Proposal for a Council Decision adopting a specific programme for research and technological development, including demonstration, to be carried out by means of direct actions for the European Community (1998-2002) by the Joint Research Centre
Date: 1998-06-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, EU research policy, Joint Research Centre, innovation, research and development, research expenditure (EU)

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Proposal  for  a  Council  Decision  adopting  a  specific  programme  for  research  and  technological
development,  including  demonstration,  to  be  carried  out  by  means  of  direct  actions  for  the
European  Community  (1998-2002)  by  the  Joint  Research  Centre

(98/C  260/08)

(Text  with  EEA  relevance)

COM(98)  305  final  —  98/0184  (CNS)

(Submitted  by  the  Commission  on  10  June  1998)

THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European
Community,  and  in  particular  Article  130I  (4)  thereof,

Having  regard  to  the  proposal  from  the  Commission,

Having  regard 
Parliament,

to 

the  opinion  of 

the  European

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

Whereas,  by  Decision  No  . . ./. . ./EC (1),  the  European
Parliament  and  the  Council  adopted  a  fifth  framework
programme  of  the  European  Community  activities  in  the
field  of 
technological  development  and
demonstration  (RTD)  for  the  period  1998  to  2002,
specifying  inter  alia  the  activities  to  be  carried  out  by
means  of  direct  action;

research, 

Whereas Article 130 I (3) of the Treaty stipulates that the
framework  programme  shall  be  implemented  through
specific  programmes  developed  within  each  of  the
activities integrating it, and that each specific programme
shall  define  the  detailed  rule  for  its  implementation,  fix
its  duration  and  provide 
the  means  deemed
necessary;

for 

Whereas,  according  to  Article  4(2)  of  the  European
Parliament  and  Council  Decision  No  1110/94/EC  of  26
April  1994,  concerning  the  European  Community  fourth
framework  programme  for  activities  in  the  field  of
research,  technological  development  and  demonstration
(1994  to  1998) (2)  and  to  Article  7(3)  of  the  Council

Decision related to the specific programmes implementing
the  Direct  Action  in  the  fourth  framework  programme,
the  Commission  has  requested  to  proceed  to  an  external
its
evaluation  which  has  been 
conclusions 
the  European
Parliament,  to  the  Council,  to  the  Economic  and  Social
Committee  and  to  the  Committee  of  the  Regions;

and  observations, 

transmitted,  with 

to 

Whereas  the  Board  of  Governors  of  the  JRC  has  been
consulted on the scientific and technological objectives of
this  specific  programme  as  described  in  the  working
document  adopted  on  5th  November  1997 (3)  by  the
Commission  and  also  on  the  present  Decision;

Whereas  according  to  Article  130  J  of  the  Treaty,  the
Decision  . . ./. . ./EC (4),  concerning  the  rules  for  the
participation  of  undertakings,  research  centres  and
universities  and  for  the  dissemination  of  research  results,
is  applied  to  the  present  specific  programme  and  allows
the  participation  of  the  Joint  Research  Centre  in  indirect
actions;

in 

the 

implementation  of 

Whereas 
the  present
programme, international co-operation activities could be
appropriate,  in  conformity  with  notably  Article  130  M,
with  third  countries  or  international  organisations;

Whereas  the  implementation  of  the  present  programme
also 
includes  activities  and  mechanisms  aiming  to
in
stimulate,  disseminate  and  exploit  RTD  results, 
particular towards small and medium enterprises (SMEs),
as  well  as  activities  supporting  mobility  and  training  of
researchers;

Whereas,  according  to  the  objectives  of  the  first  Action
Plan  for  Innovation,  research  activities  in  the  fifth
framework  programme  must  be  better  oriented  to

(1)  Common  position  31/98,  adopted  by  the  Council  on  23

March  1998  (OJ  C  178,  10.6.1998,  p.  1).

(2)  OJ  L  126,  18.5.1994,  p.  1.  Decision  as  last  amended  by
Decision  No  2535/97/EC  (OJ  L  347,  18.12.1997,  p.  1).

(3)  COM(97)553  final.
(4)  COM(97)587  final  (OJ  C  40,  7.2.1998,  p.  14).

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innovation;  whereas  the  JRC  should  actively  pursue
activities  in  innovation  and  technology  transfer;

Whereas  implementation  of  this  programme  should  be
monitored  with  a  view  to  its  possible  adaptation  to
scientific  and  technological  developments  and  needs;
whereas  in  due  course  there  should  be  an  independent
evaluation  of  the  progress  of  the  programme;

HAS  ADOPTED  THIS  DECISION

Article  1

In  conformity  with  Article  3  (1)  of  the  fifth
1.
framework  programme,  a  specific  programme  related  to
direct  research  and  technological  development  actions,
including  demonstration,  to  be  carried  out  by  the  JRC,
(hereinafter  referred  as  the  ‘specific  programme’)  is
hereby  adopted  for  the  period  from  [ . . . . . . .]  to  31
December  2002.

Article  2

1.
In  agreement  with  Annexe  III  of  the  fifth  framework
programme,  the  amount  deemed  necessary  for  the
execution  of  direct  actions  by  the  JRC  under  this
programme  (hereinafter  referred  as  ‘the  amount’)  is  ECU
815  million.

2. An  indicative  breakdown  of  this  amount  is  given  in
Annex  II.

3. Of  this  amount

which  are  defined  according 
fundamental
principles  and  to  the  three  categories  of  selection  criteria
indicated  in  Annex  I  of  the  fifth  framework  programme.

the 

to 

2. The  rules  for  dissemination  of  results  apply  to  this
specific programme.

3. The  general  rules  for  the  Community’s  financial
contribution  are  laid  down  in  Article  4  of  the  fifth
framework  programme.

4. Direct RTD Actions are defined in Annexes II and IV
of  the  fifth  framework  programme.

5. Annex  III  sets  out  the  specific  rules  for  implementing
this  programme.

Article  4

With  due  regard  to  the  criteria  set  out  in  Article  3  (1),
and  to  the  scientific  and  technological  objectives  and
priorities  indicated  in  Annex  II,  the  Commission  shall:

a)  monitor 

the 

specific
implementation  of 
programme  and  submit,  if  necessary,  proposals  for
adaptation,  in  conformity  with  Article  5  (1)  of  the
fifth  framework  programme;

this 

b)  make  an  external  assessment  of  the  activities  carried
out  within  the  areas  covered  by  this  programme,  as
foreseen  in  Article  5  (2)  of  the  fifth  framework
programme.

Article  5

—  ECU  200  million  for  the  period  1998  to  1999,  and

—  ECU  615  million  for  the  period  2000  to  2002.

