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COM (84) 642 
 
 
 
Vol. 1984/0 239 
  
 
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 openi ng to the public of the historical archives of the European Econom ic 
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 f ile 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 198 3 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
COM(84) 642 final 
Brussels, 21 November 1984
Communication from the Commission to the Council
Signature on behalf of the European Communities of the memorandum of 
understanding for the implementation of a project for international 
scientific and technical collaboration on advanced materials
and standards (VAMAS)
COM(84) 642 final

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SUMMARY
This communication request the Council for authorization td 
sign on behalf of the Communities a memorandum of understanding  
for the implementation of a project for international scienti­
fic and technical collaboration on advanced materials and stan­
dards (VAMAS).
This project stems for the activities of the Working Group on  
Technology, Growth and Employment set up by the Heads of State  
and of Government at the Versailles Summit Meeting in June 1982.  
Its aim is to define the scientific and technical bases for  
drafting standards and specifications on new materials making  
use of advanced technologies. It incorporates some of the  
Community activities planned or under way in the field of ap­
plied metrology and reference materials and raw materials.
It will be carried out by way of concerted action projects 
involving no additional expenditure from the Community budget.

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Subject :  Signature on behalf of the European Communities of the  
memorandum of understanding on the implementation of  
a project for international scientific and technical  
collaboration on advanced materials and standards  
(VAMAS).
A memorandum of understanding on a project for international  
scientific and technical collaboration on advanced materials  
and standards (VAMAS) has been drafted and approved by an in­
ternational Working Group chaired jointly by the United Kingdom  
and the United States of America. (1) This project stems from  
the activities of the Working Group on Technology, Growth and  
Employment set up by the Heads of State and of Government at  
the Versailles Summit Meeting in June 1982, the members of which  
represent, in addition to the European Communities, the Federal  
Republic of Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada,  
the United States of America and Japan. Six of these have al­
ready given the names of the Ministers (or persons of equivalent  
standing) who are to sign this memorandum before the end of 
1984.
The costs of the project, which will run for five years and may  
be extended, will be divided amongst the signatories with no  
transfer of funds between the parties concerned. It contains  
the following provisions :
- objective :
the definition of scientific and technical bases of drafting  
standards and specifications for new materials making use of  
advanced technologies;
- procedures :
the collaboration will be on a work-sharing research basis,  
in which each participating member will carry out a specific  
complementary part of a larger project and in turn obtain ac­
cess to the total research output of that project.
Through its current or planned research projects, the Community  
is able to make an effective contribution to this project. This  
will consist of some of the results of the R&D programmes in the  
following fields :
(1) See Annex.

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- applied metrology and reference materials (CBR) (1983-1987)  
(OJ No L 26/48 of 28 January 1983),
- raw materials (1982-1985) (OJ L 174/23 of 21 June 1982, as  
amended in OJ No L 181/24 of 6 July 1983 and L 357/33 of  
21 December 1983).
The parts of these programmes that come withing the field cove­
red by this memorandum will have to be determined in cooperation  
with the various management and coordination advisory committees  
for the Community programmes in question.
Participation in this project will enable the Community :
- automatically to associate all the Community countries in  
the international project via the Community programmes,
- to improve trade with non-member countries by adopting common  
international standards.
In view of the nature of the proposed cooperation, the signature  
of this memorandum of understanding by the Communities does not  
involve :
- any legal consequences or obligations,
- any additional expenditure from the Community budget.
Decision requested
The Commission therefore requests the Council for the authori­
zation to sign on behalf of the Communities the memorandum of  
understanding on the implementation of a project for internatio­
nal scientific and technical collaboration on advanced materials  
and standards (VAMAS).

