No C 203/2 Official Journal of the European Communities 6.8.82 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Regulation on loans for projects covered by exploration 
programmes for non-energy mineral raw materials within the territories of the Member 
States 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 7 July 1982) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 235 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the expansion of exploration programmes 
for non-energy mineral raw materials within the 
territories of the Member States would tend to 
improve the Community's security of supply and 
therefore to contribute to a harmonious development 
of economic activities throughout the Community; 
Whereas in its resolution of 9 March 1982, the 
European Parliament considers that it is indispensable 
to pursue the efforts undertaken with a view to 
improving the Community's level of self-sufficiency 
through a better knowledge of its own potential and 
the exploitation of its own deposits; 
Whereas in the first instance it is for the mining 
industry itself to finance such activities; whereas the 
Community should, however, in view of the high risk 
inherent in such activities, which can exceed the 
resources of undertakings, be able to grant financial 
assistance in the form of exploration loans; 
Whereas the Community is implementing a research 
and development programme on primary raw 
materials, one of the aims of which is to facilitate the 
discovery and exploitation of new mineral resources 
within the territory of the Community; 
Whereas the necessary powers for granting such 
exploration loans are not provided by the Treaty 
establishing the European Economic Community, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
The Community may conclude contracts providing 
Community financial assistance to programmes for 
exploration at the surface and underground for non-
energy mineral raw materials with the objective of 
identifying new sources of these materials within the 
territories of the Member States which could make a 
contribution to ensuring Community supplies. 
Such financial assistance may be granted at any stage 
of the programme, from the reconnaissance stage to 
the feasibility study of extraction and ore processing 
installation. 
Article 2 
Contracts must be concluded with one or more 
natural persons who are nationals of Community 
Member States or with a legal person constituted in 
accordance with the legal requirements in force in the 
Member States. 
Should the creation of a legal person with the legal 
capacity to carry out a programme cause the parti­
cipant undertakings to incur additional cost's, the 
programme may be implemented simply by way of 
cooperation between natural or legal persons. In such 
a case, the persons in question shall be jointly and 
severally liable in respect of the obligations arising 
from the Community assistance. 
Article 3 
1. Following publication by the Commission in the 
Official Journal of the European Communities of a call 
for applications, persons wishing to receive financial 
assistance must lodge an application together with a 
programme of work to be carried out. 
2. Every programme must be accompanied by a 
report showing: 
6. 8. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 203/3 
(a) the natural or legal person(s) responsible for the 
project, his(their) financial situation and his(their) 
technical capacities; 
(b) any aid granted or provided for by the Member 
States for the implementation of the programme; 
(c) a detailed description of the programme, as in the 
Annex, and in particular: 
— the nature and extent of the risks involved in 
the programme, 
— the cost of the programme and the methods of 
financing its implementation, 
— any other factor justifying the nature and the 
extent of the financial assistance which the 
Commission could grant to the programme, 
especially if it includes technological 
innovations, 
— the time-scale for the programme. 
3. Assistance shall be granted only to undertakings 
having the technical and economic capacities needed 
for implementing the project in the Community. 
4. The Commission may request additional 
document or information necessary for the assessment 
of the application. 
Article 4 
Assistance may be granted to a programme in the 
form of a financial contribution from the Community, 
which shall be interest-free and repayable under the 
conditions laid down in Article 7 and shall take 
account of any other Community or national 
financial assistance which the programme may 
receive. 
The public financial assistance, either from the 
Community alone or in combination with national 
assistance, shall be adapted to the nature of the 
project and shall amount to: 
(a) 50 % of the total cost of the programme where 
the latter is essentially an exploratory programme; 
(b) as a general rule, 30 % as the programme ap­
proaches the industrial stage. 
The total amount of assistance granted shall not 
exceed the maximum appropriations entered for this 
purpose in the general budget of the European 
Communities. 
