COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ON PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS OF 26 APRIL 1994 ON THE ROLE OF THE JRC
Date: 1996-09-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU research policy, Joint Research Centre, activity report, competition, research programme

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  06.09.1996 
COM(96) 436  final 

COMMUNICATION  FROM THE  COMMISSION  TO  THE 
COUNCIL  AND  THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  ON 
PROGRESS  IN  THE  IMPLEMENTATION  OF  THE 
COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS OF 26  APRIL  1994  ON THE 
ROLE OF THE JRC 

-  1-

Table of  Contents 

A.  INTRODUCTION 

Towards  implementation  of  a new  approach  for the JRC 

Page  1  ^V. 

B.  JRC'S ACTIVITIES 

Institutional  Activities 
Institutional  Research 
Institutional  Support  Activities 
Competitive  Activities 

C. JRC OPERATING IN NETWORKS 

D. IMPLEMENTATION  MEASURES 

Advice, interchange  and guidance  to the JRC 
Evaluations 
Relations w i th  Programme  Committees 
Board of  Governors 

CONCLUSION 

ANNEXES 

I 

II 

JRC institutional  research activities  1996 

Number  of  publications 
w r i t t en  by JRC Scientists 

III (a) 

List of  the  Inter-DG Agreements  in  Institutional 

Support to the  Commission 

III (b) 

JRC institutional  support  activities 

IV 

V 

VI 

VII 

JRC institutional s/t support  activities  1996 

Shared Cost  Actions 
JRC Institutes  response to  the  first calls of  the 4th  FWP 
Targets of  Evolution of  JRC Competitive Activities  1995-1998 

Distribution  of  JRC Cooperation  w i th  National  Research 
Organisations  and  Universities, by country 

VIII 

JRC Commitment  Appropriations  1995-1998 

2 

2 
3 
5 
6 

9 

10 

12 
13 
14 

14 

16 

17 

18 

19, 20 

21 

22 
23 

24 

25 

_  A  O L-

A. 

INTRODUCTION 

Towards  Implementation  of  a  New  Approach for  the  JRC 

1. 

The  debate  in  the  Community  Institutions  back  in  1993  and  1994, 
leading  to  the  April  1994  Decisions  on  the  4th  Framework  Programme 
of  Community  Activities  of  Research,  Technological  Development  and 
Demonstration  for  the  EC  and  the  EAEC  Framework  Programme  of 
Community  Activities  of  Research  and  Training,  included  a  substantial 
discussion  on  the  Joint  Research  Centre  (JRC)  and  its  role  in  the 
achievement  of  the  Union's  policies.  Overall  it  was  recognised  that  a 
new  approach  should  be  added  to  the  traditional  role  of  the  JRC,  in 
order  for  the  Union  to  draw  optimal  benefit  from  the  activities  of  the 
Centre  and that  clear  plans  and guidelines  should  be  set to  this end. 

2. 

The  Council  in  its  Conclusions  of  26  April,  1994  on  the  Role  of  the 
Joint  Research  Centre*  coined  its  views  on  the  future  of  the  JRC  and 
provided  guidelines  for this. 

As  an introduction, the  Council  reaffirmed: 

the  Community  character  of  the  JRC  and 
achievement  of the objectives  of the Union, 

its  role 

in 

the 

the  need  for  the  JRC  to  pursue  and  reinforce  its  move  towards  a 
more  competitive  approach  on 
the  basis  of  a  genuine 
customer/contractor  relationship. 

It  reiterated  the  JRC  contribution  to  Community  research  policy  and 
underlined  the  need  to  add  a  new  approach  for  the  JRC,  whereby  it 
would  progressively  enter 
in  specific 
programmes  under  the  Framework  Programmes  and  give  scientific 
and technical  support  to  Community  policies  of  a  kind  suitable  for  that 
competitive  approach. 

the  competitive  arena 

3. 

The  Council  furthermore  "calls  upon  the  Commission  to  submit  a 
report  on  the  progress  in  the  implementation  of  these  Conclusions  to 
the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  in  1996,  after  obtaining  the 
Opinion  of  the  Board  of  Governors,  so  as  to  enable  the  European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  to  draw  up  an  assessment  of 
the 
situation". 

O.J.  C126/1,  7.5.94 

4. 

The  present  Communication  from  the  Commission  intends  to  answer 
this  request.  It is largely  structured  along the  Council  Conclusions  and 
should  demonstrate: 

• 

• 

the  progress  made so  far, 

the further  steps  necessary, 

and in general  provide  an illustration of 

• 

the  JRC  situation at mid-term  in its  1995-1998  programme. 

It  should  be  added  that  the  JRC  and  its  Board  of  Governors  took  the 
initiatives  immediately,  the  process  of  elaboration  and 
relevant 
arrangement  of  all  these  decisions  and  measures  took  much  more 
time  than  had  been  expected  by  the  Council  in  its  Conclusions. 
Therefore,  the  full  implementation  of  the  latter  had  to  be  shifted  until 
the  full  legal  process  was  completed  and  the  present  report  can  only 
cover  one  year  of  an  experience  which  is  continuing  and  has  to  be 
seen  within  the  overall  context  of  the  Framework  Programmes  (1994-
1998). 

The  present  Communication  is  accompanied  by  an  Opinion  of  the 
Board of  Governors. 

5. 

1995  was  the  first  year  of  JRC  operation  under  the  new  approach. 
The  present  Communication,  therefore,  is  to  be  considered  together 
with  the  JRC  Annual  Report  1995' 
issued  by  tne  Commission  and 
also  accompanied  by an Opinion of the JRC  Board of  Governors. 

B.  JRC'S  ACTIVITIES 

6. 

The  activities  of  the  JRC  are  Outlined  in  the  Council  Conclusions  and 
notably  in  its  guidelines  defined  in  detailed  terms,  in  particular  in  the 
context  of  the  Framework  Research  Programmes.  A  distinction  is 
made  between the 

• 

• 

• 

institutional  activities 

competitive  activities  under  the  Framework  programmes 

competitive  activities  outside the  Framework  programmes. 

The  following  description  of  progress,  the  present  situation  and  further 
plans thus  adheres to this  structure. 

Institutional  Activities 

7. 

in  this 
The  Community  character  of  the  JRC  is  to  the  forefront 
spectrum  of  activities.  The  activities,  as  foreseen  in  the  Council 
Conclusions,  are  entirely  funded  by  the  Framework  Programmes. 
They  should allow the JRC to contribute  to Community  research  policy, 
particularly  in  those  sectors  where  it  has  special,  if  not  unique,  skills 

1)  COM(96}158 

final,  17.4,96 

and  in  areas  where  its  neutrality  is  essential  for  scientific  and  technical 
support  for  Community  policies. 

8. 

The  JRC  institutional  activities  contribute  to  the  following  themes  of  the 
Framework  Programmes: 

Information  Technologies  (S) 
Industrial  and  Materials  Technologies  (R) 
Standards,  Norms  and  Measurements  (R) 
Environment  and  Climate  (R,S) 
Agriculture  and  Fisheries  (S) 
Non-Nuclear  Energies  (R) 
Targeted  Socio-Economic  Research  (R,S) 
Nuclear  Fission  Safety  (R,S) 
Thermo-nuclear  Fusion  (R) 

MECU 

11.7 
89.5 
111.8 
306.9 
50.0 
17.1 
35.0 
259.8 
49.0 

930.8 

the  Council 
The  scientific  and  technical  objectives  are  given 
Decisions  on  the  JRC  specific  programmes  1995-1998.  They  provide 
a  clear  separation  between  the  objectives  for  institutional 
research 
activities  (R)  and  institutional  scientific  and  technical  support  activities 
(S),  for  the  formulation  and  implementation  of  Community  policies  and 
the  tasks  allotted  to  the  Commission  pursuant  to  the  Treaties. 

in 

in 

institutional  activities 

The  figures  in  the  preceding  list  give  the  distribution  of  the  930.8 
the 
MECU  for  1995-1998  attributed  to  the 
Decisions  on  the  Framework  Programmes  and  their  first  adaptation 
following  the  adhesion  of  the  three  new  Member  States.  To 
this 
amount  of  930.8  MECU  should  be  added  17  MECU  and  10.7  MECU 
for  JRC  participation  (50%  contribution)  in  shared-cost  activities  in  the 
EC  and  the  EAEC  fields,  respectively,  bringing  the  totai  for  the  4  year 
operational  budget  to  958.5  MECU.  The  Council  Conclusions  foresaw 
a  total  of  900  MECU.  To  this  is  added  6.5%  (58.5  MECU)  from  the 
above-mentioned  decisions  on  the  first  adaptation  of  the  Framework 
Programmes.  Possible  additional  funding  was  foreseen  by  the  Council 
Conclusions  for  the  second  adaptation  of  the  Framework  Programmes. 
The  Commission,  however,  has  retained  a  different  approach  in  its 
proposal  for  this  second  adaptation*. 