1. The  Commission  establishes  a  work  programme
detailing:

a)  the  content  of  Annex  II;

This  amount  will  be  adapted,  in  accordance  with  the
conditions  established  in  Article  3  (3)  of  the  fifth
framework  programme.

b)  an  indicative  timetable  for  the  implementation  of  the

specific programme.

the 

shall 

in
4. The  budgetary  authority 
accordance  with 
technological
objectives  and  priorities  detailed  in  the  present  Decision,
the  appropriations  for  each  financial  year,  subject  to  the
availability  of  resources  within  the  pluriannual  financial
perspectives.

scientific  and 

lay  down, 

2. This  work  programme  is  updated,  if  necessary.

Article  6

1. The  Commission 
the
is 
implementation of the present programme, carried out by
the  JRC.

responsible 

for 

Article  3

1. Annex  II  specifies  the  major  domains,  scientific  and
technological objectives and priorities of this programme,

2. The  Commission 
the  Board  of
Governors  of  the  JRC  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  the
‘Board  of  Governors’)  in  this  task.

is  advised  by 

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3. The  representative  of  the  Commission  submits  to  the
Board  of  Governors:

a)  projects  of  measures  related  to  the  establishment  and
updating  of  the  work  programme  referred  to  in
Article  5  of  this  Decision;

b)  the  terms  of  reference  for  the  external  evaluation
foreseen  in  Article  5  (2)  of  the  fifth  framework
programme;

c)  any  necessary  adaptation  to  the  objectives  and
priorities indicated in Annex II, or the distribution of
financial resources indicated in Annex I of the specific
programme,  to  ensure  that  it  is  still  appropriate  in
view of scientific and technological developments and
needs.

4. The  Commission  regularly  informs  the  Board  of
Governors  of 
this  specific
programme.

implementation  of 

the 

Article  7

The Commission may request the JRC to execute, on the
basis  of  the  criterion  of  mutual  benefit,  projects  with
legal  entities  established  in  third  countries  when  this
contributes  effectively  to  the  execution  of  direct  actions.

Article  8

This  Decision  is  addressed  to  the  Member  States.

ANNEX  I

INDICATIVE  BREAKDOWN  OF  THE  AMOUNT  DEEMED  NECESSARY  FOR  THIS  PROGRAMME

Type  of  activity

Serving  the  citizen

Enhancing sustainability

Underpinning  european  competitiveness

39,39 %

43,56 %

17,05 %

Total

ECU  815  million (1),  (2)

(1)  Of  which  approximately  6 %  may  be  allocated  to  exploratory  research.
(2)  This  total  includes  the  JRC’s  budget  contribution  necessary  for  its  participation  in  shared-cost  actions.

SCIENTIFIC  AND  TECHNOLOGICAL  OBJECTIVES  AND  PRIORITIES  OF  THE  DIRECT  ACTIONS

ANNEX  II

A.  The  mission  of  the  JRC

The  mission  of  JRC  is  to  provide  customer-driven  scientific  and  technical  support  for  the  conception,
implementation and monitoring of European Union policies. As a service of the European Commission, the
JRC  functions  as  a  reference  centre  of  science  and  technology  for  the  Union.  Close  to  the  policy-making
process,  it  serves  the  common  interest  of  the  Member  States,  while  being  independent  of  commercial  or
national  interests.

Carrying  out  specific  high-level  research  in  close  contact  with  industry  and  other  bodies,  the  JRC  supports
the  policy  maker  in  addressing  the  concerns  of  the  individual  citizen,  alleviating  conflict  between  man  and
the  environment  and  promoting  sustainable  development.

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The  JRC’s  work  depends  upon  intensive  networking  with  public  and  private  institutions  in  the  Member
States through, for example, research networks, joint projects or staff exchanges. This is important because
the JRC’s mission is complementary to the indirect action part of the fifth framework programme; while the
indirect  actions  will  continue  to  be  the  European  Union’s  main  mechanism  for  developing  and  testing  new
ideas,  the  JRC’s  role  is  to  help  apply  them  in  the  service  of  the  policy  maker.

B.  Objective:  Support  the  management  of  change

Progress  in  technology,  especially  in  the  life  sciences  and  information  technology,  is  changing  the  way  we
live, the way we do business and the world we live in. These changes are complex and inter-related so those
involved  with  policy  need  support  in  understanding  how  to  harness  the  technologies  to  provide  better
services  to  the  citizen,  to  allow  industry  to  take  advantage  of  new  opportunities  and  to  promote  policies
that protect the citizen from the risks that accompany the benefits of such changes. JRC as the scientific arm
of the Commission, must be able to underpin the management of change by supporting the European Union
policy  making  process  through:  facilitating  a  better  understanding  of  emerging  issues;  providing  scientific
and  technical  support  to  the  elaboration  and  implementation  of  policies;  providing  realistic  monitoring  of
the  effectiveness  of  policy  measures.

The  two  selection  criteria  for  JRC  activities  are:

—  relevance to European Union policies. An understanding of the policy agenda allows JRC research to be

timely  and  support  the  formulation  of  policy  where  it  is  most  needed;

—  subsidiarity.  This  has  two  aspects.  First  the  research  must  be  in  an  area  where  European  Union
involvement is appropriate and secondly it should be appropriate for this involvement to be through the
JRC. Thus JRC operates in areas such as cross-border-issues, consumer protection and anti-fraud where
its  unique  pan-European  identity  provides  an  added-value.

C.  The  JRC  programme

JRC’s  specific  programme  for  the  fifth  framework  programme  reflects  the  large  changes  that  have  taken
place in Europe and the wider world in the past ten years. Whilst these changes have all been beneficial for
growth  and  prosperity,  care  is  needed  to  ensure  that  the  growth  continues,  that  European  industry  can
compete  on  a  fair  basis  within  the  internal  market  and  on  the  wider  world  market,  that  the  growth  is
sustainable  and  that  Europe’s  citizen’s  can  live  in  a  clean  and  safe  environment.

Accordingly  JRC’s  programme  has  been  divided  into  three  main  themes:

I.  Serving  the  citizen

II.  Enhancing sustainability

III. Underpinning  European  competitiveness

The  objective  of  the  first  theme  is  to  provide  support  to  policy  that  protects  individual  citizens.  This
includes  measures  to  give  the  consumer  confidence  that  the  food  he  or  she  eats  or  buys  is  identified  and
labelled correctly, that the European tax payer is protected against fraud, that he or she can fully utilise the
benefits of modern medicine, that the information that he or she receives is dependable and that he or she is
protected  against  natural  and  man-made  hazards.

The  second  main  theme  is  sustainability;  achieving  growth  whilst  protecting  the  environment,  conserving
natural  resources,  maintaining  biodiversity  and  ensuring  that  European  Union  can  continue  funding  the
relevant  policies  and  avoiding  that  efforts  in  these  regards  are  not  undermined  by  fraud.  It  is  a  major
European  policy  objective  that  environmental  considerations  be  integrated  into  all  other  policies  and
framing  legislation  that  achieves  this  integration  whilst  maintaining  a  broad  free  market  policy  is  a  major
challenge  to  legislators.  JRC  will  support  sustainability  through  analysis  of  the  environmental  impact  of

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policy  options,  through  support  to  anti-fraud  measures  in  the  agriculture  and  fishery  policies,  through
support  to  the  international  effort  to  prevent  global  change  and  through  the  study  of  how  European
ecosystems  are  changing  and  could  be  preserved.

