Proposal for a Council Decision approving amendments to the Statutes of the Joint European Torus (JET), Joint Undertaking
Date: 1998-01-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Joint European Torus, legal status, operation of the Institutions, personnel administration, servant (EU)

COMMISSION  OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  16.01.1998 
final 
COM(1998)  13 

Proposal  for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

approving amendments to the Statutes of the Joint European Torus (JET), Joint 
Undertaking 

(presented by the Commission) 

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

JET  is  a  Joint  Undertaking -within  the  meaning  of  Chapter  V  of  Title  Two  of  the  Euratom 
Treaty, established by Decision 78/471/Euratom  of the Council of the European Communities. 
The  Statutes of the Joint Undertaking, Joint European Torus  (JET) were adopted by  the same 
Decision.  The Joint Undertaking  is currently established (Council Decision 96/305/Euratom2) 
until31 December 1999. 

Amendments to the Statutes 

Amendment of the regulations applicable to the staff of the Project Team 

1. 

2. 

In its judgment of  12 December  1996 (Joined Cases T-177/94 and T-377/94, the Court 
of  First  Instance  held  that  "Article 8.4  and  8.5  of  the  Statutes, the supplementary 
provisions implementing  them and the administrative  rules intended to give  effect to 
them are illegal in sofar  as they establish or help to maintain a difference in  treatment 
that is without objective justiflcation and is thus itnlawful,  as between two categories of 
JET staff, depending on the member organization making the staff concerned available 
to the Joint Undertaking,  inparticular as regards prospects of recruitment to the service 
ofthe  Communities".  The JET Council has conflrmed  that the JET statutes  should be 
amended. 

Acting  on  the judgment  of  the  Court  of  First  Instance,  at  its  meeting  of  22  and  23 
October  1997, the JET Council  approved  a proposal to  amend Articles 4 and  8 of the 
JET  Statutes,  aimed  at  replacing  the  provisions  conceming  the  composition  of  the 
Project Team by a new uniform  system of secondment of personnel from the Members 
ofthe Joint Undertaking having Association Contracts with Euratom, or limited duration 
contracts in the framework ofthe  Euratom Fusion Programme in Member States where 
there  is  no  Association.  This  personnel  will  remain  in  the  employment  of  these 
organizations. These provisions, which will apply only to new personnel made available 
by the organizations concerned, will have no effect on the situation ofthe staff  currently 
assigned to the Project Team by the Commission and by the UKAEA. 

The  JET  Council  invited  the  Commission  to  submit the proposed  amendments  to  the 
Council ofthe European Union for approval. 

implementing  provisions  (entitled 
It  should  be  noted 
"Supplementary Rules concerning the Assignment and Management of the Staff  of the 
JET Joint Undertaking") should also be amended to bring these provisions into line with 

the  supplementary 

that 

OJNoL  151,7.6.1978, p.10. 

OJNoL117,  14.5.96, p.9. 

the proposed  amendments to Article  8 of  the JET Statutes when the  latter have  been 
adopted.  The  proposed  new  Article  8.5  provides  that  the  adoption  of  these 
supplementary provisions should remain in the competence of the JET Council as in the 
past. These provisions  should  also  cover  the transitional  provisions  for  Project  Team 
staff assigned to the Joint Undertaking by the Commission and by the UKAEA, as well 
as the rules applicable to the secondment of personnel from the Parent Organizations to 
the Joint Undertaking. 

Amendments of the membership of the Joint Undertaking JET 

3. 

The Forschungszentrum Jiilich GmbH (KFA, Federal Republic of Germany), a Member 
of the Joint Undertaking, gave notice to the Project Director on 9 December  1996 of its 
intention  to  withdraw  from  the  Joint  Undertaking.  Under  Article  20.2  of  the  JET 
Statutes this withdrawal should take effect  on 31 December  1997, i.e. at the end of the 
financial year following that in which notice of withdrawal was given. At its meeting of 
1 9 - 20  March  1997,  in  accordance  with  Article  20.3  of  the  JET  Statutes,  the  JET 
Council decided that the Joint Undertaking should continue. 

At  the  same  time,  the  Forschungszentrum  Karlsruhe  (FZK,  Federal  Republic  of 
Germany) sent to the Director of the JET Project a request for membership of the Joint 
Undertaking  with  effect  from  1 January  1998.  As  provided  for  in  Article  18  of  the 
Statutes, this request was transmitted to the JET Council. 

At  its  meeting  of  19-20  March  1997,  the  JET  Council  agreed  and  invited  the 
Commission to submit to the Council of the European Union the proposal to amend the 
Statutes required for this withdrawal and this new membership. 

4. 