9. 

The  results  of  the  work  in  1995  are  provided  in  the  JRC  1995  Annual 
Report  and  the  1995  Annual  Reports  from  the  JRC  Institutes  and  the 
further  planning  in  the  1996  Annual  Workprogramme  discussed  with 
the 
the  Board  of  Governors.  The  1996  resource  distribution  over 
various  themes  for  institutional  research  is  illustrated  in  Annex  i. 

Institutional  Research 

10.  Four  significant  examples,  amongst  the  numerous  described  in  the 
1995  Annual  Report,  may 
institutional 
research.  They  have  been  selected  to  demonstrate  use  of  particular 
JRC  skills,  the  network  oriented  approach  to  JRC  work, 
industrial 
relations  and  to  give  an  example  of  the  exploitation  of  a  special 
research  facility  available  m the  Centre: 

illustrate  the  scope  of  JRC 

COM(96)  12 final, O.J  C115,  19.4.96 

* 

* 

* 

Composite  Materials:  Novel  Research  with  contributions 
to 
European  industry.  On  the  basis  of  the  longstanding  research  on 
high  temperature  materials  and  composites,  the  JRC  Institute  for 
Advanced  Materials  (Petten  and 
in  collaboration  with 
industry,  has  developed  new  coated  fibres  of  high  strength  for 
structural  materials 
like  gas 
turbines  or  heat  exchangers. 

in  high  temperature  applications, 

Ispra), 

Earthquake  Engineering:  European  research  network  centred 
around  a  JRC  major  research  facility.  More  than  20  national 
laboratories  collaborate  with 
for  Systems, 
Informatics  and  Safety  (Ispra)  on  use  of  the  unique  ELSA  reaction 
wall  in  Ispra  and  shaking  tables 
The 
prenormative  research  includes  support  to  the  development  of 
European  standards  for  designing  civil  engineering  structures  in 
seismic  areas. 

in  national 

institutes. 

the  JRC 

Institute 

Information  System:  1995  saw  the  completion  of 
Information 

the 
Forest 
Forest 
(FIRS)  projects' 
from  Remote  Sensing 
Planning  Phase  in  cooperation  with  consortia  of  organisations 
from  France,  Germany,  Sweden,  the  Czech  Republic,  Russia, 
Poland,  Spain,  Ireland  and  Finland.  The  major  objective  of  the 
project  is  to  contribute  to  the  development  of  a  Unified  European 
Forest  Information  System,  providing  both  production  related  and 
In  1995  the  project  developed 
environmental  forest  information. 
a  régionalisation  and 
forest 
e c o s y s t e ms  and 
the  unified  E u r o p e an  F o r e st 
Nomenclature  System. 

final  stratification  of  European 

finalised 

* 

Reactor  Safety  Code:  Development  with  national  laboratories  of 
a  new  reactor  safety  code  for  calculating  fuel/coolant  interactions 
in  cases  of  severe  accidents,  combined  with  experimental  tests 
in  the  FARO  installation. 

11.  The  results  of  the  institutional  research  are  provided  through  the 

• 

• 

extensive  networks 
industry,  national 
for  collaboration  with 
research  centres  and  universities,  which  include  JRC  participation 
in  selected  EUREKA  projects,  notably  with  industry, 

participation  in  technical  committees  of  standardisation  bodies 
International  Electro-technical 
such  as  CEN, 
Committee  (IEC), 

ISO  and 

the 

• 

Commission  activities  for  exploitation  of  research  results, 

and,  as  for  any  other  research  centre, 

• 

JRC  generated  publications,  participation  in  scientific  meetings, 
congresses,  seminars  and  symposia.  (Annex  II  gives  the  number 
of  publications  written  by  JRC  scientists  in  1994  and  1995). 

12.  The  Commission,  however,  as  encouraged  by  the  Board  of  Governors 
is  still 

and  independent  evaluations  of  the  JRC,  agrees  that  there 
further  scope  for  an  improved 

identification  of  the  users  of  the  JRC  research 

focus  on  materialisation  of  research  results 

5-

'  and,  in  a  wider  sense,  an  exploitation  of  the  institutional  research  and 
its  output.  New  measures  to  this  end  are  planned  to  bring  concrete 
results  before  the  end  of  the  current  programme  period. 

for 

13.  Related  to  this  is  the  Commission's  own  use  of  the  competences  and 
skills  developed  through  the  JRC's  research  activities.  They  clearly 
institutional  support 
the  concrete  projects  of 
form  the  basis 
described  below.  They  also  allow  the  Centre  to  be  ready  -  within  the 
defined  scientific-technical  objectives  of  the  JRC  programme  -  for  new 
orientations  which  may  be  decided  for  Community  research. 
The 
Commission  is  thus  profiting  from  the  competences  of  the  JRC  in  the 
the  Task  F o r c es  w h i ch  h a ve  set  up  on 
c o m p o s i t i on  of 
industry/research  related  themes  and  one  of  these  Task  Forces  -
Environment-Water  -  is  led  by  the  Director  of  the  JRC  Environment 
Institute. 

Institutional  Support  Activities 

14. 

In  the  Council  Conclusions  these  are  defined  as  activities  necessary 
for  the  formulation  and  implementation  of  Community  policies  and  of 
the  tasks  allotted  to  the  Commission  pursuant  to  the  Treaties,  which 
necessitate 
the  neutrality  of  the  JRC.  While  ensuring  maximum 
flexibility,  the  financial  resources  earmarked  for  these  activities  will  be 
entered  in  the  research  budget  and  administered  by  the  Commission 
within  a  framework,  giving  responsibility  to  the  customer  Directorates-
General  which  will  use  the  JRC  as  a  service  provider. 

As  stated  above,  their  scientific-technical  objectives  are  defined  in  the 
Council  Decisions  on  the  JRC  specific  programmes  1995-1998  and  the 
financial  resources  included  in  these.  The  appropriations  are  decided 
on  an  annual  basis,  together  with  other  JRC  institutional  activities,  by 
the  Budgetary  Authority  (Council  and  European  Parliament) 
the 
General  Budget  of  the  European  Union,  the  subsection  on  Research 
and  Technological  Development.  The  resources  are  around  one  third 
of  the  total  for  the  JRC's  institutional  activities. 

in 

15.  The  support  activities  respond  to  demands 

from  the  Commission 
services 
in  charge  of  the  various  policies  of  the  Union  -  notably 
environment,  energy,  agriculture  and  industry  -  or  tasks  allotted  to  the 
Commission  pursuant  to  the  Treaties  (such  as  nuclear  safeguards). 
The  work  requested  is  normally  planned  on  a  medium  to  long  term 
basis. 
the 
relevant  Commission  services  and  the  JRC,  specifying  objectives, 
follow-up,  reporting  and  accounting  measures.  Major 
resources, 
support  activities  have  been  announced 
the 
European  Parliament  through  Communications  from  the  Commission. 
Annex 
these 
III  provides  a  list  of  the  Agreements  and  a  list  of 
Communications. 

It  is  regulated  through  standard  agreements  between 

the  Council  and 

to 

16.  The  detailed  annual  planning  is  included  in  the  Workprogramme  with  a 
1996  resource  distribution  as  given  in  Annex  IV.  The  outcome  of  the 
work  is  illustrated  in the  1995  Annual  Report  and  typical  examples  are: 

# 

The  European  Reference  Laboratory 

for  Air  Pollution: 

Harmonisation  of  EC  directives  on  air  pollution,  organisation  of 
quality  assurance,  validation  of  new  monitoring  techniques. 

$ 

Application 

of  Remote  Sensing  to  Agricultural 

Policy: 

Agricultural  statistics,  monitoring  of  crop  acreage,  monitoring  and 
control  in  support  of  the  Common  Agricultural  Policy. 

0 

Nuclear  Safeguards: 

inspectors,  harmonisation  of 

Training  of 
inspection  practices, 
equipment  and  systems  development,  design  and  operation  of 
on-site  laboratories  at  reprocessing  plants,  analysis  of  nuclear 
materials  samples. 