The  main  objective  of  the  third  theme  is  to  contribute  to  the  European  Union’s  industrial  competitiveness
policy  by  supporting  the  transfer  of  knowledge  and  research  results  from  the  scientific  community  to
industrial  users.  The  JRC  will  for  example,  exploit  its  specific  expertise  to  facilitate  the  utilisation  of  the
latest  technologies  by  emerging  industries,  such  as  earth  observation  and  advanced  materials  (e.g.
biomaterials). Other appropriate actions will be taken to support key policy areas such as enlargement and
integration  of  candidate  countries 
internal  market,  pre-accession  and  European
Union-Mediterranean  cooperation,  where  further  efforts  are  required  to  optimise  potential  synergies
between  the  scientific  and  industrial  communities  of  the  European  Union  and  its  partner  countries.

into  a  common 

Two  horizontal  elements  run  through  all  three  JRC  research  themes.  The  first  of  these,  measurements,
standard  and  testing,  constitutes  one  of  the  key  specialities  of  the  JRC.  The  second  is  a  techno-economic
intelligence that can provide European Union institutions with timely advice concerning the development of
new  technologies,  the  likelihood  of  breakthroughs,  the  social  challenges  that  they  pose  and  their  possible
impact  on  policy.  This  includes  monitoring  developments  in  the  other  major  industrialised  trading  blocs  to
determine  what  lesson  can  be  learned.  Both  these  tasks  are  generic  to  all  JRC  activities  even  where  not
explicitly  mentioned.

Finally  the  program  which  follows  should  not  to  be  considered  a  rigid  blue-print  for  the  work  programme
of  JRC  over  the  next  four  years  but  rather  a  general  outline  that  reflects  the  current  view  of  the  policy
agenda and its priorities. Changes to the JRC program are to be expected as science and technology advance
and  as  the  policy  agenda  and  the  priorities  of  the  customer  change.

I.  SERVING  THE  CITIZEN

The  first  theme  of  JRC’s  research  is  centred  on  the  citizen.  The  objective  is  to  support  those  European
Union policies that are intended to protect him or her, provide him or her with information, maintain his or
her  health  and  protect  his  or  her  safety.

Consumer policy and consumer health protection are most important factors in European Union policy and,
in fact, the legal basis for consumer protection will be further strengthened by the Amsterdam Treaty. The
main  objectives  of  the  policy  are  to  protect  the  consumer  in  the  internal  market;  to  reinforce  market
transparency; to improve consumer confidence, especially by a more complete and effective information and
education;  develop  a  system  of  dialogue  and  consultation  between  the  European  Commission  and
organisations  representing  consumers,  and  improve  the  dialogue  between  the  latter  and  industry;  and  to
ensure that the interest of the consumer are given due consideration in the development of other European
Union  policies.  JRC  will  provide  scientific  support  for  this  policy.

Along  with  biotechnology,  information  technology  is  the  fastest  moving  technology  and  the  European
Union’s  information  society  initiative,  whilst  recognising  that  progress  is  driven  by  market  forces,  ensures
that  policy  fully  takes  advantages  of  the  benefits  of  the  technology  and  that  individuals  can  depend  on
information  that  has  been  processed  securely.  JRC  will  support  the  initiative  through  technical  advice  on
dependable  services  and  improving  the  ease  of  access  to  information.

The  third  thrust  of  JRC’s  effort  in  services  to  the  citizens  is  in  health.  The  objective  here  is  to  exploit
specific  technologies  where  the  JRC  has  unique  technologies  and  expertise  for  the  diagnosis  and  treatment
of  disease.

Beside safety of food and feed products, European Union measures to protect the safety of citizens include,
amongst  others,  car  safety  legislation,  directives  on  industrial  safety  and  construction  guidelines.  JRC  will
provide a technical back-up to these measures, determine how new technologies can help cope with natural
disasters  with  a  cross-border  dimension  such  as  flooding  and  contribute  to  the  European  Union  effort  on
civilian de-mining.

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I.1  Consumer  protection

For  consumer  health  European  Union  institutions  manage  scientific  committees  whose  work  is  based  on
excellence,  independence  and  transparency;  carry  out  inspections  to  ensure  that  rules  of  hygiene  and  food
safety  are  respected;  and  evaluate  and  assess  possible  risks  to  consumer  health.

This  marked  strengthening  of  consumer  policy  has  been  prompted  by  the  general  desire  to  match,  on  the
one hand, the rapid growth in the possibilities offered by advanced technologies to increase the variety and
lower the cost of products in the market by, on the other hand, adequate measures to protect consumers. It
is  clear  that  a  strong  scientific  support  to  this  policy  is  required  —  both  to  understand  the  complex  issues
involved  and  to  apply  the  latest  technology  for  checking  the  quality  and  origins  of  products.  JRC  will
support  European  Union  policy  in  this  area  by  applying  emerging  technologies  for  consumer  protection
measures  and  will  be  ready  to  assess  and  react  to  new  hazards  as  they  occur.  This  work  will  involve:

—  research  to  underpin  the  harmonisation  and  validation  of  methods  for  quality  and  safety  analysis  of
feeding stuffs, food, beverages, and consumer products; provision of references for the determination of
food  and  beverages  authenticity  and  origin,  for  the  establishment  of  inspection  practices  and  for
risk-assessment;  methods  and  references  in  support  of  food-labelling  and  development  of  anti-fraud
techniques;

—  support  to  implementation  of  Community  policy  on  biotechnology  including  methods  for  the

monitoring  and  detection  of  genetically  modified  organisms  and  risk  assessment  studies;

—  toxicological studies on the impact and health effect of diverse food contaminants, toxic chemicals (e.g.,
endocrine disrupters) and pathogenic micro-organisms; establishment of models and procedures for risk
assessment;

—  validation  of  safe  alternative  procedures  to  in-vivo  experiments  currently  used  to  determine  the

toxicological  hazards  posed  by  chemicals,  pharmaceuticals  and  consumer  products.

I.2  Medical  and  health  applications

Several  JRC  generated  technologies  related  to  nuclear  engineering,  metrology,  informatics  and  material
sciences  have  potential  applications  in  the  area  of  medicine  and  health  care  and  are  sufficiently  mature  for
further  development.  The  implementation  of  this  work  will  rely  on  the  use  of  JRC  facilities  and  unique
expertise,  and  will  continue  to  be  carried  out  in  networks  together  with  the  medical  and  pharmaceutical
communities;  it  will  include:

—  active  support  to  development  of  anti-cancer  therapies  based  on  nuclear  technologies,  applications  of

boron  neutron  capture  therapies  and  alpha-immuno  therapies  and  to  medical  imaging;

—  prenormative  research  and  validation  of 

for  bio-compatible  materials  and
bio-mechanical components; qualification of certain medical equipment for the harmonisation of norms
and  standards;  development,  production  and  certification  of  reference  materials  for  clinical  diagnostics
and  validation  of  testing  instruments;

testing  methods 

—  support  to  telematics  systems  for  the  secure  exchange  of  regulatory  information  on  pharmaceuticals  in

the  European  Union.

