Proposal for a Council Decision approving the conclusion by the Commission of an Agreement between the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and Canada for cooperation in the area of nuclear research
Date: 1998-10-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Canada, EAEC, cooperation agreement, energy research, nuclear energy

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  19.10.1998 
COM(98)575  final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL  DECISION 

approving  the  conclusion  by  the  Commission  of  an  Agreement  between  the 
European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM)  and Canada for cooperation  in 
the area Of nuclear research 

(presented by the Commission) 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

Subject  :  Proposal 

for  a  Council  Decision  approving 

the 
Commission  of  an  Agreement  between  the  European  Atomic  Energy 
Community (EURATOM)  and Canada for cooperation  in the area of nuclear 
research 

the  conclusion  by 

1.  On  22  July  1997,  the  Council  authorized  the  Commission  to  negotiate  an  Agree;vont 
between  the  European  Atomic  Energy  Community  (EURATOM)  and  Canada  for 
cooperation  in the area of nuclear research. 

2. 

3. 

On  that  basis  negotiations  took  place  which  resulted  in  the  attached  draft  agreement, 
including its annex on intellectual property treatment, which was initialled  in the course 
of April  1998. 

The  draft  agreement,  to  be  concluded  for  an  indefinite  period  of  time,  was  negotiated 
against the background  of the  1959 Agreement between the Government  of Canada and 
EURATOM  for  Cooperation  in the Peaceful  Uses  of  Atomic  Energy,  as  amended,  the 
1976  Canada-European  Communities  Framework  Agreement  for  Commercial  and 
Economic  Cooperation,  the  EC-Canada  Agreement  for  Scientific  and  Technological 
Cooperation  of  1996  and  the  Declaration  on  EC-Canada  Relations  of  1990  as  well  as 
the  Joint  Political  Declaration  on  EU-Canada  Relations  and  the  Joint  EU-Canada 
Action Plan of December  1996. 

The  draft  Agreement  is  based  on  the  principles  of  mutual  benefit,  reciprocal 
opportunities  for  access  to  each  other's  programmes  and  activities  relevant  to  the 
purpose  of  the  draft  Agreement,  non-discrimination,  and  the  effective  protection  of 
intellectual property and equitable sharing of intellectual property  rights. 

Cooperation  shall  be  conducted  subject  to  applicable  laws  and  regulations  in  force  on 
each side. 

4. 

The draft  Agreement provides for : 

- 

the  participation  of  persons  and  legal  entities,  including  the  Parties  themselves, 
universities, research  institutions, and other bodies  or undertakings,  in each  other's 
research  projects  or  in  agreed  multilateral  projects,  the  latter  under  certain 
conditions and this in a restricted number of nuclear research  areas 

specific  bilateral  cooperative  research  projects  established  by 
themselves j os  s ibly  on the basis of an implementing  arrangement; 

the  Parties 

- 

shared  use of research  facilities; 

exchange  and  provision  of information  and data; 

exchange of reference  materials,  samples,  fuels,  equipment  and  instrumentation; 

- 

visits  and  exchanges  of  scientists,  engineers  or  other  appropriate  personnel  for 
the  purposes  of  participating  in  meetings1  seminars,  symposia,  workshops  and 
other  research  activities relevant  to cooperation under this  Agreement; 

exchange  of  information  on practices,  laws,  regulations  and programmes  relevant 
to cooperation under the  Agreement; 

such  other  activities  as  may  be  mutually  determined  by  the  Joint  Science  and 
Technology  Cooperation  Committee  in  accordance  with  the  applicable  policies 
and programmes  of the Parties; 

the endorsement by the Parties of Technology Management Plans as a condition  for 
research projects to proceed, as described in the Annex to the draft  Agreement; 

cooperation  activities to be subject  to the availability of funds  and to the  applicable 
laws  and  regulations, policies  and programmes  of  Canada  and  the  Community;  no 
transfer  of funds will take place; 

provisions with regard to existing sectoral agreements. 

5.  As  far  as  the  Annex  on  the  dissemination  and  utilization  of  information  and 
management,  allocation  and  exercise  of  intellectual  property  rights  is  concerned,  both 
sides  have  agreed  to  the  same  set  of  rules  as  annexed  to  the  1996  EC-Canada 
Cooperation  Agreement  for  Science  and  Technology.  This  text,  it  may  be  recalled, 
reflects  the guiding principles  laid down in the Joint Declaration  of the Council  and the 
Commission  of  26  June  1992.  The  allocation  of  intellectual  property  rights  under 
Section  I of the Annex  shall be  in  accordance with the applicable  laws  and  regulations 
on  each  side,  i.e.  for  the  Community,  the rules  applicable  to  the  EURATOM  research 
programmes. 

