No C 146/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 3. 6. 88 
The recent adoption by the Council of Decision 87/600/Euratom of 14 December 1987 on 
Community arrangements for the early exchange of information in the event of a radiological 
emergency (') constitutes a very important step and will, through the coordination of the 
various systems, allow information concerning radiological emergencies which in some cases 
may affect consumer products to be fed into the system. A short description of the new system 
is attached as Annex IV. 
VI. Conclusions 
The Commission considers, at it already stated in its interim report, that the system has proved 
its functioning capacities and efficiency. The system has proved its usefulness as a warning 
system and as an instrument of crisis management through the various crises which the 
Community has had to face since its creation. 
The system will also, as the number of notifications increases, provide a valuable instrument for 
the prevention of accidents involving consumer products by focusing attention on those 
products or categories of products which have been the subject of frequent measures in 
Member States and, as a result, by establishing priorities for action, both at Member State and 
Community level. 
The fact that the general consumer safety directive and the Rapid Exchange System are closely 
linked makes it advisable not to introduce at this point in time any changes in the Decision. 
The solutions given in the general consumer safety directive to the various problems in the field 
of safety will undoubtedly affect the functioning of the Rapid Exchange System. This is why 
the Commission considers that the period of validity of the Decision should be extended for six 
more years, a reasonable term to allow the adoption by the Council of the general consumer 
safety directive. 
Accordingly, the Commission submits this report to the Council with a proposal for a decision, 
attached as Annex I. 
0) OJ No L 371, 30. 12. 1987, p. 76. 
Amended proposal for a Council Decision on a Community action in the field of learning 
technology (') DELTA (Developing European learning through technological advance) 
COM(88) 166 final 
(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to the third paragraph of Article 149 of the Treaty on 
24 March 1988) 
(88/C 146/09) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 130Q 
(2) thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
In cooperation with the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
C) OJ No C 265, 5. 10. 19S7, p. 28. Whereas the Community has as its task, by establishing a 
common market and progressively approximating the 
economic policies of Member States, interaction to 
promote throughout the Community a harmonious 
development of economic activity and close relations 
between the Member States; 
Whereas education and training will play a decisive role 
in the future economic development of the Community, 
and whereas advanced information and telecommuni­
cations technologies offer new and more effective means 
to support learning activities; 
3. 6. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 146/15 
Whereas the Heads of State and Government, meeting in 
Stuttgart, Athens, Fontainebleau and Brussels, 
emphasised the importance of strengthening the tech­
nology base and competitiveness of industry and have 
underlined the necessity of making better use of human 
resources by means of increased cooperation between 
higher education and industry; 
Whereas the Heads of State or of Government in their 
meeting of 28 and 29 June 1985 approved and endorsed 
the Commission memorandum on the strengthening of 
technological cooperation in Europe covering, among 
priority subjects on which to propose action, the tech­
nologies of education and training; 
Whereas a better understanding of learning and training 
which can be met by learning technology is beneficial for 
strategies in this domain; 
Whereas the European Parliament has emphasised 
repeatedly the importance it sees in education and 
training for the future economic and social welfare of 
the Community, and adopted in May 1983 a 
resolution (') calling for greater efforts in education 
and training; whereas the Parliament adopted on 
11 November 1986 a resolution inviting the Commission 
to prepare an action for the utilization of technology in 
education (2); 
Whereas the Economic and Social Committee has 
stressed the importance of using new information and 
telecommunication technologies to maintain a highly 
skilled workforce capable of adapting to changing job 
requirements, thereby making a contribution to the 
reduction of unemployment caused by lack of skills; 
Whereas, by Decision 87/516/Euratom/EEC (3), the 
Council adopted a Framework Programme of 
Community activities in the field of research and techno­
logical development (1987 to 1991) providing for 
research to be undertaken in the field of the application 
of information technology and telecommunications to 
meet common social needs; whereas the Framework 
Programme contains special provision for a Community 
action in the field of educational technology (4), 
Whereas the Council Decision of 28 September 1987 
concerning the Framework Programme for Community 
activities in the field of R & T & D provides that a 
particular aim of Community research shall be to 
strengthen the scientific and technological basis of 
European industry especially in strategic areas of high 
technology and to encourage it to become more 
competitive at international level; whereas the same 
Decision further provides that Community action is 
O OJNoC 135,24. 5. 1983. 