I.3  Benefiting  from  the  information  society

JRC’s  information  technology  expertise  will  be  used  to  support  dependability  aspects  of  the  European
Union’s  information  society  initiative  and  to  strengthen  fraud  control  measures;  the  work  includes:

—  support  to  the  European  dependability 

including  research  on  systems  survivability,
dependability  characterisation  of  services  and  qualification  procedures  for  embedded  systems;
application  and  demonstration  of  emerging  networking  technologies,  decision  support  systems  and
medical  data  systems;  use  of  research  results  in  statistical  and  geographic  information  applications;

initiative 

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—  support  to  anti-fraud  measures  including  the  development  and  operation  of  effective,  reliable  and  safe
communication  systems  amongst  European  Union  public  authorities  and  the  Commission,  development
of an early-warning system and methods for analysis and control of large quantities of information from
different  sources.

1.4  Safety  of  the  citizen:  man-made  hazards  and  natural  hazards

The  European  Union  has  a  number  of  measures  to  protect  individuals  against  hazards.  These  include
standard  in  car  construction,  high  pressure  equipment,  obligations  on  the  labelling  and  notification  of
dangerous  chemicals  and  the  notification  of  accidents.  JRC  plays  an  active  part  in  the  implementation  of
these  policies  and  in  support  for  the  development  of  new  safety  measures:

—  support  of  Community  industrial  safety  regulations  through  analysis  of  industrial  accident  data,  supply
of  information  to  the  competent  authorities  and  industry  and  technical  advice  to  the  Commission;

—  design,  prototyping,  validation  and  harmonisation  of  inspection  procedures  for  High  Pressure
Equipment, with a view to provide maximum safety at the work place; support to the development and
implementation of new standards. Interactions of hydrogen with structural materials and preparation of
industrial  safety  norms  and  standards;

—  monitoring,  control  and  management  of  chemical  products:  implementation  and  improvement  of
regulations for the notifications, authorisation, classification and labelling of new and existing chemicals;
research  on  environmental  risk  assessment;

—  maintenance and further development of a research platform contributing to the scientific and technical
basis  needed  for  civilian  land  de-mining  operations;  compilation  of  an  index  of  mine  types  and  their
signatures;  development  of  strategies  for  examining  mine  fields  and  establishing  secure  detection  and
destruction  methods;  establishment  of  reference  criteria  and  standards  and  validation  of  clearing
methods  and  available  devices;

—  chemical  characterisation  and  tools  for  the  determination  of  the  origin  of  illicit  drugs;

—  characterisation  of  the  structural  safety  of  transport  vehicles  and  crash  barriers;  calibration  of  test
facilities  in  the  Member  States  together  with  validation  of  simulation  methods  intended  to  complement
traditional  impact  tests;

—  support  to  the  establishment  of  a  common  European  reporting  system  for  in-flight  incidents  including

analysis  of  the  influence  of  human  error;

—  support  to  the  formulation  and  development  of  construction  standards  (Eurocodes);  research  to  ensure
safety  and  reliability  of  buildings  and  civil  engineering  structures  against  seismic  movements,  rapid
impacts  and  traffic  vibrations  including  applications  for  the  preservation  of  significant  monuments  for
the  European  cultural  heritage,  assessment  of  their  degradation  and  techniques  for  their  restoration;

—  applications  of  Earth  observation  techniques  for  the  risk  and  damage  assessment,  monitoring  and
post-crisis  management  of  natural  hazards  such  as  forest  fires,  floods,  landslides,  droughts  and  coastal
storms.

II.  ENHANCING  SUSTAINABILITY

Technological development, sustainable growth, respect and care for the environment are key issues for the
Union,  enshrined  in  the  Treaty  and  pursued  through  common  policies  and  actions.

The  Community’s  Fifth  Environmental  Action  Programme  (1992-2000)  forms  the  basis  of  environment
policy  of  the  European  Union  and  describes  the  challenge  of  the  1990s  as  making  progress  towards
sustainable  development.  A  recent  published  action  plan  identifies  five  priority  areas  where  Community
action needs to be stepped up. These are firstly improved integration of the environment into other policies
such  as;  agriculture,  transport,  energy,  industry  and  tourism;  secondly  the  use  of  a  wider  range  of
instruments,  especially  market  based  instruments  but  also  structural  policy,  to  implement  Union  policy;
thirdly  improving  the  implementation  and  enforcement  of  Community  legislation;  fourthly  a  raising  of

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public  awareness  and  lastly  a  raising  of  the  Union’s  profile  in  international  affairs  strengthening
co-operation  with  Central  and  Eastern  European  countries  and  the  Mediterranean  Partnership  countries,
enhancing  the  European  Union’s  role  in  international  environmental  actions  and  dealing  with  trade  and
environmental issues.

JRC’s  scientific  and  technical  services  will  provide  the  expertise  necessary  to  help  in  the  understanding  of
the issues involved and to support the implementation of all five points of the action plan. Its broad range
of disciplines will contribute to the establishment of sound and feasible limits for pollutants, the production
of commonly accepted reference materials and measurements for monitoring them, the determination of the
impact  of  proposed  legislation,  the  identification  of  the  best  available  technologies  and  the  assessment
available scientific knowledge for improving industrial processes and reduce pollution, the understanding of
global  climate  change  processes  and  their  impact,  the  identification  of  new  technologies  that  could  affect
sustainability.  Particular  efforts  will  be  made  in  the  energy  and  transport  sectors.

The JRC research aimed at enhancing sustainability will provide support to the Commission, the European
Parliament,  the  Member  States  and  relevant  European  Union  Agencies,  and  will  include  the  following
targeted  issues:

II.1  Integration  of  environmental  protection  in  other  European  Union  policies

The Commission is obliged by Treaty to assess the consequences of any proposal that has an impact on the
environment  and  to  endeavour  to  integrate  sustainability  objective  into  all  sectoral  policies  such  as
agriculture,  energy,  transport  and  regional  development.  JRC  will  support  this  effort  through:

—  socio-  and  techno-economic  studies  to  improve  the  integration  of  environmental  protection  in  sectoral
European  Union  policies,  including  case-studies  and  development  of  methods  to  measure  and  analyse
regulatory  instruments  (e.g.  ‘green-accounting’);

—  research  on  land  cover  and  land  use  dynamics,  regional  and  urban  development  trends;  research  on
agro-environmental  issues  mainly  using  earth  observation;  coastal  zone  management,  development  and
harmonisation  of  indicators  of  environmental  degradation.