Following the conclusion of a Contract of Association between Euratom and the Dublin 
City University  (DCU) which was concluded on  19 August  1996, the Irish authorities 
requested the Director of the Project the replacement of Ireland, a current member of the 
Joint Undertaking, by the DCU. 

In  addition,  the  Portuguese  authorities  requested  the  Director  of  the  project  the 
replacement of the Junta Nacional de Investigacao Cientifica e Tecnologica  (JNCIT), a 
current member of the Joint Undertaking,  by  the Instituto  de Cooperacao  Cientifica  e 
Tecnologica Internacional (ICCTI). 

The  JET  Council  approved  these  requests  (at  its  meetings  of  19-20  June  and  22-23 
October  1997 respectively) and invited the Commission to submit to the Council  of the 
European Union the corresponding amendments to the Statutes. 

5. 

Following  the  accession  of  Austria  to  the  European  Union  on  1  January  1995,  the 
Osterreichische  Akademie  der  Wissenschaften  (OAW)  applied  for  membership  of the 
Joint  Undertaking.  In  accordance  with  Article  18  of  the  Statutes,  this  request  was 
transmitted  to  the  Project  Director,  who  transmitted  it  to  the  JET  Council.  After 
consultation  of its Members by written procedure in accordance with Article  6.2  of the 

Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  JET  Council,  the  latter  agreed  to  the  amendments  of  the 
Statutes required  for the admission  of the new Member and invited the Commission to 
submit these amendments to the Council of the European Union. 

Qther amendments 

6. 

7. 

a) 

Article 22.2 of the JET Statutes refers to the UK Companies Act  1948 and  1967. These 
Acts were replaced by the UK Companies Act  1985 and  1989. In its report on the  1996 
accounts of JET, the Court of Auditors recommended that this amendment  be made to 
the  JET  Statutes.  At  its  meeting  of  22-23  October  1997, the  JET  Council  invited  the 
Commission  to  submit  to  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  the  necessary 
modifications to the JET Statutes. 

The proposed amendments refer to the following Articles of the JET Statutes: 

In the list of members of the Joint Undertaking referred to in Article 1.3: 

the  Forschungszentrum  Julich  GmbH 
Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe  (FZK); 

(KFA)  should  be 

replaced  by 

the 

Ireland should be replaced by the Dublin City University (DCU); 

the Junta Nacional de Investigacao Cientifica e Tecnologica (JNICT) should be replaced 
by the Instituto de Cooperacao Cientifica  e Tecnologica Internacional (ICCTI); 

the name of  the  Austrian  Member,  the  Osterreichische Akademie  der  Wissenschaften 
(OAW), should be inserted. 

b) 

Article  4.1.1  which  stipulates  the  composition  of,  and  the  voting  rights  in  the  JET 
Council should be modified  as follows: 

Changes that do not affect  the number of representatives or the number ofvotes 

In the line "IPP and KFA jointly", the acronym KFA is replaced by the acronym FZK. 

In the line "Ireland", Ireland is replaced by the acronym DCU. 

In the line "JNICT", the acronym JNICT is replaced by the acronym ICCTI. 

Changes that affect the number of representatives and the number ofvotes 

The  acronym  OAW  shall  be  inserted  in  the  "Representing"  list.  Like  all  States 
represented  in the JET Joint Undertaking, Austria will have two representatives. These 
two  representatives  will  together  have  two  votes.  This  change  will  bring  the  total 
number ofvotes in the JET Council from 45 to 47. 

c) 

d) 

e) 

8. 

The total votes required  for  the adoption  of  acts, as stipulated  in Article  4.1.2, will be 
increased from 30 to 31. 

Article  4.2.2  (d)  should  be  amended  to  bring  it  into  line  with  the  new  provisions  of 
Article  8. Articles  8.1, 8.3,  8.4,  8.5,  and  8.7  should  be  replaced  by  the  proposed  new 
provisions. Articles 8.8 and 8.9 should be deleted. 

In Article 22.2 the reference  to the UK Companies Act  1948 and  1967 will be replaced 
by a reference to the UK Companies Act  1985 and 1989. 

Pursuant  to  Article  24.2  of  the  JET  Statutes  (in  accordance  with  Article  50  of  the 
Euratom  Treaty), only the  Commission  is  empowered  to  submit  these  amendments  to 
the  Statutes  of  the  JET  Joint  Undertaking  to  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  for 
approval. 

Participation by Euratom in thefinancing 

9. 

These amendments have no financial impact on the Community budget 

Proposed Decision 

Pursuant  to  Article  24.2  of  the  JET  Statutes  (in  accordance  with  Article  50  of  the  Euratom 
Treaty, these amendments to the  Statutes require the approval  of the Council  of the  European 
Union. 