# 

Detection  of  Illicit  Nuclear  Material: 

At  the  request  of  the  Commission,  responding  to  a  Member  State 
illicit 
the  JRC  contributes 
demand, 
trafficking  of  nuclear  material  by  using 
laboratory 
facilities 
the  characterisation  of  samples  discovered  by 
national  authorities. 

the  combat  against 
its  unique 

for 

to 

The  latter  examples  are  related  to  tasks  allotted  to  the  Commission  by 
the  EAEC  Treaty  and  all 
the 
Commission  derives  from  the  neutrality  of  the  JRC. 

four  examples 

illustrate 

the  use 

17.  The  a  priori  definition  of  the  objectives  and  detailed  project  planning 
for  the  institutional  support  was  made  in  close  consultation  with  the 
relevant  Commission  services  at  the  time  of  preparing  the  proposals 
for  the  JRC  specific  programmes  1995-1998.  These  were  decided  in 
December,  1994.  Yet  further  demands  have  arisen  and,  given  the 
Union's  focus  on  control  measures,  it  has  been  possible  in  the  1996 
work  programme  -  within  the  overall  allocated  resources  -  to  include 
projects  on: 

Systems  developments 
(UCLAF); 

for  the  Commission's  Anti-fraud  Unit 

for  animal  tagging  using  microchips, 

Novel  methods 
the 
Commission's  Directorate  General  for  Agriculture.  An  application 
of  a  technique  developed  in  a  different  context  (seals  for  use  by 
safeguards'  inspectors). 

for 

The  inclusion  of  these  new  projects  was  possible  using  the  adaptation 
of  institutional  support  foreseen  in  the  Council  Decisions  on  the  JRC 
specific  programmes  (Article  7.3,  last  sentence).  Nevertheless,  these 
examples  illustrate  the  desirability  for  future  JRC  programmes  to  define 
objectives  with  a  further  degree  of  flexibility.  . 

18.  The  full  spectrum  of  competitive  activities,  given  in  the  guidelines  of 

the  Council  Conclusions,  is: 

Under  the  Framework  Programmes 

Participation  of  the  JRC  in  Shared-Cost  Actions. 

The  JRC  in  association  with  partners  in  the  Member  States  may 
submit  proposals  in  the  context  of  calls  for  proposals  issued  by 
the  Commission. 

Competitive  Support  Measures. 

Scientific  and  technical  support  activities  suited  for  a  competitive 
approach,  where  the  JRC  may  respond  to  requests  from  the 
Commission  Directorates  General. 

Outside  the  Framework  Programmes 

Activities  on  behalf  of third parties. 

The  conduct  of  research  and  supply  of  services  under  contract  to 
in  the  context  of 
third  parties,  including  contracts  secured 
Member  States/RTD  programmes. 

Other  Community  Activities. 

JRC  participation  in  Community  actions  (e.g.  PHARE,  TACIS, 
developing  countries,  etc.)  obtaining  Community  funding  in  the 
context  of  a  competitive  approach. 

The  JRC  has  had  an  opportunity  to  conduct  activities  on  behalf  of  third 
parties  since  1988-1989  and  has  reported  on  these  in  successive 
annual  reports.  All  the  other  types  of  competitive  activities  were, 
however,  new  and  only  available  to the  JRC  from  1995  onwards. 

19.  The  Council  decided  that  the  transfer  to  competitive  activities  should 
average  22%  for  the  EC  Framework  Programme  and  10%  for  the 
EAEC  Framework  Programme  from  1995-1998  and  that  this  transition 
should  be  a  gradual  and  progressive  process  over  the  4  year  period. 
In order  to  make  this possible the  Council  in  its  Conclusions  invited  the 
Commission  to  amend  its  internal  rules  as  necessary  and  propose  to 
the  Council  all required  decisions  as  early  as  possible. 

20.  The  JRC, 

in  response,  made  early  plans  to  grasp  the  new 

opportunities  for  competitive  activities  as  soon  as  these  materialised 
and  as  soon  as  the  necessary  clarification  of  the  JRC's  role  in  relation 
to  rules  and  regulations  could  be  provided. 

21.  For  the  shared-cost  actions  under  the  specific  RTD  programmes  under 
the  Framework  Programmes,  the  JRC  was  thus  ready  to  respond, 
together  with  national  partners, to  the  first  calls  tor  proposals  issued  by 
the  Commission.  These  were  published  from  15  December  1994 
onwards  and  in  establishing  partnerships  the  JRC  largely,  but  not 
exclusively,  drew  on the  wide  scientific  networks  already  established  in 
previous  years. 
These  also  included  collaboration  with  the  New 
Member  States  (Austria,  Finland  and  Sweden),  stemming  from  their 
previous  participation  in  JRC  activities  under  the  European  Economic 
Area  Agreement.  The  JRC  Institutes  and  their  partners  responded  to 
the  first  calls  for  proposals  for  15  specific  programmes  and  of  these, 
100  proposals  were  accepted,  representing  an  overall  acceptance  rate 
of  29%  with  a  considerable  variation,  however,  from  programme  to 
programme,  as  illustrated  in  Annex  V.  The  total  earnings  tor  the  JRC 
from  the  subsequent  contractual  arrangements  amount  to  11  MECU,  to 
be  matched  during  the  execution  of  the  work  by  the  same  amount 
from  JRC  budget  lines. 

This  participation  in shared-cost  actions  has  continued. 
In  response  to 
further  calls  tor  proposals  the  JRC  and  its  partners  have  presented 
In  its 
126  proposals  and  are  awaiting  a  final  decision  on the  outcome. 
planning  for  1996  the  JRC  noted  fewer  calls  for  proposals  than  were 
issued  in  1995  or  at  the  end  of  1994. 

8 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  JRC,  together  with  its  partners,  has  sought 
opportunities  and  obtained  acceptance  both  from  shared-cost  actions 
within  the  Framework  Programme  themes  corresponding  to  the  JRC 
institutional  activities  and  from  some  shared-cost  actions 
in  other 
themes,  e.g.  telematics,  advanced  communication  technologies  and 
services  or  marine  sciences  and  technologies.  This  illustrates  that  the 
JRC  as  a  multi-disciplinary  research  centre  can  develop  scientific 
disciplines  outside  the  prescribed  Framework  Programme  themes  in 
support  of  its  institutional  activities  which  are  also  fruitful 
in  the 
competitive  arena. 

22.  The  competitive  support  measures  first  launched  by  the  Commission 
during  1995  were  a  completely  new  type  of  activity  within  the  EC 
Framework  Programme. 
JRC  projects  totalling  12  MECU  were 
accepted  in  1995.  The  work  was  in response  to  openings  launched  by 
Commission  services  and  are  within the  fields  of: 

information technology  support; 

systems  support  to  environmental  problems  and  non-nuclear 
energies; 

analytical  methodologies  in the  area  of  agriculture  and  fisheries; 

remote  sensing  applications  for  agriculture  and  fisheries  including 
land  use  classification  and  agricultural  products. 

Finally,  under  the  Third  activities  of  the  EC  Framework  Programme: 

projects  related  to  technology  transfer  and  exploitation  of  EC 
research  results. 

23.  Outside  the  Framework  Programmes  the  JRC  has  earned  contracts  in 
other  actions  introduced  by  the  Community,  namely  from  the  PHARE 
and  TACIS  programmes.  They  total  some  5  MECU  (as  of  May  1996) 
and  encompass: 

• 

• 

• 

A  major  PHARE  project  on  agricultural  information  systems, 
including  applications  of  remote  sensing  for  6  PHARE  countries. 
Extensions  are  foreseen  for  a  further  5  PHARE  countries  and  the 
project  may  be  extended  into  following  years. 

Another,  but  smaller  PHARE  project  is concerned  with  assistance 
to  the  Bulgarian  authorities  on  safety  of  reactor  fuel,  while  a 
TACIS  project  provides  support  to  the 
investigation  of  the 
environmental  impact  of the  Chernobyl  accident  in the  Ukraine. 

Several  PHARE  and  TACIS  projects  described  in  detail  in  the 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  the 
European  Parliament  on  illicit  trafficking  of  nuclear  materials2  in 
Annex  III. 

24.  Alongside  these  new  types  of  activity,  the  JRC  has  continued  the  work 
for  third  parties.  New  contracts  won  in  1995  totalled  24.8  MECU  and 
6.6  MECU  in  the  first  two  quarters  of  1996.  Recent  major  contracts 
include: 

continuing  work  tor  the  US  Nuclear  Regulatory  Commission  of  a 
major  experimental  installation  in Ispra; 

2) 

COM(96)171 

final,  19.4.96 

establishment  of  a Centre  for  the  prevention  of  pollution  and  risks 
associated  with  the  handling  and 
toxic 
substances  in a Member  State region; 

transportation  of 

nuclear  instrument  development  for  a  large  nuclear  industrial  firm 
in a Member  State; 

development  of  numerical  methods  for  the  simulation  of 
behaviour  of  concrete  structures  for  a national electricity  utility; 

the 

development  of  ultrasonic  systems  for  monitoring  liquid  circuits 
for  an industrial company  in a Member  State. 