II.2  Pollution  prevention  and  control

European  Union  legislation  requires  that  new  industrial  developments  use  the  best  available  techniques  in
order to reduce pollution in an integrated manner (i.e., to take account of all forms of pollution — air, soil
and  water).  As  a  support  to  this  and  all  other  pollution  control  management  measures  it  is  a  prerequisite
that  systems  be  developed  for  detecting  pollutants  and  that  measurements  throughout  the  Union  be
harmonised.  JRC’s  work  will  therefore  involve:

—  support to environmental legislation for integrated (e.g. water, air, soil) pollution prevention and control
in  industry;  development  of  the  reference  framework  for  the  use  of  best  available  techniques  in  several
industrial  sectors;  assessment  of  the  impact  of  legislation  on  competitiveness  and  employment;

—  support  to  the  international  harmonisation  of  pollution  monitoring  techniques;  development  and
production  of  reference  materials  and  measurements  in  different  matrices  (e.g.  soil,  water,  air,  biota,
etc.),  for  pollution  control;

—  research  to  underpin  the  harmonisation  and  validation  of  reference  methods  for  the  analysis  of  water
quality,  water  monitoring,  water  treatment  and  water  management;  assessment  of  toxicological  risks
posed  by  water  pollutants;  interventions  in  emergency  cases;  procedures  and  criteria  for  water  quality
control;  studies  on  water  management  practices  and  their  impacts  in  geographical  areas  protected  by
European  legislation  and  in  those  prone  to  flooding  and  drought;

—  development of techniques for localisation of soil contamination due to industrial and military activities
and  to  monitor  marine  pollution  events  (e.g.  algae  blooms,  oil  spills)  including  the  detection  of  vessels
causing  pollution;

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—  research  to  underpin  harmonisation  and  validation  of  air-quality  control  methods  and  criteria  for
air-quality  in  urban  and  con-urban  areas;  impact  of  alternative  fuels  on  air  quality  and  emissions  of
micro-particulates; surveillance of radioactivity in the environment; regional programs for environmental
monitoring  of  selected  regions  (e.g.,  the  Alpine  Convention).

II.3  Global change

By  signing  the  ‘Kyoto  Protocol’  industrialised  nations  have  committed  themselves  to  reducing  greenhouse
gas  emissions.  The  European  Union,  which  negotiated  on  behalf  of  the  member  states,  has  promised  to
reduce emissions to 8 % below 1990 levels. The European Union needs strong technical support in order to
maintain credibility as a Party to the Climate Convention, strengthen its position on the international scene,
understand  possible  futures  for  Europe  including  implications  for  managed  and  unmanaged  natural
resources, public health and biodiversity, highlight risks and uncertainties and formulate appropriate policy.
JRC  will  support  European  Union  policy  by:

—  study  on  the  fluxes  of  greenhouse  gases  and  aerosols;  research  on  the  processes  leading  to  green  house
emissions; assessment of the consequences of the Kyoto Protocol on emission levels, air quality, climatic
change  and  the  European  economy;  support  to  European  political  initiatives;

—  exploitation  of  earth  observation  for  mapping,  monitoring  and  making  and  inventory  of  key  global,
marine  and  terrestrial  resources.  Global  information  systems  and  models  will  support  the  analysis  and
understanding  of  observed  trends.  Access  to  global  data  sets  will  be  provided  to  European  research
networks.

II.4  Energy  and  transport

The  final  consumption  of  energy  in  Europe  is  divided  almost  equally  between  industry  (29 %),  transport
(32 %) and the household and tertiary sectors (39%). The majority of this is from fossil fuel with petroleum
products dominating the transport sector and almost two thirds of all coal being used for the production of
electricity.  Only  by  effective  measures  to  reduce  emissions  and  replace  fossil  fuels  with  renewable  energies
can  Europe  respect  international  agreements  and  achieve  sustainable  growth.  The  1996  Green  Paper  on
renewable  energy  found  that  the  European  Union  Treaty  offered  ample  scope  for  promoting  renewable
energy and suggested that the European Union reinforce its policy in order to achieve a target 12 % of gross
inland  energy  consumption  by  2010.  JRC  will  support  European  Union  policy  through:

—  integration  of  renewable  energies  in  energy  systems  and  related  socio-economic  studies;  development  of
new  testing  techniques  and  proposals  for  the  preparation  of  norms  and  standards  for  photovoltaic  and
solar  thermal  systems,  the  new  generation  of  energy  —  storage  systems,  fuel  cells  and  the  typology  of
insulation  materials,  study  of  hydrogen  as  a  fuel  with  particular  regard  to  safety  issues  and  analysis  of
techno-economic  aspects;

—  improvement  and  assessment  of  advanced  materials  and  new  surface  treatments  to  enhance  the  safety
and efficiency of high temperature systems; applications to the reduction of emissions and improvement
of cost effectiveness of high efficiency power generation systems and components, including engineering
and  materials  techniques  for  extending  operational  lifetimes  of  engines  and  plants;  contribution  to  the
development  of  new  norms  and  standards.  Harmonisation  of  testing  methods,  inspection  procedures,
and  standard  for  characterising  structural  materials  and  components;

—  research  on  the  interaction  between  neutrons  and  materials;  provision  of  neutron  reference  data  for
energy  production  in  the  framework  of  international  conventions.  Related  techno-economic  studies  and
high-level  training  in  support  to  industry,  with  particular  attention  to  partners  in  enlargement  and
pre-accession  countries;

—  development  and  validation  of  new  emission  control  and  reduction  technologies  for  land,  air  and  sea
transport systems; analysis of data concerning various emission reduction technologies and creation of a
reference  laboratory  for  co-ordination  of  round  robin  experiments  and  networks;  execution  of  cost
benefit  studies  and  techno-economical  modelling,  and  development  of  the  technical  standards  base;

—  studies  to  assess  demand  evolution  for  urban  and  regional  transport  systems.