The  principle  of  non-discrimination  agreed  under  Article  3  c)  should  protect 
Community  participants 
in  Canadian  programmes  and  activities  against  any 
discriminatory  treatment,  also  in respect  of the dissemination  and utilization  of results, 
including  intellectual  property  rights.  The  Joint  Science  and  Technology  Cooperation 
Committee  shall,  inter  alia,  review  the  efficient  and  effective  functioning  of  the 
Agreement,  including the non-discriminatory treatment of participants. 

6. 

In  the  light  of  the  above-mentioned  considerations  the  Commission  proposes  that 
Council approve the draft  Decision set out in Annex. 

3 

Proposal for a 

Council Decision approving the conclusion  by the Commission 
of an Agreement between the European  Atomic Energy Community  (EURATOM) 
and Canada for cooperation  in the area of nuclear research 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Atomic  Energy  Community,  and  in 
particular the second paragraph of Article  101 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal presented by the Commission2, 

WHEREAS  the  Commission  has  carried  out  negotiations  in  accordance  with  Council 
directives,  adopted  by  Council  Decision  of  22.07.1997,  for  an  Agreement  between  the 
European  Atomic  Energy  Community  (EURATOM)  and  Canada  for  cooperation  in  the  area 
of nuclear research, 

WHEREAS the conclusion by the Commission of that Agreement should be approved, 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS 

Sole Article 

The  conclusion  by the  Commission  of  an Agreement  between  the  European  Atomic  Energy 
Community  (EURATOM)  and  Canada  for  cooperation  in  the  area  of  nuclear  research  is 
hereby approved. 

The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision. 

Done in Brussels, 

For the Council, 
The President 

O.J.  No 

DRAFT 

AGREEMENT 
BETWEEN CANADA AND 
THE EUROPEAN ATOMIC ENERGY COMMUNITY 
FOR COOPERATION 
IN THE AREA OF NUCLEAR RESEARCH 

b. 

THE GOVERNMENT  OF CANADA of the one part hereinafter  referred to as "Canada", and 
the European Atomic  Energy Community, hereinafter  referred to as "the Community", of 
the other part both, hereinafter referred to as the "Parties"; 

CONSIDERING the importance of science and technology for their economic and social 
development; 

RECOGNIZING that Canada and the Community, are pursuing research and technological 
programmes of common  interest in a number of areas of nuclear research, and that mutual 
benefits may be derived if the Parties facilitate further cooperation; 

RECOGNIZING that the Agreement for Scientific and Technological  Cooperation  Between 
Canada and the European Community entered into force on 26 February  1996; 

NOTING that there has been active cooperation and information exchange in a number of 
scientific or technological areas under the Canada-European  Communities  Framework 
Agreement for Commercial and Economic Cooperation signed in 1976; 

NOTING that there has also been active cooperation and information exchange in the area 
of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy under the Agreement  between the Government of 
Canada and EURATOM for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Atomic  Energy signed in 
1959, as amended, hereinafter  referred to as the "Canada/EURATOM Agreement of 
1959"; 

REAFFIRMING their commitment to mutual cooperation in nuclear research and 
development as provided for in the Canada/EURATOM Agreement of 1959; 

Having regard to the Declaration on European Community-Canada  Relations adopted on 
November 22, 1990 as well as the Joint Political Declaration on Canada-EU  Relations and 
Joint Canada-EU Action Plan of December  17,1996; 

RECALLING that Canada and the Member States of the Community are parties to the 
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and members of the  International 
Atomic Energy Agency; 

DESIRING to strengthen cooperation in the peaceful, non-explosive, non military  uses of 
nuclear research and encourage the application of the results of such cooperation to their 
economic and social  benefit; 

è 

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS: 

ARTICLE 1 

Purpose 

The purpose of this Agreement is to encourage and facilitate cooperation, in fields of 
common interest in the peaceful, non-explosive, non-military uses of nuclear energy where 
the Parties are supporting  research and development activities to advance science and/or 
technology  relevant to those fields of interest. 

ARTICLE 2 

Definitions 

For the purposes of this Agreement: 

a) 

b) 

c) 

d) 

e) 

" Cooperative activity" means any activity carried on under this Agreement, and 
includes joint research; 

"Information" means scientific or technical data, results or methods of research and 
development stemming from the joint  research, and any other information  deemed 
necessary  by the participants engaged in cooperative activity, including, where 
necessary, the Parties themselves; 

"Intellectual Property" shall have the meaning defined in Article 2 of the Convention 
establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, done at Stockholm, 14 
July, 1967; 

"Joint research" means research that is financially supported by either or by both 
Parties and that involves collaboration by participants from both Canada and the 
Community.  All research carried out pursuant to this Agreement shall be joint 
research; 

"Participant"  means any person, legal entity, university, research institute or any 
other body and undertaking  participating in a cooperative activity, including the 
Parties themselves. 

t 

ARTICLE 3 

Principles 

Cooperation shall be conducted subject to applicable laws and regulations and on the 
basis of the following principles: 

a)  mutual benefit; 

b) 

reciprocal opportunities for access to each other's programmes and activities 
relevant to the purpose of this Agreement; 

c) 

non-discrimination; 

d) 

e) 

f) 

timely exchange of information which may affect the actions of participants in 
cooperative activities; 

effective  protection of intellectual property and equitable sharing of intellectual 
property rights; 

balanced realization of economic and social benefits by Canada and the Community 
in view of the contributions  made to cooperative activities by the  respective 
participants and/or Parties. 