25. 

The  1995  outturn  of  the  competitive  activities  are  summarised  in  the 
table  below. 

Competitive  activities 
Amounts  earned  in  1995  (Mioecu) 

Shared  Cost  Actions 
(50%) 

Competitive  Support 

Competitive  Activities 
outside  the  Framework 
Programme 

Third  Party  Work 

TOTAL 

Earned  during 
1995 

Inscribed  as 
1995 credits  0) 

inscribed 
1.1.  -30.6.96 

10.7 

12.0 

2.3 

3.9 

4.9 

1.3 

4.6 

j 

6.9 

4.0(3) 

24.8(2) 

49.8 

24.5(2) 

34.6 

6.6(3) 

22.1 

(1) 
(2) 

(3) 

The balance  will be  inscribed  as  i996  credits, after conclusion  of  procedures 
Including 6.4 Mioecu for  work at  the  HFR reactor  coming  from contracts  with 
partners 
contract under  discussion in 1995 

industrial 

Annex  VI  summarises  the  targets  for  competitive  activities  which  were 
given to the  Board of  Governors  in May  1996 by the JRC, together  with 
the financial  results  obtained  in  1995 and early  1996. 

C.  JRC OPERATING  IN  NETWORKS 

26.  The  Council  Conclusions  stressed  the  need  for  the  JRC  to  become 
better  integrated  in networks  with partners  belonging  to  all the  Member 
States.  A  similar  recommendation  was  included  m  the  Council 
Resolution  on the JRC of  29 April  1992. 

27. 

In  a  published  report  entitled  "JRC  Cooperation  with  National 
Research  Organisations  and  Universities"'.  87  bilateral  and  49 
multilateral  cooperation  agreements  are  described.  The  number  of 
collaboration  agreements  has  further  increased  to  respectively  93  and 
63  and  Annex  VII  illustrates  the  distribution  of  partners  over 
the 
Member  States. 

3) 

EUR 16289 EN,  1994 

10 

28.  Some  examples  of  institutional  research  given  above  in  Section  B 
illustrate  the  extent  to  which  the  JRC  is  working  in  networks. 
In 
addition  to  the  already  well  established  networks  by  the  Institute  for 
Advanced  Materials  (ENIQ,  NESC,  AMES,  EPERC), 
typical 
examples  are: 

further 

REIMEPIMEP 

Regular  European 
Interlaboratory  Measurement  Evaluation 
Programme  International  Measurement  Evaluation  Programme. 
The  JRC  Institute  for  Reference  Materials  and  Measurements 
for 
(Geel)  has  organised  networks  of  up 
comparative  measurements  of  nuclear  and  non-nuclear  samples 
and  to  provide  the  reference  value. 

laboratories 

to  70 

FARO: 

Fuel  Melting  and  Release  Oven,  where  in  addition  to  bilateral 
agreements  with  the  French  CE A  and  the  U.S.  NRC,  the  JRC 
conducts  a  network  of  industrial,  national  authorities  and  research 
organisations  on  the  effects  of  fuel  meltdown  in  case  of  reactor 
accidents  and 
their  mitigation,  centred  around  a  unique 
experimental  installation  at the  Ispra  Site. 

Bilateral  cooperation  is  illustrated  by 

Atmospheric  Chemistry 
Pollution: 

in  Global  Change  and  Urban  Air 

Where  the  JRC  Environment  Institute  (Ispra)  exchanges  staff  and 
organises  joint  field  campaigns  for,  as  an  example,  studies  on 
urban  air  chemistry,  with  a  group  of  national  laboratories  in  a 
Member  State  (Denmark). 

29. 

in  shared-cost  actions,  has 

The  new  spectrum  of  competitive  activities,  and  notably 
participation 
further 
dimension  being  added  to  the  JRC's  collaboration  in  networks 
and  consortia  with  industry  and  national  research.  The  JRC  are 
currently  executing  around  100  accepted  projects  for  shared-cost 
actions  with  some  250  different  partners,  including  around  a  third 
from  industry.  The  partners  are  found  in  all  Member  States  and 
associated  countries  under  the  EEA  Agreement. 

to  a 

lead 

D. 

IMPLEMENTATION  MEASURES 

30.  The  Council,  in  setting  out  its  Conclusions  on  the  Role  of  the  JRC  and 
endorsing  the  guidelines  tor  the  definition  of  the  JRC  activities,  foresaw 
this  would  require: 

• 

• 

flexible  and  dynamic  operation  of  the  JRC,  the  necessity 
to 
ensure  a  gradual  transition  and  an  adaptation  of  the  existing  rules 
and  regulations, 

an  action  programme  for  defining  the  fundamental  objectives  and 
thereby  permitting  an  evaluation  of  the  progress. 

The  Council  furthermore  referred  to: 

• 

an  effective  coordination  between 
activities  provided 

institutional 
the  Framework  Programmes,  by 

the  Centre's 

for 

in 

-11 -

systematic  exchanges  of  views  to  be  held  between  the  JRC, 
including  the  Board  of  Governors,  and  the  Committees  for  the 
specific  programmes,  with  due 
respective 
responsibilities. 

regard 

their 

to 

The  Council  finally  underlined: 

• 

the  need  to 
evaluation  by  independent  experts 

take  due  account  of 

the  results  of 

the  1994 

and,  above  all, 

• 

the  role  of 
conclusions  and  guidelines. 

the  Board  of  Governors 

in 

implementing 

the 

The  progress  in  these  implementation  measures  is  addressed  below. 

3 1.  When  faced  in  early  1994  with  the  modified  role,  the  Commission  had 
two  chief  concerns  for  the  JRC  for  allowing  the  Centre  to  make  this 
applicable  as  and  from  1 January,  1995. 

the 
Council  Decisions  on  the  objectives  and  resources 
institutional  activities,  to  which  end  the  specific  programmes 
1995-1998  were  decided  on  15  December,  1994  for  the  JRC 
activities  for  the  EC  and  the  EAEC,  respectively. 

for 

A  battery  of  decisions  on  amendments 
to  existing  rules  and 
regulations  or  decisions  on  new  ones,  as  already  listed  in  the 
guidelines  annexed  to  the  Council  Conclusions. 

The  latter  encompassed  legal,  budgetary,  financial  and  administrative 
matters.  Some  were  internal  Commission  rules,  while  others  required 
decisions  by  the  Council  upon  proposals  by  the  Commission.  The 
total  body  of  required  decisions  was  made  before  the  end  of  1995. 
In 
summary,  they  may  be  described  as  follows: 

in 

for  participation  on  a  competitive  basis 

Legal  basis 
the 
Framework  Programmes,  provided  through  the  Council  Decision 
on  Rules  for  the  Participation  of  undertakings,  research  centres 
in  research,  technological  development  and 
and  universities 
demonstration  activities  of  the  European  Community-'  and 
the 
Council  Decision  concerning  the  Rules  for  the  participation  of 
undertakings,  research  centres  and  universities  in  research  and 
training  activities  of  the  European  Atomic  Energy  Community^. 
These  decisions  establish 
in 
Community 
the  same 
indirect  action  RTD  activities  under 
conditions  and  with  the  same  rights  as  other  participants.  The 
EC  decision  also  provides  for  the  participation  of  the  JRC  in  the 
competitive  support  activities  of  the  Framework  Programme; 

the  JRC  can  participate 

that 

Related  amendments  to  the  Financial  Regulation  decided  by  the 
Council  on  18  September  1995°,  to  foresee  the  new  competitive 
activities  of  the  JRC,  to  ensure  JRC  access  to  appropriations  for 
earned  activities,  both  under  the  Framework  Programmes  and 
under  other  Community  programmes,  and  a  degree  of  flexibility  in 
transfer  possibilities  tor  appropriations; 

A  new  structure  from  1995  onwards  in  the  JRC  section  of  the 
research 
General  Budget 

for  the  European  Union  (under 

the 

4) 
5) 
6) 

Council Decision 94 763 EC, O.J.  I 306,  30  11.94 
Council Decision 94 761 Euratom, O.J.  I 306,  30.11.94 
Council Regulation No. 2335 95, O.J.  I 240 7.10.95 

budget) following the institutional activities  and with  appropriations 
for  the JRC  of  a 50%  contribution  to  earned  shared-cost  actions. 
Appropriate  lines  for  income  and  expenditure  of  appropriations 
earned  from  competitive  activities.  Annex  VIII  provides  a  table 
of  the  1995-1998  schedule  for  commitment  appropriations  under 
the  Budgets  of the  European Union; 

Similar  amendments  to  the  accounting  systems,  with  accounting 
for the  competitive  activities  being  separated from  the  accounting 
for the institutional  activities; 

for 
New  simplified  cost 
reimbursement  model  contract 
the 
Community  activities  in  the  field  of  RTD,  adopted  by 
Commission  on  26 July  1995'  and  its  derived  contracts,  which  in 
their  special  conditions  provide  for  the  participation  of  the JRC  as 
a  contractor.  Relations  between  Directorates  General  providing 
funds  and  the  JRC  are  specifically  regulated  by  administrative 
arrangements.  Similar  administrative  arrangements  apply  to  JRC 
participation  in  other  Community  competitive  activities  within  or 
outside the  Framework  Programmes. 