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II.5  Agriculture,  rural  development  and  fisheries

European Union policy is to make agriculture more competitive in world markets and to give new priority
to sustainable rural development, consumer-friendly products and more environmentally sensitive practices.
It  should  prepare  for  the  Eastwards  enlargement  which  means  a  50 %  increase  of  agricultural  land  and  a
doubling of the farm labour force. Fraud control is important because of the size of the budget involved and
because  of  health  concerns  in  the  case  of  agriculture,  and  because  of  sustainability  concerns  in  the  case  of
fisheries.  JRC  will  continue  to  play  an  active  role  in  supporting  policy  through:

—  prospective  techno-economic  studies  and  scenarios  to  support  better  understanding  of  long-term  trends
of  policies  related  to  the  food  chain  and  to  regional  development  policies.  Emphasis  will  be  on  the
contribution  of  science  and  technology  to  these  central  European  Union  policies  and  will  consider  the
wider  political  context  (e.g.  enlargement,  Mediterranean  policy);

—  studies on the evolution of the rural environment; Earth observation monitoring of change sin rural and
coastal  areas  (environmental  impacts,  forest  development  and  management,  trends  in  agriculture  and
aquaculture,  tourism);  coastal  zone  management;

—  development  and  assessment  of  methods  for  the  surveillance  of  regulated  activities  in  the  fisheries

sector;

—  development of agro-meteorological models for the prediction of crop yields (particularly with a view to
European  Union-enlargement);  monitoring  of  results  to  ensure  consistency  with  priorities  of  the
Common Agricultural Policy and anti-fraud measures; harmonisation and quality control of work done
in Members States on farmers declarations; re-orientation of the agriculture information system towards
priority  sectors  of  agricultural  activities;  development  of  advanced  statistical  methods  and  sampling
strategies  to  control  subsidies  at  the  decisive  stage  of  the  clearance  of  accounts.

—  design and operation of a data-base for registering and monitoring livestock movements throughout the
European  Union;  technical  support  for  the  implementation  of  a  reliable  identification  and  labelling
system  for  the  entire  European  Union  herd,  including  overall  quality  control  and  electronic  systems
certification.

—  development  and  production  of  certified  reference  materials  and  development  of  reference  methods  for
securing  the  quality  of  agricultural  products  (e.g.,  nutritional  components,  trace  contaminants  in  raw
materials, etc).

III.  UNDERPINNING  EUROPEAN  COMPETITIVENESS

The primary contributions of the European Union towards economic development, growth and the creation
of  employment  are  the  promotion  of  industrial  competitiveness  and  an  efficient  internal  market  in  all
products and services. The European Union likewise negotiated trading agreements with third countries that
ensure  fair  access  to  markets  for  European  Union  products  and  stimulate  economic  growth  in  developing
countries. Economic growth is also the objective of structural funding, including programs such as PHARE
and  TACIS,  that  can  help  prepare  less  favoured  regions  and  countries  for  fuller  integration  in  the  internal
market  and  the  global  economy.

Fair  trading  depends  on  internationally  agreed  standards  and  JRC  will  continue  to  support  the  promotion
and  development  of  soundly-based  European  and  international  norms,  standards,  codes  of  practice  and
reference  tools.  Support  to  structural  policy  will  include  the  transfer  of  technology  developed  in  JRC  to
industry  and  measures  to  stimulate  the  competitiveness  on  world  markets  of  emerging  industries,  such  as
earth observation, where JRC has specific expertise, and the development of a scientific infrastructure in the
Mediterranean  partnership  countries.  These  efforts  will  be  backed  up  by  more  generic  studies  to  determine
how  technology  is  transferred  from  research  to  industry  and  how  employment  is  affected  by  changing
patterns  of  industry.

III.1  Employment,  technology  and  industrial  competitiveness

The  issues  related  to  employment  and  competitiveness  will  continue  to  dominate  the  political  debate  in
Europe  in  the  years  to  come.  JRC  will  support  this  issue  through:

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—  investigation of the technology, employment and competitiveness inter-relationship. Identification of best
practices to foster growth and employment. Analysis of the influence of societal trends (age, gender, etc),
structural  changes  in  sectors  (industry,  services,  institutions,  etc.)  technology  changes  and  European
Union policies (Euro, enlargement and deregulation, etc.) on future competitiveness and employment in
Europe;

—  analysis of factors limiting the development of less favoured European regions with a view to eliminating
bottle-necks and improving competitiveness and employment; prospective analysis of European research
priorities  and  role  of  science  and  technology  for  regional  development.

III.2  Normative  support  to  the  international  trading  system

Industries  need  predictable  and  reliable  market  access  conditions  before  making  the  considerable
investments  needed  for  their  penetrations.  There  is  also  a  need  for  all  market  operators  to  refer  to
well-established,  verifiable  and  internationally  accepted  measurements,  in  order  to  ensure  the  transparency
of  market  regulations  and  avoid  unfair  competition  and  unnecessary  litigation.  In  pursuance  of  these
objectives,  JRC  will  undertake:

—  the  characterisation,  production,  storage,  stability  testing  and  international  distribution  of  Bureau
Commun  de  Reference  (BCR)  certified  reference  materials  is  underpinning  many  of  the  activities
performed by JRC in support of different policies (environment, consumer protection, health, industrial
competitiveness,  etc.);  production  of  industrial  certified  reference  materials  particularly  when  urgent
intervention  is  needed  or  when  stocks  need  to  be  replaced;

—  development  and  performance  of  primary  isotopic  measurements;  production  of  isotopic  reference
materials  and  establishment  of  a  virtual  institute  of  primary  isotopic  measurements  with  national
measurements  institutes,  for  transboundary  comparability  of  chemical  measurements,  to  support
accreditation bodies and quality assurance systems and to realise traceability of chemical measurements
to  common  references;  support  to  member  states  in  building  up  their  own  metrology  systems;

—  development  and  validation  of  analytical  reference  methods  for  elements  and  their  chemical  forms,
radionuclides  and  organic  constituents;  research  on  radionuclide  metrology  for  the  preparation  of
primary  standards,  equipment  calibrations  and  determination  of  trace  elements.

—  prenormative  research  and  support  to  the  development  of  measurement  and  testing  standards  for

materials  in  emerging  technologies  such  as  nanotechnologies.

III.3  Innovation  and  technology  transfer

It  is  universally  acknowledged  that  innovation  drives  competitiveness  and  growth.  JRC  will  support  efforts
to  understand  the  processes  that  control  the  transfer  of  knowledge  from  the  research  sector  to  the  private
sector  and  take  steps  to  maximise  the  benefit  of  its  own  technology  to  industry.  The  work  includes:

—  studies  related  to  Europe’s  innovation  system  aiming  at  improving  the  exploitation  of  the  Europe’s
scientific  and  technological  potential.  Particular  attention  will  be  given  to  the  identification  of  best
methods  and  practices  for  the  creation,  transfer  and  trading  knowledge,  organisation  of  enterprises,
educational  and  training  requirements  and  the  specific  needs  of  SMEs,  developing  the  interface  of  JRC
networks  with  the  Enterprise  Policy’s  networks;

—  support to the development of a competitive and sustainable value-added Earth observation industry in
Europe  by  identification  of  new  users,  development  of  new  products  and  services  and  development  of
tools  support  customers  of  Earth  observation  data,  information  and  services;

—  exploitation  of  JRC  results;  studies  to  understand  users’  needs;  selection  of  innovation  and  technology
transfer projects for JRC-developed technologies; prototyping and demonstrations to users and potential
investors.  Priority  will  be  given  to  collaboration  with  high  technology  SMEs.