-  8 -
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING  
FOR COLLABORATION ON ADVANCED MATERIALS AND STANDARDS
THE UNDERSIGNED PARTIES
CONSIDERING
- the Agreement of the Working Group on Technology, Growth and  
Employment established by the Economic Summit Meeting held in  
Versailles, 1982;
- the recommendations of the Working Group on collaborative re­
search aimed to promote improvements in advanced materials and  
standards ;
- the endorsement of the report of the Working Group by the  
Heads of Government at the Economic Meeting in Williamsburg,  
in 1983;
- the spirit of the cooperation as it derives from the Summit  
Declaration namely, a common commitment to encourage the  
setting up of codes of practice and specifications on an  
internationally coordinated basis, as a contribution to re­
moving technical barriers to, and promoting the development  
of trade in new technologies;
PROPOSE
collaboration between the parties to the Memorandum on research  
into Advanced Materials and Standards the arrangements for  
which are set out in the following articles.
ARTICLE I ~ SCOPE AND.OBJECTIVES OF COOPERATION
The scope of the cooperation embraces work on enabling scien­
tific and technological research in advanced engineering mate­
rials, the work having the clear aim of providing the techni­
cal basis for drafting Codes of Practice and Specifications  
in these materials.
ARTICLE II - SCOPE OF INVOLVEMENT
Each of the signatory parties will be free to enter into one  
or more of the individual work projects.
ARTICLE III - MODALITIES OF COOPERATION
The manner of collaboration will be on a work-sharing research  
basis, in which each participating member agrees to carry out

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a specific complementary component of a larger project and in  
turn obtain access to the total research output of that pro­
ject.
A Steering Committee will be appointed having at most three  
delegates from each participating country appointed by its  
Government. This Committee will be responsible for setting  
up the appropriate technical structures for cooperative re­
search. Each technical area will be managed by a Technical  
Working Group.
ARTICLE IV - FUNDING SOURCES
The activities carried out under this Memorandum will be sub­
ject to and dependent upon funds and manpower available to  
the parties. There will be no transfer of funds between coun­
tries unless such arrangements are made between the parties  
concerned.
ARTICLE V ~ PROGRAMME MONITORING
The Steering Committee which should meet at least once a year,  
will review and report progress on all the activities carried  
out under this Memorandum; in addition, it should exchange  
views and act upon proposals for any future activities.
ARTICLE VI - RESEARCH OUTPUT
There will be free exchange of research output also among the  
participating parties in a specific technical area. Each par­
ty will be free to use the total information in order to help  
prepare standards or specifications directly with their natio­
nal standards organisation. With the agreement of all the  
parties, draft standards will be recommended to the Interna­
tional Standards Organisation as a basis for standards having  
international status.
All parties will respect confidentially in the research output  
unless or until agreed otherwise. Further specific conditions  
relating to the confidentiality of results may be imposed by  
agreement according to the particular project.
ARTICLE VII - PARTICIPATION BY OTHER COUNTRIES
With the unanimous agreement of all parties other countries  
may enter into this collaboration.
ARTICLE VIII - LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
No party to this Memorandum will accept a liability nor assert  
a claim against any other for damages arising from activities  
under this Memorandum.

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ARTICLE IX - DURATION OF AGREEMENT
This Memorandum shall enter into force upon signature by all  
parties and remain in force for five years. It may be exten­
ded by mutual agreement.
Any party may terminate its participation under this Memoran­
dum upon receipt by all other parties of six months written  
notice of termination.
This Memorandum may be amended only by the unanimous agreement  
of all parties

-  1 1  -
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING  
FOR COLLABORATION OF ADVANCED MATERIALS AND STANDARDS
Collaboration is agreed by the undersigned parties on the basis  
of this Memorandum of Understanding.
Canada
France
Federal Republic  
of Germany
Italy
Japan
United Kingdom
United States  
of America
Commission of  
the European  
Communities

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TERMS OF REFERENCE STEERING COMMITTEE ADVANCED MATERIALS AND
STANDARDS
1. The purpose of the Steering Committee is to pursue the re­
commendations of the Working Group set up at the Versailles  
Summit Meeting in 1982 which relate to collaboration on ad­
vanced materials and standards, as agreed in the Memorandum  
of Understanding.
2. To this end, the Committee will plan and monitor projects on  
engineering materials with the output clearly aimed at provi­
ding the technical basis for drafting Codes of Practice and  
Specifications in Advanced Materials, as outlined in the do­
cument "Advanced Materials and Standards". The scope of the  
collaboration will embrace all aspects of enabling science  
and technology - data banks, test methods, design methods,
' materials metrology - which are required as a precursor to  
the drafting of Standards in Advanced Materials.
3. The Committee will be composed of delegations of up to three  
members from each of the signatory parties to the Memorandum  
of Understanding. The delegates will be appointed by their  
governments. All decisions will be arrived at by consensus  
of those present.
4. The Committee will appoint Technical Working Parties which  
will formulate programmes and agree to the allocation of work  
schedules among the participating members.
5. The Committee should meet at least once a year to review pro­
gress in the work programmes for each of the selected subject  
areas, to approve proposals formally and to consider new pro­
posals put forward since the last meeting.
6. The Committee will report annually to all parties to the Me­
morandum of Understanding.
7. A secretariat for the Committee will be provided by the United  
Kingdom or the United States of America.

