) 357 final — SYN 100 
(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (2) (d) of the EEC Treaty on 23 June 1988) 
(88/C 186/07) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES: 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community and, in particular, Article 130 
q(2) thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), 
In co-operation with the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee (2), 
Whereas the Community has assigned itself the objective 
of completing the internal market by 1992 for which it 
has the task of eliminating technical trade barriers mainly 
through the harmonisation of norms and technical regu­
lations; 
Whereas the terms of Article 130 K of the Treaty 
provide that implementation of the Framework 
programme be carried out by means of specific 
programmes developed within each of its action lines; 
Whereas the framework programme of Community ac­
tivities in the field of research and technological devel­
opment adopted by the Council for the period 1987 to 
1991 includes support to the application of technical 
nofms (3); 
Whereas the elimination of supplementary technical 
barriers requires that the laboratories of the Member 
States have the technical means necessary to ensure the 
uniform application of norms, technical regulations and 
directives; 
(') OJ No C 304/87, 14. 11. 1987, p. 4, and C 66/88, 11. 3. 
1988, p. 5. 
(2) OJ No C 35/88, 8. 2. 1988, p. 3. 
(J) OJ No L 302, 24. 10. 1987. Whereas, to achieve this aim, it is important that the 
Community supports collaborative activities having as 
objective the harmonization of the measurements and 
chemical analyses in the Member States so as to ensure 
concordance of the results of tests and controls; 
Whereas, to maximize the effect of this work, the results 
' achieved should be widely disseminated and publicized in 
the appropriate circles; 
Whereas work on metrology and chemical analysis in 
1 progress in some European Free Trade Association 
(EFTA) States could usefully be coordinated with 
Community work under the present programme; 
i Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research 
r Committee (CREST) has expressed its opinion, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 
r 
; Article 1 
1. A research and development programme for the 
' European Economic Community in the field of applied 
metrology and chemical analyses as defined in Annex I, 
is hereby adopted for a period of five years with effect 
from 1 January 1988. 
' 2. Experimental work shall be carried out under 
contract. The participants may be industrial organiz­
ations, research institutes, laboratories and universities 
1 established in the Community. 
r 
j Article 2 
The funds estimated as necessary for the execution of 
the programme amount to 59 200 000 ECU, including 
expenditure on a staff of 32. 
Article 3 
The Commission shall be responsible for the execution 
of the programme. It shall be assisted in its function of 
NoC 186/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 16. 7. 88 
programme management by the Management and Coor­
dination Advisory Committee (CGC) (scientific and 
technological standards) created by Council Decision 
84/338/Euratom, ECSC, EEC (»). 
Article 4 
1. The Commission is authorized to negotiate, in 
accordance with Article 130N of the EEC Tretay, 
agreements with non-Member States and international 
organizations, in particular with those countries partici­
pating in European Cooperation in the field of Scientific 
and Technological Research (COST) and those having 
concluded framework agreements in S/T cooperation 
with the Community with a view to associating them 
wholly or partly with the programme. 
2. These agreements, which are founded on the 
criterion of mutual advantage, are concluded by the 
Council, deciding by qualified majority, in cooperation 
with the European Parliament. 
(') OJ No L 177, 4. 7. 1984. Article 5 
The Commission shall address a report to the Council 
and to the European Parliament at the end of the third 
year on the basis of an evaluation of the results so far 
achieved. This report shall be accompanied by 
suggestions for changes which may be necessary in the 
light of these results. 
At the end of the programme, the Commission shall send 
to Member States and the European Parliament a report 
on the performance and results of the programme. 
The abovementioned reports will be carried out having 
regard to the evaluation criteria set out in Annex II to 
this Decision and in conformity with the provisions of 
Article 2 (2) of the framework programme. 
Article 6 
This Decision shall apply from 1 January 1988. 
Article 7 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 
ANNEX I 
Programme summary 
The objective of the programme is to improve the reliability of chemical analyses and physical 
measurements (applied metrology) so as to achieve agreement of results in all Member States. 
The projets will be chosen from those fields which are of priority importance for the Community as judged 
from an economic, environmental or public health view point. 