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III.4  Enlargement,  pre-accession  and  international  co-operation

The  increased  technology  flows  under  the  globalisation  of  markets,  the  current  European  Union
external-policy  objectives  and  the  need  for  efficient  protection  of  the  financial  interest  of  the  European
Union, call for strengthening dialogue and co-operation on science and technology issues with future partner
countries.  JRC  will  support  the  enlargement  process  by  sharing  its  knowledge  with  scientists  from  future
European  Union  Member  States,  hosting  their  scientists  and  encouraging  them  to  use  its  facilities  and  join
its  networks.  In  particular  JRC  will:

—  promote the association to international measurements evaluation programmes of relevant organisations
in  candidate  countries  to  European  Union  enlargement  and  in  other  third  countries;  extension  to
industries  and  research  institutions  in  these  countries  of  the  networks  for  advanced  materials  and
standards;

—  develop the co-operation with Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Partnership countries with a view to
exchange best practices, scientific knowledge and produce techno-economic input to the objectives of the
Barcelona  process;

—  a  multidisciplinary  database  of  harmonised  and  coherent  geographical  data  for  an  enlarged  European
Union.  JRC  will  provide  the  necessary  technical  co-ordination  and  will  foster  the  development  of
standard  for  software  and  methods  aiming  at  the  complete  interoperability  of  geographic  information
systems.

ANNEX  III

SPECIFIC  RULES  FOR  IMPLEMENTING  THE  DIRECT  ACTIONS

1.  The Commission shall implement the direct actions on the basis of the scientific objectives and contents
described  in  Annex  II.  To  this  end,  it  is  advised  by  the  Board  of  Governors  of  the  JRC.  The  activities
relating  to  this  action  shall  be  performed  in  the  relevant  institutes  of  the  Joint  Research  Centre  (JRC).

2.  In the implementation of its activities, the JRC will, whenever appropriate and feasible, participate in or
organise  networks  of  public  and  private  laboratories  in  the  Member  States  or  European  research
consortia.  Particular  attention  shall  be  paid  to  cooperation  with  industry,  especially  with  small  and
medium-sized enterprises. Research bodies established in third countries may also cooperate on projects,
in  accordance  with  the  relevant  provisions  of  Article  9  and,  where  applicable,  of  agreements  for  S & T
cooperation between the Community and the third countries concerned. Particular attention will be paid
to  cooperation  with  research  laboratories  and  institutes  in  the  countries  of  Central  and  Eastern  Europe
and  the  former  Soviet  Union.

The  knowledge  gained  through  implementation  of  the  projects  will  be  disseminated  by  the  JRC  itself
(taking  into  account  possible  limitations  due  to  confidentiality  issues).

3.  The  accompanying  measures  shall  include:

—  the  organisation  of  visits  to  JRC  institutes  of  grant  holders,  visiting  scientists  and  seconded

experts,

—  organisation  of  the  secondment  of  JRC  staff  to  national  laboratories,  industrial  laboratories  and

universities,

—  specialised  training  in  support  of  the  elaboration  or  implementation  of  European  policies  and

specialised  training  with  emphasis  on  multidisciplinarity,

—  systematic  exchange  of  information,  through  inter  alia  the  organisation  of  scientific  seminars,

workshops  and  colloquiums  and  scientific  publications,

—  the  independent  scientific  and  strategic  evaluation  of  the  performance  of  the  projects  and

programmes.

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ANNEX  IV

LIST  OF  MAJOR  TOOLS  AND  FACILITIES  OF  THE  JRC

To  carry  out  its  mission  JRC  has  a  unique  combination  of  facilities  and  expertise  that  draw  strength  from
research performed in collaboration with bodies from the Member States and which, by their nature or cost,
have  to  be  set  up  at  a  European  level.

—  The ELSA (European Laboratory for Structural Assessment) is one of the world’s largest reaction walls.
It  is  16  m  high  and  21  m  wide  and  is  designed  to  resist  to  forces  necessary  to  deform  and  seriously
damage  full-scale  test  models  of  buildings  and  other  large  civil-engineering  structures  and  historical
monuments, to test methods for their strengthening and repair, and to conduct prenormative research on
design  and  structure  standards  in  the  European  Union.

—  The LDTF (Large Dynamic Test Facility) is used for the characterisation of the mechanical properties of
traditional  and  new  structural  materials  (aluminium,  concrete,  steel,  composites,  etc)  critical  for  safety
(aerospace, automotive, energy, mechanical, off-shore industries). The facility allows dynamic testing of
large  specimens  and  enables  precise  measurement  of  the  energy  flow  at  the  moment  of  an  impact.  The
installation uses the elastic energy stored in 100 meter long cables, pre-loaded by two hydraulic pistons
and  held  by  explosive  bolts,  the  rupture  of  which  liberates  the  energy  to  the  specimen.

—  The  LISA  (transportable  Llnear  Synthetic  Aperture  rail  radar)  is  a  high  precision  facility  for  the
assessment  of  structural  changes  of  large  constructions,  impact  analysis  of  natural  and  man-made
hazards  on  the  environment  (e.g.  land  sliding,  industrial  and  military  waste,  etc.).

—  The EMSL (European Microwave Signature Laboratory), a facility enabling new ground to be broken in
the study of radar imaging. It consists of a domeshaped radio anechoic chamber with a radius of about
10  metres,  which  facilitates  measurement  of  radio  scattering  parameters  for  natural  sized  objects.
Movable and fixed antennae measure bistatic, polarimetric scattering parameters of a target mounted on
a movable platform, e.g. enabling the measurement of the ‘radar identity card’ of cars which can then be
used  in  automatic  navigation  systems.

—  The  EGO  (European  Optical  Goniometer),  a  facility  for  the  characterisation  of  natural  and  man-made
targets  by  its  optical  and  thermal  properties.  This  facilities  allows  to  analyse  the  spectral  emission  and
scattering characteristics under controlled environmental conditions with both natural and artificial light
sources. It provides a unique test and evaluation capability for the certification of optical sensors of the
next  generation  (e.g.  ‘intelligent  sensors’).

—  The  Cyclotron  particle  accelerator  (40  MeV  Variable  Energy)  installation  is  used  to  produce  medical
radioisotopes.  A  very  important  project  is  PET  (Positron  Emission  Tomography)  in  which  regional
authorities,  local  hospitals  and  the  JRC  work  together  to  create  new  insights  in  this  promising  brain
imagine  technology.  Another  application  creates  radio-nuclides  in  the  surface  layer  of  samples  by
irradiation.  This  activated  thin  layer  then  provides  information,  through  the  gamma  radiation  it  emits,
on  the  material’s  behaviour  under  operational  conditions  like  for  the  study  of  wear  in  car  engines.

—  The  ESTI  (European  Solar  Test  Installation)  is  the  European  reference  laboratory  for  photo-voltaic
technology.  It  measures,  tests  and  certifies  photo-voltaic  cells,  modules  and  installations.  It  recently
received its quality assurance accreditation. It provides support for a new and fast-developing technology
in  a  sector  where  European  industry  and  individual  national  laboratories  have  limited  test  facilities.