32.  With  regard  to  personnel  management  the  new  approach  gave  rise  to 
several  internal  measures  on  staff  training, reassignment  of  staff  and  a 
substantial  amount  of  communications  to  staff  at all levels. 

The early  implementation  of the  new  approach to the JRC's  operations 
coincided  with  the  Commission  Decisions  in  1995  on  a  new  policy  for 
all  Commission  research  staff.  The  concept  of  a  25%  contingent  of 
highly  mobile  staff  should  add  the  flexibility  necessary 
for  staff 
management  in  the  JRC,  while  the  new  policy  also  includes  a  more 
permanent  nucleus  of  staff  in order  to  ensure  continuity  in the  Centre's 
work. 

33.  Furthermore,  on  16  January  1996,  a  reorganisation  of  the  JRC  was 
decided  by  the  Commission  and  the  JRC  became  an  autonomous 
Directorate  General  separate  from the  Directorate  General  for  Science, 
Research  and  Development  (DGXII).  A  new  post  of  Deputy  Director 
General  was  created,  whose 
commercialisation  and  communication,  while  a  reorganisation  at  the 
Ispra  Site  merged  two  of  its  Institutes  into  the  Institute  for  Systems, 
Informatics  and  Safety  (ISIS), thereby  strengthening  the  JRC  research 
performed  on  technological  risk  evaluation  and  safety  issues,  in 
particular. 

responsibilities  will 

include 

Advice, interchange  and guidance  to the JRC 

Evaluations 

34.  As  stipulated in the  Council  Conclusions,  due  account  should  be  taken 
of the  results of the evaluation of the JRC by independent  experts. 

Reference  is  made  to  the  follow-up  on  the  results.  The  results  of  this 
evaluation,  conducted  by  9  Visiting  Groups  to  the  JRC  Institutes  with 
an overall  evaluation by Sir  Hermann  Bondi, FRS, were  made  available 
to  the  Council,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Board  of  Governors 
as  soon  as  the  individual  reports  were  released  by  the  evaluators  and 
provided  early  guidelines  and  advice  for  the  discussions  in  1994  on 
the  JRC  specific  programmes  1995-1998  under  the  Framework 
Programmes.  The full set of  all evaluation reports  accompanied  by  the 
comments  of  the  Board  of  Governors  was  issued  by  the  Commission 

7) 

Commission Decision  written pioceduru  E 1412 95, 26.7.95 

-  13-

'  on  research  orientations,  research  management 

in  early  1995''.  The  evaluation  reports  include  118  recommendations 
issues,  customer 
relations,  quality  assurance  and  policy  issues  related  to  financial  and 
The  Board  of  Governors  m  1995,  at 
personnel  management. 
successive  meetings  with  the  JRC  management,  reviewed  in  detail  the 
follow-up  on  the  recommendations. 
It  was  found  in  September,  1995 
that  a  total  of  84  recommendations  were  fulfilled  or  under  immediate 
implementation.  A  few  recommendations  tell  outside  the  scope  of  the 
JRC  and  in  13  cases  needed  more  reflection,  which  has  now  led  to 
concrete  implementation  plans  but  in  a  few  cases,  cannot  presently  be 
implemented  due  to  incompatibility  with  the  regulations  in  force.  Some 
15  recommendations,  particularly  related  to  management  issues,  while 
they  were  judged  acceptable,  could  not  likewise  be  implemented  within 
the  rules  and  regulations  currently  governing  the  JRC. 

35.  More  recently,  the  Report  of  the  1995  Framework  Monitoring  Panel  of 
"the  Commission  should  give 
that 
March  1996  has  advised 
consideration  to  changes  in  the  reporting  of  the  JRC's  activities,  which 
reflect  its  prominent  position  within  the  Framework  Programme  through 
both  direct  and  indirect  action.".  The  Commission  is  concerned  that 
more  and  adequately  structured  information  should  be  available.  One 
action  being  considered  is  discussions  with  the  Board  of  Governors  on 
ways  to  improve  the  reporting  of  the  JRC's  activities 
from  1996 
onwards. 

36.  On  the  occasion  of  the  5-years'  evaluation  of  the  Community  research 
activities,  as  foreseen  in  the  Decisions  on  the  Framework  Programme, 
an  evaluation  will  be  performed  by  Visiting  Groups  of  external  experts 
to  the  JRC  Institutes,  as  was  the  case  for  the  1994  evaluations.  The 
late 
calendar  established  calls  for  the  reports 
October  1996. 

to  be  available 

in 

Relations  with  Programme  Committees 

37.  The  Council  Conclusions,  as  well  as  the  Council  Decisions  on  the  JRC 
specific  programmes,  underlined  the  role  of  the  Board  of  Governors  as 
being  the  committee  in  charge  of  assisting  the  Commission  in  the 
programme  implementation.  Nevertheless,  the  Council  Conclusions 
institutional 
prescribed  effective  coordination  between  the  Centre's 
research  activities  and 
the 
in 
for 
the  other  activities  provided 
Framework  Programmes,  through  the  systematic  exchange  of  views 
between  the  JRC,  the  Board  of  Governors  and  the  Committees  for  the 
specific  programmes.  This  concerns  six  themes  from  the  Framework 
Programmes  (next  to  the  theme  of  Thermo-nuclear  Fusion,  where  the 
JRC  contribution  is  fully  integrated  in  the  specific  community  Fusion 
Programme  work  through  a  Coordination  Committee  between  DG  XII  -
Fusion  and  JRC). 

While  the  JRC  has  contributed  to  all  relevant  programme  committees, 
an  exchange  of  views  with  the  participation  of  Members  of  the  Board 
of  Governors  has  been  conducted  with  four  of  these  programme 
committees,  thus  making  the  committees  familiar  with  the  JRC  work  in 
the  respective  themes.  The  Board  of  Governors  has  declared  its 
to 
intention 
encompass  all  relevant  programme  committees.  Both  the  JRC  and 
the  Board  of  Governors  find  that  the  first  experiences  demonstrate 
there  is  room  for  progress,  but  with  respect  to  the  remit  of  the  Board 
of  Governors. 

these  mutually  useful  meeting  points 

intensify 

to 

8) 

COM(95)60  final,  6.3  95 

To this end, a programme  committee  (nuclear  fission  safety)  has taken 
the  initiative  to  fully  integrate  the  JRC  in  its  recent  efforts  in  the 
coordination of  Community  and national research in this  field. 

Board of Governors 

38.  The  terms  of  reference  for  this  body  of  high-level  representatives  of 
the  Member  States  is  decided  by  the  Commission.  Over  the  years 
these  terms  of  reference  have  undergone  an  evolution  towards 
strengthening  the  role  of  the  Board  of  Governors  in  assisting  and 
advising  the  Director  General  of  the  JRC  in  all  aspects  of  the  JRC 
planning  operations  and  providing  advice  to  the  Commission.  An 
amended  version  of  the  terms  of  reference  of  November  19949  took 
fully  into account  the  new  spectrum  of  competitive  activities  introduced 
in the  modes  of  operation  and was  reconfirmed  by  the  Commission  in 
early  1996">. 

that 

Furthermore,  the  Council  Decisions  on  the  JRC  specific  programmes 
stipulate 
their 
implementation  and be  assisted  in this  task  by  the  Board  of  Governors 
and  assign  a  role  to  the  Board  of  Governors  in  relation  to  reporting 
and evaluating the activities. 

the  Commission  shall  be  responsible 

for 

39.  The  Board  of  Governors,  consequently  -  as  foreseen  in  the  Council 
Conclusions  -  exercised  and  continues  to  exercise  its  role  in  the 
implementation  of  these  Conclusions  and  guidelines  for  the  new 
approach  set  out  for  the  JRC.  The  Board's  independent  views  on  the 
achievements  obtained  so  far  and  the  further  steps  it  advises  to  be 
taken  are  given  in the  Opinion  attached  to  the  present  Communication 
and which the Commission acknowledges. 