VAMAS
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR TECHNICAL WORKING PARTIES
1. Technical Working Parties will plan and execute projects on  
engineering materials aimed at providing the technical ba­
sis for drafting Codes of Practice and Specification in  
Advanced Materials. The primary responsibility of the Wor­
king Parties is to provide leadership and guidance for the  
research carried out in individual areas.
2. The Working Parties should :
- formulate collaborative programmes with definite objecti­
ves and time scales;
- allocate tasks to participating organizations as far as  
possible according to the principle of established excel­
lence in the specific aspect of the work and encourage  
broad-scale participation from other organizations with  
competence in the areas of activity or with need to imple­
ment results of the research;
- coordinate and monitor progress in research;
- report annually to the Steering Committee on progress in  
the various topics; and
- encourage the ultimate transfer of the results to potential  
beneficiaries in participating countries.
In formulating programmes the working party will take into  
account :
- the importance of the area in terms of potential for advan­
cement of technology, growth and employment,
- the involvement of advanced materials technology,
- the significance for standards,
- the probability of implementation of the results.
3. The Tecnical Working Parties are established by, and operate  
under their purview of, the Steering Committee of VAMAS. The  
Chairman will be appointed by the Steering Committee. Parti­
cipants of Technical Working Parties should be appointed by  
the delegates of their country on the Steering Committee with  
concurrence of the Chairman of the Working Party.

- 14 -
4. The Technical Working Parties will be expected to organize  
meetings as and when necessary to fulfill their functions.
5. The Technical Working Parties should ensure as far as reaso­
nably possible that each partner makes an appropriate level  
of contribution in a technical area.
6. The output of each party will be freely communicated to all  
other contributors to a program; there will be free exchange  
of information at all meetings of Technical Working Parties.
7. No information obtained by participation in a Technical Wor­
king Area may be passed to nonparticipating parties without  
permission of the Steering Committee.

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VERSAILLES WORKING GROUP ON TECHNOLOGY, GROWTH AND EMPLOYMENT
ADVANCED MATERIALS AND STANDARDS
SUMMARY
All industrialized countries recognize the critical importance  
of the materials used in mechanical, constructional and electro­
nic engineering. Suitable materials with advanced properties  
and performance will be the rate determining step in the intro­
duction of new technologies and new industries. It is the cru­
cial step which requires a concentrated attention at an interna­
tional level. The advantages of advanced materials include im­
proved technical performance and cost reduction in manufactured  
products. The essence of the present proposal is the encourage­
ment of the setting up of codes of practice and specifications  
in advanced materials. Such codes create the conditions and  
the confidence in the rapid adoption of materials by industry.
An additional benefit is that new materials provide a gearing  
effect, in that they enlarge technological perspectives and ca­
talyse innovation. The provision of advanced materials standards  
requires the enabling technology - horizontal activities invol­
ving advanced testing, predictive and investigative techniques,  
data bases and the use of large centralized test equipment. In  
addition, specific projects will be aimed to develop standards  
on new materials, such as composites or engineering ceramics  
and also on improved existing materials and processes such as  
the joining technologies and materials produced by recycling.  
Accordingly, we propose setting up an international collabora­
tive function to provide the research base necessary for the  
preparation of codes of practice and standards on advanced ma­
terials, and to operate in the first instance over a five year  
period. This will be conducted on a flexible basis, using the  
"COST" club activity as a model, by which each participating  
member employs existing resources. When the detailed technolo­
gical gaps are identified, programmes will be devised and car­
ried out internationnaly on an "& la carte" basis. To achieve  
the main objective of this proposal, the agreement of interna­
tional standards and codes of practice on advanced materials,  
we propose that recommendations arising from this collaboration  
be taken up by the International Standards Organization as a  
basis for standards having international status.