—  The  150  MeV  GELINA  (Geel  Electron  Linear  Accelerator)  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  white  spectrum
neutron sources available in the world. It is unrivalled for the study of neutron-material interactions and
in  particular  neutron  cross-section  measurements.  Its  European  designation  has  made  it  the  key  facility
for  determining  the  high  resolution  neutron  data  requested.

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18.8.98

—  The ‘INDOORTRON’ laboratory, a 30 m3  volume walk in environmental chamber featuring controlled
temperature,  relative  humidity,  air-quality  and  exchange  rate.  By  using  this  chamber,  it  is  possible  to
perform emission testing of equipment, determine release dynamics of indoor materials, test models that
predict  indoor  air  pollutant  concentrations,  test  efficiency  of  air-cleaning  device,  perform  human
exposure  studies.

—  The AMAL (Advanced Mobile Analytical Laboratory) allows to assess contamination of industrial sites
and  land-field,  the  control  of  waste-water,  and  more  generally  the  on-site  chemical  analysis  of  organic
and  inorganic  pollutants.

—  The ultra-clean chemical laboratory has a surface of 120 m2,  providing  16  workplaces  of  which  6  or  8
can  be  occupied  simultaneously.  The  laboratory  has  a  ‘class  10’  status,  meaning  that  less  than  10
particles larger than 0,5 µm will be found in 1 cubic foot of air. The laboratory is used for all kinds of
ultra  clean  manipulations  such  as  the  characterisation  of  ultra  low  concentrations  of  trace  elements.
There  are  only  5  laboratories  of  this  kind  world  wide.

—  The  JRC  has  the  largest  European  concentration  of  high  performance  mass  spectrometers,  used  as
analytical tools in many of its activities such as isotope measurements of highest accuracy as needed for
nuclear  and  environmental  reference  measurements,  certification  of  primary  reference  materials,
validation  of  measurement  procedures  in  medical  diagnosis,  achieving  traceability  of  chemical
measurements  to  the  Systeme  International,  development  of  advanced  methods  for  food  authentication
and  determination  of  the  origin  of  illicit  drugs.

—  Multi-functional  and  flexible  laboratory  for  the  production  of  environmental,  biological,  clinical,
agricultural  and  industrial  reference  materials  with  Europe’s  most  advanced  facilities  and  technologies
like  clean  chambers  for  handling  of  materials,  cryo  grinding,  freeze  drying,  high  purity  milling  and
ultrafine  classification,  levitation  melting.

List  of  major  offices  and  reference  laboratories

The JRC has constituted and operates a number of offices, bureaux and reference laboratories in support of
different  European  Union-policies:

—  The Centre for earth Observation (CEO), the aim of the CEO is to grow the customers and market for

Earth  Observation  (EO)  data,  information  and  services

(Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament,  COM(96)617  final);

—  European  Office  for  Wine,  Alcohol  and  Spirit  Drinks  (BEVABS)  in  support  of  the  European  Union

legislation  on  the  quality  and  origin  of  products  in  the  sector.

(Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  COM(93)  360
final);

—  European  Centre  for  the  Validation  of  Alternative  Methods  (ECVAM)  to  support  the  European  Union

legislation  on  protection  of  animals  used  in  toxicological  tests  and  other  scientific  experiments

(Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  SEC(91)  1794  final);

—  European  chemicals  Bureau  (ECB)  to  support  the  European  Union  legislation  on  the  control  and

management  of  existing  and  new  chemicals

(Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  OJ  C1,  5.1.1993,  p.
3);

—  European  Reference  Laboratory  for  Air  Pollution  (ERLAP)  and  Radioactive  Environmental  Monitoring
(REM)  to  support  the  European  Union  legislation  on  air  quality  and  radiative  environmental
monitoring;

—  European  Soil  Bureau  (ESB),  a  platform  allowing  Member  States  organisations  producing  soil  maps  to
harmonise  their  work  in  order  to  better  answer  the  technical  challenges  required  to  fulfil  the  needs  of
the  European  Union  policies;

—  Alps  Observation  and  Information  System  (‘Alps  Observatory’)  to  support,  within  the  frame  of  the
Alpine  Convention,  the  Alpine  countries  in  the  management  and  sustainable  development  of  the  rural
Alpine space

(Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  COM(93)  713
final);

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—  The Tropical Forest Information System (TFIS), a major source of data and information on the tropical
forest  cover  in  the  world.  It  provides  accurate  and  updated  information  on  the  state  of  the  tropical
forest  ecosystems  and  on  the  forest  fires;

—  The  Biotechnology  Information  System  (BIOSAFE),  to  support  European  Union  legislation  on  the
contained  use,  deliberate  release  into  the  environment,  and  risk  assessment  of  genetically  modified
organisms;

—  European  Integrated  Pollution  Prevention  and  Control  Bureau  (EIPPCB),  to  support  European  Union
legislation for the integrated prevention and control of pollution from major industrial facilities based on
the  ‘best  available  techniques’  concept

(Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  European  Parliament,  COM(97)  733  final);

—  The  Major  Accidents  Hazards  Bureau  (MAHB),  dedicated  to  scientific  and  technical  support  for  the
control of major industrial hazards and the prevention and mitigation of major accidents, and including
the Major Accident Reporting System database and the Community Documentation Centre on Industrial
Risk

(Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  European  Parliament,  COM(96)  7  final);

—  Monitoring  of  Agriculture  with  Remote  Sensing  (MARS),  to  support  the  Common  Agriculture  Policy
with  a  set  of  statistical  methods  adapted  to  various  objectives  at  European  Union  level,  as  well  as
verification  and  control  of  farmer’s  declarations  implemented  in  the  Member  States

(Council  Decision  of  14.11.1997,  94/753/EC);

—  JRC  Reference  Laboratory  for  Neutron  Data,  dedicated  to  performing  very  high  resolution  neutron
reference  measurements,  radionuclide  metrology  and  low  level γ-spectrometry,  and  the  preparation  and
certification  of  primary  radioactivity  standards  for  research,  medicine  and  industry;

—  JRC  Reference  Laboratory  for  Isotopic  Measurements,  dedicated  to  performing  primary  isotopic
measurements and the production of isotopic reference materials, metrology in chemistry, quality control
for  nuclear  and  environmental  safeguards,  international  measurement  evaluation  programmes  (IMEP,
REIMEP),  validation  of  instruments  for  medical  diagnosis  and  authenticity  of  food,  origin  of  illicit
drugs;

—  JRC Centre for Reference Materials, dedicated to the production of highest quality chemical, biological,
clinical,  industrial,  environmental  and  nuclear  Certified  Reference  Materials  (CRMs),  storage  and
marketing  of  CRMs,  and  the  development  of  analytical  reference  methods  for  elements  and  their
chemical  forms,  radionuclides  and  organic  constituents.