ARTICLE 4 

Areas of Cooperation 

Cooperation may be pursued in the following areas of research and development: 

1) 

nuclear safeguards; 

2) 

radioactive waste management, including disposal; 

3) 

decommissioning  of nuclear facilities; 

4) 

radiation protection; 

5) 

nuclear reactor safety; 

6) 

controlled nuclear fusion. 

ARTICLE 5 

Modalities of Cooperation 

a.  Cooperation  may include but is not limited to the following activities: 

1) 

participation of persons and legal entities, including the Parties themselves, 
universities, research institutions, and other bodies or undertakings, in each other's 
research projects or in agreed multilateral projects, in accordance with the rules 
governing such projects, subject to the consent if required, of the third parties 
involved; 

2) 

specific bilateral cooperative research projects established by the Parties 
themselves, possibly on the basis of an implementing  arrangement; 

3) 

shared use of research facilities; 

4) 

exchange and provision of information and data; 

5) 

exchange of reference materials, samples, fuels, equipment and instrumentation; 

6) 

7) 

8) 

visits and exchanges of scientists, engineers or other appropriate personnel for the 
purposes of participating in meetings, seminars, symposia, workshops and other 
research activities relevant to cooperation under this Agreement; 

exchange of information on practices, laws, regulations and programmes relevant to 
cooperation  under the Agreement; 

such other activities as may be mutually determined  by the Joint Science and 
Technology  Cooperation Committee in accordance with the applicable policies and 
programmes of the Parties. 

b. 

Except as otherwise agreed by the Parties, joint research projects shall proceed 
under this Agreement only after the participants  in a project have concluded a Joint 
Technology  Management  Plan, as indicated in the Annex to this Agreement. 

3 

ARTICLE 6 

Joint Science and Technology Cooperation Committee  (JSTCC) 

a) 

This Agreement  shall be administered by the Joint Science and Technology 
Cooperation Committee composed of representatives of each Party. 

b) 

The functions of the JSTCC shall be to: 

1)promote and review the activities envisaged under the Agreement; 

2)authorize activities falling under Article 5 (a.8) as being cooperation to which this 

Agreement applies; 

3)advise the Parties on ways to enhance cooperation consistent with the  principles 

set out in this Agreement; 

4)provide a report annually to the Parties on the level, status and effectiveness  of 

cooperation undertaken under this Agreement; 

5)review the efficient and effective functioning of the Agreement, and address any 
disputes between the Parties concerning the interpretation of this Agreement; 

6) maintain a list of contact persons for a given area of research. 

c) 

d) 

The JSTCC shall meet approximately once a year, meetings being held alternatively 
in Canada and the Community.  Other meetings may be held as mutually agreed. 

Decisions of the JSTCC shall be reached by consensus.  Minutes, comprising a 
record of the decisions and principal points discussed, shall be taken at each 
meeting.  These minutes shall be agreed by those persons selected from each side 
to jointly chair the meetings.  The JSTCC annual report shall be made available to 
the Joint Cooperation Committee established under the 1976  EC-Canada 
Framework Agreement for Commercial and Economic Cooperation and appropriate 
authorities of each Party. 

G 

ARTICLE 7 

Funding 

a) 

b) 

a) 

b) 

Cooperative activities shall be subject to the availability of funds and to the 
applicable laws and regulations, policies and programs of Canada and the 
Community. 

Costs incurred by participants  In cooperative activities subject to this 
Agreement shall not require any transfer of funds from one Party to the other. 

ARTICLE 8 

Entry of Personnel and Equipment 

Each Party shall take all reasonable steps and use its best efforts, within 
applicable laws and regulations, to facilitate entry to and exit from its territory 
of personnel, material and equipment of the participant(s) engaged in or used 
in cooperative activities under this Agreement. 

ARTICLE 9 

Dissemination and Utilization of Information 

The dissemination and utilization of information, and the  management, 
allocation and exercise of intellectual property rights, resulting from joint 
research under this Agreement, shall be subject  to laws and regulations 
applicable on each side and to the principles set out in the Annex which forms 
an integral part of this Agreement. 