(2) OJNoC322, 15. 12. 1986. 
(3) OJ No L 302, 24. 10. 1987, p. 1. 
(") Action Line 2.3, new services of common interest. justified where research contributes inter alia to the 
strengthening of the economic and social cohesion of the 
Community and the promotion of its overall harmonious 
development, while being consistent with the pursuit of 
scientific and technical quality; whereas it is intended 
that the DELTA action should contribute to the 
achievement of these objectives; 
Whereas the demand for education and training is 
steadily mounting, increases in diversity and requires 
improvements in accessibility; whereas progress in 
learning technology coincides with the emergence of 
advanced communications services and equipment which 
can be harnessed, at incremental cost, to support 
learning and thus to enable demand for training and 
retraining to be met more economically; 
Whereas learning technology represents a strategically 
important growth area for equipment and services world­
wide, being the subject of strongly focused development 
and investment efforts by other regions; 
Whereas national and Community actions in information 
technologies, telecommunications and standardization 
lay the ground for introducing advanced learning 
support, yet additional efforts will be required to realize 
the full potential of this new field; 
Whereas the Council has adopted the Comett 
programme (86/365/EEC) strengthening industry-
university cooperation in education and training 
including the encouragement of distance learning, and 
the Comett programme would benefit from 
improvements in the technologies, tools, equipment and 
infrastructure required to support distance learning (5); 
Whereas preparatory investigations on behalf of the 
Commission have laid the groundwork for a programme 
of work responding to the trends of expert opinion in 
the Member States; whereas the presentation of this 
work has attracted a full representation from academia, 
industry and publishing; whereas a Peer Group of 
academic advisers has contributed to the formulation of 
a preliminary plan of work; 
Whereas the DELTA pilot phase will benefit from the 
results of Esprit and RACE as well as the on-going 
efforts in standardization; 
Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research 
Committee (CREST) has expressed its opinion, 
(') OJ No L 222, 8. 8. 1986, p. 17. 
No C 146/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 3. 6. 88 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 
Article 1 
1. A pilot phase of a Community action in the field of 
learning technologies, called DELTA, is adopted for an 
initial period of 18 months commencing 1 June 1988. 
2. The action is designed to stimulate incremental 
research and development which will enable new tech­
nologies to be incorporated in the tools and infra­
structure supporting advanced learning, in particular 
open and distance learning, in the Community. The 
action will be based on concertation with the corre­
sponding activities of the Member States of the 
Community, in order to make available to the final users, 
at minimum cost and with minimum delay, the learning 
equipment and systems which will enable an increased 
demand for education, training and retraining to be met 
in the most economical way. 
Article 2 
The action shall consist of pre-normative and pre-
competitive technology exploration as required for the 
objective of concerting European efforts in the domain 
of learning technology, building notably on RACE and 
Esprit work. 
The field of application of the action includes: 
1. Learning systems research 
2. Collaborative development of advanced learning tech­
nology 
3. Testing and validation 
4. Interoperability 
5. Investigation of related factors. 
The summary and objectives of the DELTA pilot phase 
are set out in more detail in Annex II. 
Article 3 
1. Projects relating to the action shall be executed by 
means of shared cost contracts. Contractors shall be 
expected to bear a substantial proportion of the costs, 
which should normally be at least 50 % of the total 
expenditure. 
Alternatively, in respect of universities and research 
institutes carrying out projects or actions, the 
Community may bear up to 100 % of the additional 
expenditure involved. 
2. The proposals for projects shall, as a rule, be 
submitted in reply to an open invitation to tender and 
involve the participation of at least two independent 
partners not all established in the same Member State. At 
least one of the partners shall be an industrial under­taking. Within each project at least one partner should 
represent training or learning interests. The invitation to 
tender shall be published in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 
3. In exceptional cases concerning projects indis­
pensable for implementing key requirements of the 
workplan: 
— where a proposal would involve 
(i) unreasonable burden on the participants, 
particularly small and medium-sized enterprises 
and research establishments; 
(ii) only one independent partner; 
(iii) only independent partners established in the 
same Member State, or 
— where an open tendering procedure would be unjus­
tified on grounds of cost or efficiency, 
or 
— where the amount of the Community's contribution 
to the cost does not exceed 0,25 million ECU, 
it may be decided, in accordance with the procedures 
laid down in Article 8, to depart from the general 
provisions set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article. 