CONCLUSION 

40.  The  present  Communication  from  the  Commission  provides  a  review 
of  the  situation  at  mid-1996  -  point  by  point  -  on  the  progress  in 
implementing  the  1994  Council  Conclusions  on  the  Role  of  the  JRC. 
They  called  tor  new  modes  of  operation  and  it  can  be  seen  that  the 
JRC,  without  exception,  has  fully  engaged  itself  in  these  and  yielded 
promising  first  results.  There  has  been  particular  attention  on the  new 
range of  competitive  activities  assigned to the Centre. 

for  progress  on 

Many  changes  in  the  overall  approach  to  the  JRC  and  its  operations 
are  also  under  way  and,  as  illustrated  in  the  Communication,  there  is 
still  room 
the  emerging  new 
developments.  This  applies  notably  to the  further  commercialisation  of 
the  research  results  and  the  introduction  of  yet  further  ways  for 
interactions  with  the  users  of  the  JRC  and  its  customer  relations, 
operating  under  rules  which  fully  allow  the  exploitation  of  the  JRC 
potentials. 

the  basis  of 

41.  Meanwhile, in its  proposal  for  the  second  adaptation  of  the  Framework 
Programmes  the  Commission  has  presented  new  perspectives  for  the 
bonding  of  research  and industry.  The  Green  Book  on  Innovation  also 
offers  novel  challenges  for  the  corporate  research  laboratory  of  the 
Innovative  concepts  for  more  intensive  industrial  collaboration, 
Union. 

9) 
10) 

O.J.  No L 330, p.64  of 21.12.94 
Article 4 of the Commission Decision 96 283. EURATOM,  O.J.  No. I  107.  of 30.4.iHi,p, 12 

-15-

such  as  those  suggested  by  IRDAC  (Industrial  Research  and 
'  Development  Advisory  Committee),  are  under  consideration. 

Demands  for  further  research  to  meet  societal  needs  of  a  Community 
dimension have been placed at the door of the JRC.  The  Commission 
intends to engage  the JRC  in these  developments  and  is reflecting on 
the role to be assigned to it. 

42.  To  meet  the  present  and future  challenges  the  JRC, with the  approval 
of  the  Board  of  Governors,  has  suggested  an  ambitious  strategy  for 
the  medium  and  long  term,  in  a  strategic  plan,  leaving  room  for  a 
continual  process  of  implementation  of the  Community  Institutions  and 
the Member  States' expectations of the Centre. 

43.  The  present  report,  as  intended  by  the  Commission,  provides  the 
status  at  a  given  check-point  in the  ongoing evolution  of  an  important 
instrument  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  European  Union's  objectivés  -  the 
Joint Research Centre. 

Activities 

Industrial 
technologies and 
material 
technologies 
Measurement 
and  testing 
Environment 
and climate 
Non-nuclear 
energy 
Targeted  socio 
economic 
research 
Nuclear  safety 
and  safeguards 
Controlled 
thermonuclear 
fusion 
Total 

12.97 

16.82 

28.91 

2.66 

3.11 

28.03 

7.50 

100.00 

ANNEX I 

JRC institutional research activities 1996 

Controlled 
thermonuclear 
fusion 

Industrial technologies 
and material 
technologies  12.97% 

Nuclear  safety 
and 
safeguards 
28.03% 

Targeted 
socio-economic 
research 
3.11 

Non-nuclear 
energy 
2.66% 

16 

Measurement 
and testing 
16.82% 

Environment 
and climate 
28.91% 

ANNEX II 

Number of Publications written by JRC Scientists 

EUR 
Reports 

Conference 
Papers 

Articles  In 
Scientific 
Journals  with 
Referee  system 

1994 

1995 

103 

117 

646 

772 

195 

233 

TOTAL 

944 

1122 

Sources: JRC Annual  Reports 

17 

ANNEX  III (a) 

List  of the  Inter-DG  Agreements  in Institutional  Support to the  Commission 

Directorate 
General 

Subjects 
' 

D a te  of 

Signature 

S.G.  -  UCLAFO 

Antifraud  Policy  Support  Office 

F.S.U.  ("") 

Prospective  Technological  Studies 

I 

III 

III 

III 

VI 

XI 

XI 

XI 

XI 

XI 

XVII 

XVII 

XXIV 

IAEA  Safeguards  Support 

Information  Technologies 

Foodstuffs  Analysis 

Industrial  Innovation  Systems  - Technology  Foresight  and 
Prospective  Studies 

Agricultural  Policies  (Monitoring  MARS-STAT,  MARS-PAC 
FEOGA,  Animal  Identification,  BEVABS,  Quality  Control  of 
Foodstuffs) 

ECVAM  - ECB  - ERLAP  -  REM 

Major  Accident  Hazards  Bureau 

Biotechnology  Safety 

22.12.1995 

21.6.1996 

Pending 

25  04.1996 

03.06.1996 

Pending 

17.07.1995 

07.12.1995 

10.01.1994 

09.02.1996 

15.03.1996 

Nuclear  Safety  -  European  Networks  on  Component  Ageing, 

19.01.1996 

Inspection  Techniques  and  Structural  Integrity 

Nuclear  Safety  -  Harmonization  of  Safety  Criteria 

15.03.1996 

Nuclear  Safety  - European  Networks  on  Component  Ageing, 

23.01.1996 

Inspection  Techniques  and  Structural  Integrity 

On-site  Laboratories,  ECSAM,  Safeguards 

20.02.1996 

Quality  Control  - Cosmetics  - Salety  of  Products  -  Food 

23.10.1995 

Products 

EEA(***) 

Harmonisation  of  environmental  measurement  techniques 

02.02.1995 

EMEA(~") 
O 
n 
D 

ETOMEP:  European  Technical  Office  for  Medicinal  Products 

Unité  Coordination  Lutte  Antifraude 
Forward  Studies  Unit 
European  Environment  Agency 
European  Agency  for  the  Evolution  of  Medicinal  Products 

16.03.1995 

18 

JRC Institutional  Support  Activities 

ANNEX  III (b) 

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT ACTIVITIES 

DECISIONS. DIRECTIVES, REGULATIONS OF THE COUNCIL AND COMMUNICATIONS 
OF THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ON 
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT ACTIVITIES OF THE JRC 

Environment  and  Climate 

European  Reference  Laboratory  for  Air  Pollution  (ERLAP) 

European  Chemicals  Bureau  (ECB) 

European  Centre for the Validation of  Alternative  Methods 
(ECVAM) 

Support to the European Environment  Agency  (EEA) 

Work  in support  of  Directives  80779  EEC, 89 427 EEC. 82 884 EEC. 85'203 EEC and 
92 72 EEC 

Communication  from the Commission  to the  Council and European  Parliament 
(93C1 02). OJ No. C1 '3 of 5.01.1993 on the  European Chemicals  Bureau (ECB). 
Work  in support  of  Directives  67548  EEC. 92 32 EEC 

Communication from the Commission to the  Council and European  Parliament 
SEC(91)1794 final of  29.10.1991.  Establishment  of a European Center for the 
Validation of Alternate  Methods  (ECVAM). 
Work  in support  of  Directive  86 609 EEC 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No.  121090  of  7.5.1990 on the creation of the  European 
Environment  Agency  (OJ No. L120 1, 11.5.1990)  (see in particular Article  15 and 
Annex  A Cooperation with the JRC) 

European Community  Pharmaceutical  Information  Network 
'ECPHIN) 

Work  in support  of  Directives  93 '39 EEC. 93 40 EEC and Council  Regulations 
93 2309  EEC and EEC 237790 

Quality  Control of  Consumer  Products  (Consumer  Protection) 

Industrial  Reliability:  Major  Hazards.  Biotechnology  Safety 

Methodologies  for  UCLAF 

Agriculture  and  Fisheries 

Remote Sensing for Agriculture 

On Cosmetics:  6th modification  of  Regulation  EC 76 768 on Safety  of  Products: 
General  Safety  Directive  92'59 EEC of 29.6.1994 

Communication  COM(96)  7 final, on the  Major  Accident  Hazards  Bureau from the 
Commission  to the  Council and  European  Parliament: 
Work  in support  of  Directive  82'501 EEC 