Consequently, the Commission proposes that the Council: 

adopts the attached Decision approving the amendments to the Statutes of the 
Joint European Torus (JET), Joint Undertaking. 

PROPOSAL 
fora 
COUNCILDECISION 

approving amendments to the Statutes of the Joint European Torus (JET), Joint 
Undertaking 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard to the Treaty  establishing  the European Atomic Energy Community,  and in 
particular Article 50  thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament1, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic  and Social Committee  , 

Whereas,  for  the  purpose  of  implementing  the  JET  Project,  the  Council,  by  Decision 
78/471/Euratom3,  established  the  Joint  European  Torus  (JET),  Joint  Undertaking,  and 
adopted the Statutes thereof,  as last amended by Decision 96/305/Euratom4; 

Whereas, Articles  4  and 8 of  the JET Statutes  should bc  amended  following  the judgment 
of  the  Court  of  First  Instance  of  12  December  1996  in  Joined  Cases  T-177/94  and  T-
377/94; 

Whereas,  the  Forschungszentrum  Julich  Gmbh  (KFA)  has  given  notice  of  its  withdrawal 
from  the  Joint  Undertaking  from  31  December  1997;  whereas  the  Forschungszentrum 
Karlsruhe  (FZK)  has  applied  for  membership  of  the  Joint  Undertaking  from  1  January 
1998;  whereas  the  JET  Council  has  approved  this  withdrawal  from  and  application  for 
membership of the Joint Undertaking and the amendments required thereby; 

Whereas,  following  the  conclusion  of  a Contract  of  Association  between  Euratom  and the 
Dublin  City University  (DCU), the Dublin  City University  is replacing  Ireland  as Member 
of  the  Joint  Undertaking;  whereas  the  Instituto  de  Cooperacao  Cientifica  e  Tecnologica 
Intemacional  (ICCTI)  is  replacing  the  Junta  Nacional  de  Investigacao  Cientifica  has 
approved the amendments to the Statutes required by these changes; 

Whereas,  following  the  accession  of  Austria  to  the  European  Union,  the  Osterreichische 
Akademie  der  Wissenschaften  (OAW)  has  applied  for  membership  of  the  Joint 
Undertaking; whereas the JET Council has approved this application for membership of the 
Joint Undertaking and the amendments to the Statutes required thereby; 

OJNo.. 

2 

OJNo 

OJNoL  151,7.6.1978, p.lO. 

OJNoL  117, 14.5.1996, p.9. 

Whereas the JET Council has approved another amendment to the Statutes required by the 
adoption of the new UK Companies Act 1985 and 1989, 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

The amendments to the  Statutes  of  the 'Joint European Torus  (JET), Joint Undertaking', 
annexed to this Decision, are hereby approved.  x 

Article 2 

This  Decision  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  day  following  that  of  its  publication  in  the 
Offlcial Joumal of the European Communities. 

Doneat 

, 

For the Council 

The President 

ANNEX 

1. 

Article  1.3  of the  Statutes  of the  'Joint  European  Torus  (JET), Joint  Undertaking' 
shall be replaced by the following: 

' 1.3 

The Joint Undertaking shall have the following Members: 

The European Atomic Energy Community (hereinafter referred to as "Euratom"), 

The  Belgian  State  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  "Belgium"),  acting  for  its  own  part 
("Laboratoire de physique des plasmas of the Ecole Royale Militaire - Laboratorium 
voor  plasmaphysica  van  de  Koninklijke  Militaire  School")  and  on  behalf  of  the 
"Universite libre de Bruxelles" ("Service de physique statistique, plasmas et optique 
non  lineaire  de  l'ULB")  and  of  the  "Centre  d'Etude  de  l'Energie  Nucleaire" 
(CEN)/"Studiecentrum voor Kernenergie" (SCK), 

the  "Centro  de  Investigaciones  Energeticas  Medioambientales  y  Tecnologicas", 
Spain (hereinafter referred to as "CIEMAT"), 

the  "Commissariat  a  l'Energie  Atomique",  France  (hereinafter  referred  to  as 
"CEA"), 

the "Ente per le Nuove Tecnologie, l'Energia e rAmbiente" (hereinafter  referred  to 
as "ENEA" which since 1  January  1986, has represented all Italian activities  falling 
within the Euratom Fusion Programme  including that of the "Consiglio Nazionale 
delle Ricerche", CNR), 

the Hellenic Republic (hereinafter referred to as "Greece"), 

the  "Forschungszentrum  Karlsruhe",  Federal  Republic  of  Germany  (hereinafter 
referred to as " FZK"), 

the "Forskningscenter Riso", Denmark, (hereinafter referred to as "Riso"), 

the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (hereinafter  referred to as "Luxembourg"), 