4. The contracts for all parts of the action shall be 
concluded with undertakings, including small and 
medium-sized enterprises, publishing houses, universities, 
research establishments and other bodies established in 
the Community. 
Article 4 
Where Framework Agreements for scientific and 
technical cooperation between non-Community 
European countries and the European Community have 
been concluded, organizations and enterprises estab­
lished in these countries may, in accordance with the 
procedures laid down in Articles 3 and 8, become 
partners to a project undertaken within this action. 
Article 5 
1. The funds estimated as necessary for the 
Community contribution to the execution of the pilot 
phase amount to 20 million ECU over 18 months, 
including expenditure on staff (9 A, 2 B, 4 C temporary 
officials). 
2. The indicative allocation of these funds is set out in 
Annex I. 
3. The final amount of appropriations and the number 
of staff shall be determined on the basis of decisions 
taken annually by the budgetary authority in accordance 
with real needs. 
3. 6. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 146/17 
Article 6 
1. The Commission shall ensure that the action is 
properly performed and establish the appropriate 
implementation measures. 
2. The Commission shall establish a draft workplan 
defining the detailed objectives, the type of projects and 
actions to be undertaken and the corresponding financial 
plans. 
3. The procedure laid down in Article 8 shall apply 
to: 
— the establishment of the workplan referred to in 
paragraph 2 of this Article, 
— any departure from the general conditions laid down 
in Article 3(1) and (2), 
— the evaluation of work undertaken in the execution 
of each part of the pilot phase by appropriate organ­
izations, groups and other bodies, 
— the assessment of the proposed projects for the 
implementation and the estimated amount of the 
Community financial contribution for a project when 
this contribution is in excess of 0,4 million ECU, 
— the participation in any project by European organiz­
ations and enterprises not established in the 
Community as provided for in Article 4. 
4. The Commission may consult the Committee 
referred to in Article 7 on any matter falling within the 
scope of this Decision. 
Article 7 
The Commission shall be assisted in the performance of 
its tasks by a committee, hereinafter referred to as 'the 
Committee'. The Committee, consisting of two represen­
tatives of each Member State, shall be set up by the 
Commission on the basis of nominations by the Member 
States. 
Members of the Committee may be assisted by experts or 
advisors depending on the nature of the issues under 
consideration. 
The Committee shall be chaired by a Commission 
representative. 
The proceedings of the Committee shall be confidential. 
The Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure. 
The secretarial services shall be provided by the 
Commission. 
Article 8 
1. "Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to 
be followed, the chairman shall refer the matter to the 
Committee, either on his own initiative or at the request 
of one of its members. 2. Under this procedure, the representative of the 
Commission, who acts as chairman, refers the draft of 
the measures to be adopted to the Committee. The 
Committee delivers an opinion within a time limit which 
shall normally be one month and shall in no case exceed 
two months. The opinion is delivered by the majority 
specified in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty for decisions 
which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal 
from the Commission, the votes of the representatives of 
the Member States being weighted as indicated in that 
Article. The chairman does not vote. 
3. The Commission shall adopt measures which shall 
apply immediately. However, if these measures are not in 
accordance with the opinion of the Committee, they 
shall be communicated by the Commission to the 
Council forthwith. In that event: 
— the Commission may defer application of the 
measures which it has decided for a period of not 
more than one month from the date of such 
communication, 
— the Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take 
a different decision within the time limit referred to 
in the previous paragraph. 
Article 9 
1. The result of the action shall be reviewed by the 
Commission after 12 months. The Commission shall 
report to the Council and the European Parliament on 
the results of this review. 
2. After the completion of the action, the Commission 
shall send to Council and European Parliament a report 
on the performance and results of the action. 
3. The abovementioned report will be carried out in 
relation to the precise objectives set out in Annex II to 
this Decision and in conformity with the provisions of 
Article 2 (2) of the Framework Programme. 
Article 10 
1. With regard to the concertation activities provided 
for in Article 1 (2), the Member States and the 
Commission shall exchange all appropriate information 
to which they have access and which they are free to 
disclose concerning activities in the areas covered by this 
Decision, whether or not planned or carried out under 
their authority. 
2. Information shall be exchanged according to a 
procedure to be defined by the Commission after 
consulting the Committee, and shall be treated as 
confidential at the supplier's request. 
Article 11 
This Decision shall apply from 1 June 1988. 
Article 12 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.