Commission  Decision  SEC(87)  1310 6 and  SEC(95)249 

Decision of the Council of  14.11.1994 on Remote  Sensing applications to Agricultural 
Statistics  for  the period  1994-1998  (94753  EEC, OJ No. L299 27. 22.11.1994) 

19 

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT ACTIVITIES 

Animal  Identification 

I  — —— 

—• "* 

" I 

DECISIONS, DIRECTIVES, REGULATIONS OF THE COUNCIL AND COMMUNICATIONS 
OF THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ON 
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT ACTIVITIES OF THE JRC 

i 

European  Office for  Wine. Alcohol and Spirit  Drinks  (BEVABS) 

Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament 
(COM(93)360'3). Work  in support  of  Council  Regulations  (EEC)  No. 2048'89. 2348/91 
and 2347'91 and Commission  Regulation  No. 2676'90 

Reference  Measurements  and Materials for  Quality  Control of 
Foodstuffs 

EC Directives on foodstuffs  and other  consumer  goods 

Nuclear  Safety  and  Safeguards 

Euratom  Safeguards  Support:General 
Euratom  Safeguards  Support:  On-Site  laboratories  and ECSAM 

IAEA Safeguards  Support 

Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament of 
24.3.1992  fSEC  (92)515 final, concerning the Commission  Decision on on-site 
laboratories, for the period  1991-1996 (see in particular  Art.  16 Cooperation with the 
JRC) 
Communication from the  Commission  to the Council and European  Parliament 
COM(94)383 final, of  7.9.1994 concerning the  illicit  circulation of radioactive  material 

Communication from the Commission  to the Council  COM (80) 681 final, concerning 
an Agreement  in the form of  an Exchange of  Letters  between the  International Atomic 
Energy  Agency  on the one hand and the  Commission on behalf  of the  European 
Atomic  Energy Community,  on the other, on cooperation  in the field of  research and 
development  in Safeguards 

20 

JRC institutional s/t support activities 1996 

SG/UCLAF 
1.66% 

DGXXIV 
2.85% 

DG I 
5.64% 

DGXVII 
24.49% 

ANNEX IV 

DG III 

DG VI 
17.16% 

Activities 

SG/UCLAF 

DGÏ 

DGin 

DO VI 
DGXI 
DG XVII 
DG XXIV 
Total 

% 
1.66 

5.64 

9.65 

17.16 
38.55 
24.49 
2.85 
100.00 

DGXI 
38.55% 

21 

SHARED COST  ACTIONS 

JRC  INSTITUTES  RESPONSE TO THE  FIRST CALLS OF THE  4TH FWP 
(15/12/94 through 27/04/95) 
Summary  of  Results by Specific  Programme 

SPECIFIC  PROGRAMME 

JOINT  RESEARCH  CENTRE 

Submitted 

Accepted 

% 

1  Telematics 

2  Advanced  Communication  Technologies 

and  Services 

3.  Information  Technologies 

4. 

Industrial and  Materials  Technologies 

5.  Standards,  Measurement  and Testing 

6.  Environment  and  Climate 

7.  Marine  Sciences  and  Technologies 

8.  Biotechnology 

9.  Biomedicine  and  Health 

10. Agriculture  and  Fisheries 

11. Non-nuclear  Energy 
12. Nuclear  F:ission Safety 

13. Controlled  Thermonuclear  Fusion 

14. Transport 

[  15. Targeted  Socio-Economic  Research 

l 

| 

Activity  1: Research,  technological 
development  and  demonstration 
programmes  (sub-totals) 

16. Activity  2: Cooperation  with third 

countries  and international  organisations 

17. Activity  3: Dissemination  and  exploitation 

of  research  results 

18. Activity  4: Stimulation  of training  and 

mobility  of researchers  (TMR) 

13 

4 

8 

53 

27 

98 

12 

-

6 

4 

55 

45 

-

1 

-

326 

12 

5 

4 

5 

2 

1 

6 

8 

32 

1 

-

1 

0 

14 

25 

-

0 

38% 

50% 

13% 

11% 

30% 

33% 

8% 

-

17% 

0% 

25% 

56% 

-

0% 

I 

95 

29% 

1 

3 

1 

8% 

60% 

25% 

TOTAL 

347 

100 

29% 

22 

ANNEX VI 

TARGETS OF EVOLUTION  OF JRC COMPETITIVE ACTIVITIES  1995-1998 (in Mecu) 

I 
Updated 
Targets 
1995-1998 

II 
Earnings 
1995 

III 
Targets 
1996 
(new contracts) 

IV 
Targets 
1997 

V 
Targets 
1998 

Total ll-V 

Shared-cost  actions  50% 

Competitive  support 

Other  Community 
activities 

Third  Party  Work 

TOTAL 

27.7 

80.0 

18.0 

60.0 

185.7 

10.7 

12.0 

2.3 

18.40) 

43.4 

7.5 

19.5 

4.5 

20.0 

51.5 

6.0 

22.0 

4.0 

21.0 

53.0 

3.4 

26.6 

5.0 

22.0 

57.0 

27.6 

80.1 

15.8 

81.4 

204.9 

(1)  HFR  - Reactor  Third  Party  Work  not included. 

23 

Distribution  of  JRC  Cooperation with  National  Research  Organisations  and  Universities, by country 

Distribution  per 
country  in 
percentages 

Others 
13.0% 

BE 4.7% 

DK 2.0% 

- 
Country 

Percentage 

AT 
BE 
DK 
DE 
ES 
GR 
FI 
FR 
IRL 
IT 
LUX 
NL 
PT 
SE 
UK 
"Others 
Total 

4.9 
4.7 
2.0 
17.6 
5.8 
2.3 
2.3 
13.1 
1.2 
10.9 
0.4 
5.8 
2.3 
2.8 
10.9 m 
13.0  " " 

UK 10.9% 

LUX 0.4% 

J  100.0 

IT 10.9% 

IRL 1.2% 

FR 13.1% 

24 

f 

DE 17.6% 

ES 5.8% 

GR2.30/ 70 

FI 2.3% 

ANNEX VIII 

1995-1998 
TOTAL 

11,700,000 

89,500,000 

JRC COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS  1995-1998 (in ECU) 

Budget  Line 

Title 

1995  Execution 

1996  Budget 

1997  Proposed 

1998  Foreseen 

B6-2113 

B6-2121 

B6-2122 

B6-2131 

B6-2143 

B6-2151 

B6-2171 

B6-291 

'B6-3111 

B6-3121 

B6-391 

Information  Technologies 

1,924,124 

3,346,831 

3,219,103 

3,209,942 

Industrial and Material  Technologies 

24,983,909 

20,993,470 

21,499,776 

22,022,845 

Measurement  and Testing 

28,258,930 

27.171.331 

27,821.772 

28.547,967 

111,800.000 

Environment  and Climate 

Agriculture and Fisheries 

Non-nuclear  Energy 

Targeted  Socio-Economic  Research 

JRC  Participation in Shared Cost 
Actions  (EC)(50%) 

74,671,577 

75,924.604 

77,324.747 

78.979,072 

306,900,000 

10,228.685 

11,604.084 

13,883,237 

14,283,994 

5,040.023 

5,133.323 

51.102 

3,723.607 

9.178.246 

4.699.827 

4,117,059 

4.219.311 

10,206,430 

10.482,001 

6,880,876 

5.368,195 

50,000,000 

17,100,000 

35,000,000 

17,000.000 

TOTAL  EC  Programme 

150,291.672 

156,642.000 

164,953,000 

167.113.328 

639.000,000 

Nuclear  Fission Safety and 
Safeguards 

63,813,825 

64.193,094 

65,184.585 

66,608.496 

259,800,000 

Controlled Thermo-nuclear  Fusion 

11,486,770 

12,303,171 

12,587,121 

JRC Participation in Shared Cost 
Actions (EAEC)(50°/o) 

0 

2,799.735 

2,375,294 

12.622,938 

5,524,971 

49,000,000 
10,700,000 

TOTAL  EAEC  Programme 

75,300,595 

79,296,000 

80,147,000 

84,756,405 

TOTAL  EC  +  EAEC  Programmes 

225,592,267 

235,938,000 

245,100,000 

251,869,733 

25 

2£ 

CA(96)48 
9 August, 1996 

OPINION OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS 
OF THE JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE 

ON 

THE COMMUNICATION OF THE COMMISSION 
TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT 
ON PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 
COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS OF 26 APRIL 1994 ON THE 
ROLE OF THE JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE (JRC) 

INTRODUCTION 

1. 

2. 