Article 5 
The Commission shall, under conditions which 
safeguard industrial secrecy, examine applications 
and, after an initial selection carried out by qualified 
Commission officials, obtain the opninion of a select 
working party composed of members of the Advisory 
Committee on Programme Management responsible 
for the sub-programme 'Metals and minerals sub­stances' set up in accordance with Council Decision 
82/.. ./EEC. This working party shall consist of one 
representative of each Member State. 
In the light of this opinion, the Commission shall 
decide whether or not to grant assistance to the 
programmes proposed. 
Article 6 
1. The Commission shall negotiate and conclude 
the contracts necessary for the implementation of the 
programmes selected in accordance with Article 5. It 
shall lay down for this purpose the general conditions 
governing each contract, stipulating the rights and 
obligations of each party, in particular the procedures 
for the repayment of the assistance granted, the 
details relating to the implementation of the 
programme and the rules for the dissemination in the 
Community of the results of projects in receipt of 
assistance. 
2. The person(s) responsible for the 
implementation of a programme receiving 
Community assistance shall submit to the 
Commission, each year or at the latter's request, a 
report on the fulfilment of the contractual obligations 
towards the Commission and, in particular, on the 
progress of work on the programme and the 
expenditure incurred in carrying it out. 
3. The Commission and the Court of Auditors 
shall have access at all times to the accounts relating 
to the programme. They shall be empowered to carry 
out on-the-spot checks and documentary inspections 
in such a way as to monitor the execution of the 
contract and, in particular, the progress made in 
implementing the programmes. 
4. The person(s) applying for a loan shall 
undertake: 
— to contribute to the programme the remainder of 
the necessary funds, 
— not to reduce the amount of its(their) parti­
cipation to below the level of that participation at 
the time when the application was made without 
the prior agreement of the Commission, 
— to implement the project in the shortest time 
possible in line with the objectives established and 
not to interrupt or abendon the project without 
the prior agreement of the Commission, 
— should the programme result in the extraction of 
raw materials to give priority to supplies to the 
Community in the form of either source materials 
or processed products at least in proportion to the 
financial assistance granted by the Community, 
— not to dispose in any manner whatsoever, in the 
four years following termination of the 
programme, of the results of programmes for 
which assistance has been granted under this 
Regulation without the prior agreement of the 
Commission. 
No C 203/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 6. 8. 82 
Article 7 Article 9 
1. Contributions made by the Commission shall be 
repayable two years after termination of the 
programme in equal payments spread over a period of 
five years. 
Repayments shall be entered, according to the 
expected timetable for their collection, as revenue in 
the budget of the European Communities. 
2. The Commission may, at the request of the 
recipient of the loan after termination of the 
programme, waive its entitlement to repayment of all 
or part of the loan if it is of the opinion that the 
programme does not permit of production on a 
commercial scale. 
Article 8 
The financial assistance granted by the Community 
must not adversely affect the conditions of 
competition in a manner incomptible with the rules of 
the Treaty on competition. The Commission shall report annually to the Council 
on the application of this Regulation. 
Article 10 
Contracts pursuant to Article 6 may confer juris-
dication on the Court of Justice of the European 
Communities to decide on any dispute arising under 
such contracts between the parties. 
Article 11 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day 
following its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States. 
ANNEX 
Programme description 
(Article 3) 
1. Name of programme and organizations involved. 
2. Financial status, technical expertise and availability of personnel of the company managing the 
programme. 
3. Object and type of programme (including whether joint venture, initial reconnaissance, etc.). 
4. Geographical location. 
5. Geology of area (i.e. stratigraphy, petrography, tectonics, anomalies, mineralization). 
6. Details of previous investigations already carried out. 
7. Details of the envisaged programme. 
8. Details of mineral rights over the programme area. 
9. Details of other rights of significance to programme (i.e. access, land ownership, etc.). 
10. Environmental impact. 
11. Programme of work envisaged (including number of skilled/unskilled personnel involved). 
12. Detailed operational programme costs, including costs of any new material purchased. 
13. Percentage of funding that is required. 
14. Possibility for financing of that part of the programme not covered by point 13. 
15. Economic merits of programme. 
16. Will the programme proceed if Community funding is not available? 
17. Calendar of work and financial commitment.