The priority fields are the following: 
(a) analyses for food and agriculture, in particular: 
analyses in livestock (foodstuffs, hormones, antibiotics, etc.) and of the quality of cereals, fruit and 
vegetables, 
analyses of the quality of processed food (nutritional properties, presence of dangerous substances, 
bacterial contamination); 
(b) analyses related to the environment, in particular: 
determination of traces of dangerous compounds in various matrices), 
— determination of air pollutants at the workplace, 
— mutagenicity of chemical substances; 
16. 7. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 186/11 
(c) biomedical analyses, with priority to: 
— the determination of enzymes and hormones (in human serum), 
— haematological tests (e.g. blood coagulation), 
— analyses related to cardiovascular diseases, 
— analysis of tumour markers and drugs in the human body; 
(d) analyses of (essentially non-ferrous) metals and surface analysis of materials; 
(e) applied metrology. The emphasis will be placed on the measurement and calibration of the most 
important parameters for test laboratories and industrial laboratories, in particular for quality control. 
The subjects covered will include in particular: 
— dimensional and mechanical metrology (in particular, measurements that are becoming increasingly 
necessary for the verification of automatic machines) and the characterization of surface states, 
— mechanical parameters, such as force and pressure, 
— study of the performance and accuracy of new temperature measuring devices, 
— improvement of optical metrology in the visible, ultraviolet and infra-red ranges and in the field of 
fibre optics and lasers, 
— measurements of electrical magnitudes, in particular at high frequency, 
— acoustic measurements, in particular as regards sound-proofing, 
— measurements relating to ultrasonics, 
— liquid and gas flow measurements, 
— methods of measurement of physical and material properties, such as thermal conductivity, 
viscosity, etc., 
— methods of determination of the mechanical properties of metals (the work will cover only the 
methods required for the accurate determination of these properties and not the characterization of 
the materials), 
— improvement of technological measurements in industry. 
The activities include in particular: 
— execution of measurement programmes involving the cooperation of laboratories in several Member 
States (intercomparisons), 
— improvement of methods of analysis and measurement, 
— improvement of instruments necessary for high precision measurements, 
— development of transfer standards, 
— preparation and certification of reference materials, 
— storage and distribution of reference materials, 
— support for the setting-up at Community level of interlaboratory circuits for quality assurance, 
— research grants in subjects covered by the programme, 
— exchange and training of scientists in subjects covered by the programme, taking into account the 
needs of the Member States that wish to improve their capabilities in these fields, 
— dissemination of the results of the projects, 
— well-targeted advertising of the reference materials and promotion of their sale. 
No C 186/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 16. 7. 88 
ANNEX II 
Evaluation criteria 
The programme will be evaluated in relation to the following criteria: 
1. The extent to which the programme contributes to the development of the internal market, especially by 
providing support for: 
— the setting-up of directives or norms, 
— the application of directives or norms, 
— removing difficulties in relation to the application of commercial specifications; 
2. The extent to which the participants benefit from their collaboration on projects (the acquisition of 
know-how, the diffusion of information and improvement of methods, etc.). Any additional benefits, 
apart from the results obtained, will also be assessed; 
3. The extent to which the programme contributes to the development of collaboration between Member 
States, especially in the areas of metrology and standardization (harmonization, coordination, colla­
boration in the development of new methods, etc.); 
4. The extent to which the programme contributes effectively to the improvement of concordance in the 
results of clinical chemistry and leads to closer interlaboratory cooperation. 
ADDITIONAL DECLARATION 
Amendment of the European Parliament not accepted by the Commission 
Amendment No 1 
Article 2 
The funds estimated as necessary for the execution of the programme (1988 to 1991) amount to 
59 200 000 ECU which includes expenditure on a staff of 32. The total amount of appropriations shall 
be calculated definitively on the basis of the appropriations allocated annually by the budgetary 
authority in the light of actual requirements. 
The Commission rejects this amendment because its substance is already contained in Article 130P of the 
EEC Treaty which states that 'the amount of the Community's annual contribution shall be laid down 
under the budgetary procedure'.