The  Council  Conclusions  of  26  April  1994  on  the  Role  of  the  JRC  call  upon 
the  Commission  to  submit  a  report  in  1996  to  the  European  Parliament  and 
the  Council  on  the  Implementation  of  these  Conclusions,  after  obtaining  the 
Opinion  of 
the  European 
Parliament and the Council to draw up an assessment of the situation. 

the  Board  of  Governors,  so  as 

to  enable 

After  considering  the  text  of  the  report  from  the  Commission  and  following 
extensive  discussions  on  the  current  situation  of  the  JRC,  the  Board  of 
Governors expresses the following Opinion. 

JRC EVOLUTION S1MCE 1994 

3. 

4. 

The  Council  Conclusions  outline  the  role  of  the  JRC  and  set  out  guidelines 
for  its  operations.  They  signal  a  new  approach  to  the  JRC  and  call  for  a 
transition  which  should  be  introduced  progressively  during  the  period  from 
1995  to  1998.  This  includes  targets  for  a  novel  set  of  competitive  activities, 
the  necessary  changes  to  rules  and  regulations  governing  the  JRC  and  a 
call  for  further  collaboration  with  partners  belonging  to  all  the  Member 
States. 

The  JRC  is  now  approaching  mid-term  in  this  evolutionary  process,  for 
which  the  planning  was  initiated  with  the  Board  of  Governors  in  1994,  upon 
the  decisions  of  the  Framework  Programmes  for  1994-1998  and  the  issue  of 
the Council Conclusions on the Role of the JRC. 

The  report  from  the  Commission  and  the  JRC  1995  Annual  Report  which 
reports  on  the  first  year  under  the  modified  role  of  the  JRC,  clearly  bear 
witness  to  the  fact  that  encouraging  progress  has  already  been  made 
towards  fulfilling  the  intentions  of  the  Council,  the  European  Parliament  and 
the Commission. 

This  modified  role  included  participation  in  a  wider  spectrum  of  competitive 
activities  than  was  the  case  in  the  past.  The  JRC  should  participate  in 
Community  programmes  on  an  equal  basis  with  partners  from  research  and 
industry,  to  whom  collaboration  should  be  extended.  The  Board  notes  that 
the  Centre  responded  in  a  dynamic  way  to  the  new  challenge  and  that  it  has 
obtained  good  results  in  the  competition,  exceeding  expectations.  With 
regard  to  shared  cost  action  (specific)  programmes  under  the  Framework 
Programmes,  the  Board  wishes  to  draw  attention  to  the  fact  that  this 
encompasses  accepted  projects  outside  the  themes  where  the  JRC  has 
institutional  activities,  thus  capitalising  on  its  multi-disciplinary  competences. 
Good  results  were  also  obtained  for 
the  other  modes  of  competitive 
activities.  In general, targets were exceeded. 

At  the  same  time,  the  JRC  has  continued  through  its  institutional  activities  to 
contribute  to  the  formulation  and  implementation  of  Community  policies, 
including  research  policy.  Ties  with  national  research  activities  have  been 
reinforced and efforts in this direction should be maintained. 

Having  confirmed  its  overall  favourable  impression  with  progress  to  date, 
the  Board  emphasises,  however,  the  need  to  sustain  the  initiatives  already 
taken  and  remarks  that  there  is  still  room  for  improvement,  both  in  the 
operations  of  the  Centre  itself  and  In  the  boundary  conditions  which  govern 
its  activities  and that  an  effort  is  still  required  before  the  Council  Conclusions 
can be said to be fully implemented. 

THE WAY  FORWARD 

5. 

The  Board  welcomed  the  steps  taken  by  the  Commission  in  accordance 
with  its  recommendations  to  further  strengthen  the  commercialisation  and 
communication  of  the  JRC's  work  and  its  results.  The  addition  of  a  Deputy 
Director  General  to  the  management  team  of  the  Centre  is  welcomed  and 
should  facilitate  further  progress  in  this  direction.  Related  to  this,  the  Board 
points  to  new  ways  in  which  the  JRC  in  fulfilment  of  its  objectives  may 
industry,  and  a  series  of 
further  augment 
additional  measures 
(performance 
indicators) of the JRC, its institutes and the satisfaction of its customers. 

its  relations  with  European 
for  measuring 

the  performance 

The  Board  notes  that  its  relations  with  the  committees  of  the  specific 
programmes  which  share  the  same  framework  programmes  lines  with  the 
JRC  own  research  programmes,  have  been  initiated  but  need  strengthening. 
Specifically,  it  would  be  beneficial  for  Institute  Directors  to  have  detailed 
annual discussions with relevant Programme Committees. 

With  regard  to  the  management  team  of  the  JRC,  the  Board  has  also,  as 
described  in  its  Observations  to  the  JRC  Annual  Report  1995,  advised  the 
Commission  on  appointments  to  vacant  senior  posts  at  Institute  Director 
level.  The  considerable  number  of  highly  qualified  applicants  confirmed  the 
exciting  and  challenging  nature  of  these  posts  and  the  growing  recognition 
of the merits of the JRC in the European scientific and industrial community. 

6. 

to  give 

As  prescribed  in  the  Council  Conclusions  and  recorded  in  the  Report  of  the 
-  Commission,  thé  new  modes  of  operation  of  the  JRC,  and  notably  the 
competitive  activities,  required  a  series  of  amendments  to  the  rules  and 
regulations  governing  the  JRC  and  its  working  methods.  Such  amendments 
and  new  rules  have  been  implemented  and  the  Board  welcomes  the 
Commission's  Decision 
the  JRC  status  as  an  autonomous 
Directorate  General.  As  indicated  previously  in  the  Observations  to  the  JRC 
Annual  Report  1995, the  Board  is  of  the  firm  opinion  that  a  further  evolution 
in  the  status  of  the  JRC  within  the  Commission  is  essential  to  allow  the 
Centre  to  fully  live  up  to  expectations  for  its  working  methods  and  relations 
with 
the  Framework 
Programmes  arid  highlighted  in  the  Council  Conclusions.  Whereas  a  series 
of 
incremental!  changes  have  been  accomplished,  a  more  basic 
reorganisation  of  the  JRC  statute  is  called  for.  The  Board  acknowledges  the 
Commissioner's 
indications  of  the  intentions  in  this  direction  and  looks 
forward  to  playing  a  full  part  in  advising  on  these  important  matters,  which 
for  the  benefit  of  the  JRC  may  include  a  redefinition  of  the  operation  and 
responsibilities of the Board itself. 

research,  as  set  out  by 

industry  and  national 

Like  the  staff  of  many  other  European  research  institutes,  the  JRC  staff  has 
an  age  distribution  which  will  continually  result  in  vacancies  in  the  coming 
few  years,  a  process  which  is  already  in  progress  and'  which  requires 
replacements  at  all  levels.  The  JRC  is  about  to  undergo  significant  changes 
involving  increased  participation  in  competitive  activities  and  an  improved 
responsiveness  to  the  new  needs  of  its  customers,  and  an  increased 
flexibility  in  its  operations  is  necessary. 
In this  situation  the  Commission  has 
established  a  new  policy  for  its  entire  research  personnel,  including  JRC 
staff. 
Its  most  important  feature  is  the  three  categories:  officials,  temporary 
agents  and  the  new  category  of  temporary  agents  having  non-renewable, 
three  year  contracts,  and  the  assignment  of  goals  for  the  proportion 
between  these  categories  (40%,  35%  and  25%).  Ever  since  its  inception  it 
has  had  the  attention  of  the  Board.  Whereas  the  Board  welcomes  the 
Commission's  recognition  of  the  need  for  a  contingent  of  highly  mobile  staff, 
it  has  persistently  expressed  reservations  as  far  as  the  JRC  is  concerned 
with  regard  to  the  implications  of  raising  the  proportion  of  officials,  at 
present  33%,  within  the  total  staff  contingent  of  the  JRC.  The  Board 
expects to be consulted on this process of change. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

7. 

The  Board  finally  notes  that  the  Council  Conclusions  underlined  its  role  in 
implementing  the  conclusions  and  guidelines.  The  Board  appreciates  the 
responsiveness  it  has  had  from  the  Commissioner  and  the  Director  General, 
in  particular,  to  its  views  and  advice,  but  notes  that  its  views  on  the  above-
mentioned  staff  policy  have  not  fully  been  taken  into  account.  The  Board 
for 
looks  forward  to  further  discussions  on 

it  has  had  with  the  Commissioner 

* welcomes  the  several  contacts 

Research,  Mrs.  Edith  Cresson,  and 
the evolution of the JRC status and strategy. 

2  *$ 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(96) 436 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

15 

Catalogue number  : CB-CO-96-438-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-08592-8 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European Communities 

L-2985  Luxembourg