the  "Instituto  de  Cooperacao  Cientifica  e  Tecnologica  Internacional,  Portugal, 
(hereinafter  referred to as "ICCTI"), 

the "Dublin City University", Ireland (hereinafter referred to as "DCU") 

the  "Max-Planck-Gesellschaft  zur Forderung  der Wissenschaften  e.V.-  Institut  fur 
Plasmaphysik", Federal Republic of Germany  (hereinafter  referred to as "IPP"), 

the "Swedish Natural Science Research Council" (hereinafter  referred to as "NFR"), 

the Swiss Confederation  (hereinafter referred to as "Switzerland"), 

the  "Stichting  voor  Fundamenteel  Onderzoek  der  Materie",  the  Netherlands 
(hereinafter referred to as "FOM"), 

the  "United  Kingdom  Atomic  Energy  Authority" (hereinafter  referred  to  as  "the 
Authority" or "the Host Organization"), 

The  "Technology  Development  Centre  of  Finland"  (hereinafter  referred  to  as 
"TEKES"), 

the  "Osterreichische  Akademie  der  Wissenschaften"  (hereinafter  referred  to  as 
"OAW").' 

2. 

Article 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 shall be replaced by the following: 

'4.1.1  The Members of the Joint Undertaking shall be represented in the JET Council as 
follows, the vote of each pair of representatives being weighted as indicated: 

Representing 

Number of 
representatives 

Weighting 
ofvote 

Euratom 

Belgium 

CIEMAT 

CEA 

ENEA 

Greece 

Riso 

Luxembourg 

DCU 

ICCTI 

IPP and FZK jointly 

NFR 

Switzerland 

FOM 

Authority 

TEKES 

OAW 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

% 

5 

2 

3 

5 

5 

1 

2 

1 

1 

2 

5 

2 

2 

2 

5 

2 

2 

4.1.2  For their adoption, acts of the JET Council shall require at least 31 votes in favour.' 

3. 

Article 4.2.2. (d) shall be replaced by the following: 

'(d) 

nominate the Director and the senior staffof  the Project and determine their 
period of secondment,  approve the main structure of the Project  Team and 
decide the procedures for the secondment and management of staff;' 

4. 

Articles 8.1, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, and 8.7 shall be replaced by the following: 

. 1  The Project Team shall assist the Director of the Project in the performance of his 

duties.  Its  staff  shall  be  fixed  in the staff  establishment  as defined  in  the annual 
budget.  It  shall  be  composed  of  staff  coming  from  the  Members  of  the  Joint 
Undertaking as provided for in Article 8.3.' 

8.3 

The Members of the Joint Undertaking  having association  contracts with  Euratom, 
or limited duration contracts in the framework of the Euratom Fusion Programme in 
Member  States  where  there  is no  association  (hereafter  referred  to  as the  Parent 
Organisation)  shall  make  available  to  the  Joint  Undertaking  qualified  scientific, 
technical and administrative staff. 

8.4 

Staff made available by Parent Organisations shall be seconded to the Joint 
Undertaking and shall: 

(a) remain throughout the period of secondment in the employment of their Parent 
Organisations on the terms and conditions of service of those Organisations; 

(b)  be  entitled,  throughout  the  period  of  their  secondment  to  an  allowance  as 
specified  in  the  "Rules  applicable  to  Secondment  of  Personnel  from  Parent 
Organisations to the Joint Undertaking" adopted by the JET Council  under  Article 
8.5.' 

8.5 

8.7 

The JET Council  shall  adopt  the detailed  procedures  for the management  of  staff 
(including "Rules applicable to Secondment of Personnel from Parent Organisations 
to the Joint  Undertaking")  as well as transitional  provisions  for Project  Team  staff 
assigned  to  the Joint  Undertaking  by  the  Commission  and the host  organisation 
prior to the entry into force of the above provisions.' 

All staff expenditure, including reimbursement  of staff  expenditure incurred by the 
seconding Parent Organisations and expenditure related to staff assigned to the Joint 
Undertaking  by the Commission  and the host  organisation  prior  to the entry  into 
force of the above provisions, shall be borne by the Joint Undertaking.' 

5. 

6. 

Articles 8.8 and 8.9 shali be deleted. 

Article 22.2 shall be replaced by the following: 

'22.2.  Without  prejudice  to  the  provisions  of  the  third  paragraph  of  Article  49  of  the 
Euratom Treaty, for the avoidance of doubt the Joint Undertaking shall not be regarded as a 
company  within  the  meaning  of  the  Companies  Act  1985  and  1989  of  the  United 
Kingdom.' 

lo 

ISSN  0254-1475 

COM(98) 13 final 

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Catalogue  number  :  CB-CO-98-010-EN-C 

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