ARTICLE 10 

Other Agreements and Transitional  Provisions 

This Agreement shall supersede and replace those provisions of the Canada-
European Communities  Framework Agreement for Commercial and  Economic 
Cooperation governing existing science and technology collaboration. 

This Agreement shall complement the provisions of the  Canada/EURATOM 
Agreement of 1959. 

n 

c) 

d) 

e) 

Subject to paragraph  10 (a) above, this Agreement  is without prejudice to 
other existing Agreements or arrangements  between the Parties or any 
Agreement or arrangement  between the Parties and third parties. 

The activities covered by existing sectoral cooperation agreements  and 
memoranda of understanding  between the Parties shall continue to fall under 
the scope of these agreements or memoranda. 

Upon termination of existing sectoral cooperation agreements and 
memoranda of understanding  between the Parties, as provided for in these 
agreements and memoranda, the Parties will review the situation with a view 
to including the activities covered by such agreements and memoranda within 
this Agreement. 

ARTICLE 11 

Territorial Application 

This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand to the territory of Canada, on the other 
hand to the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Atomic  Energy 
Community is applied and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty. 

ARTICLE  12 

Entry Into Force and Termination 

a) 

b) 

c) 

This Agreement shall enter into force on the date on which the Parties have 
notified each other in writing that their legal requirements for entry into force of 
this Agreement  have been fulfilled. 

This Agreement may be amended by agreement of the Parties. Amendments 
shall enter into force on the date on which the Parties have notified each other 
in writing that their legal requirements  have been fulfilled. 

This Agreement may be terminated at any time by either Party upon twelve 
months written notice. The expiration or termination of the Agreement shall not 
affect the validity or duration of any arrangements  made under it, or any 
specific rights and obligations that have accrued in compliance with the 
Annex. 

\z 

ARTICLE 13 

This Agreement is drawn up in duplicable in the Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, 
German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish languages, each of those texts 
being equally authentic. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Agreement 

DONE AT 

, this day of 

, One thousand nine hundred and ninety 

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA 

FOR THE  EUROPEAN 
ATOMIC ENERGY 
COMMUNITY 

13 

ANNEX 

ANNEX ON THE DISSEMINATION AND UTILIZATION OF  INFORMATION 
AND  MANAGEMENT, ALLOCATION AND EXERCISE OF 
INTELLECTUAL  PROPERTY  RIGHTS 

I. OWNERSHIP, ALLOCATION AND EXERCISE OF RIGHTS 

1. 

2. 

Participants  performing joint research shall develop Joint Technology  Management 
Pians (JTMPs) which shall contain, as a minimum, principles in respect of the 
ownership and use, including publication, of information and Intellectual  Property (IP) 
to be created in the course of the joint research1. The JTMPs may be reviewed by 
the Parties and shall be approved by the responsible funding agency or department 
of the party involved in financing the research, before the conclusion of any specific 
research and development cooperation contracts to which they refer. The JTMPs 
shall be developed taking into account the aims of the joint research, the  relative 
contributions of the participants, the advantages and disadvantages of licensing by 
territory or for fields of use, requirements  imposed by applicable laws, the need tor 
dispute settlement procedures and other factors deemed appropriate by the 
participants. The rights and oblkjations concerning the research and  information 
generated by visiting  researchers in respect of IP shall also be addressed in the 
JTMPs. 

Information or IP created in the course of joint research and not addressed  in a 
JTMP shall be allocated according to the principles set out in 1,1  according to the 
principles set out in that JTMP. In case of disagreement, which cannot be resolved 
by the agreed dispute  resolution procedure, such unallocated information or  IP shall 
be owned jointly by all the participants involved in the joint research from which the 
information or IP results, and each participant to whom this provision applies shall 
have the right to use such information or IP for his/her own commercial  exploitation 
with no geographical limitation. 

3. 

In accordance with applicable laws and regulations, each Party shall ensure that the 
other Party and its participants  may have the rights to IP allocated to them in 
accordance with the principles set out in Section I of this Annex. 

4.  While maintaining the conditions of competition in areas affected  by the Agreement, 

each Party shall endeavour to ensure that rights acquired pursuant to the 
Agreement, and arrangements  made under it are exercised in such a way as to 
encourage  in  particular: 

1. The indicative features of such JTMPs are set out in the Appendix. 

(i) 

the dissemination and use of information created, disclosed, or otherwise  made 
available, under the Agreement; 

(ii) 

the adoption and implementation of international standards. 

II. 

COPYRIGHT WORKS 

Copyright belonging to the Parties or to their participants shall be accorded treatment 
consistent with the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property  Rights 
administered  by the World Trade Organization. 

III. 

SCIENTIFIC  LITERARY WORKS 

Without prejudice to Section IV, unless otherwise agreed in the JTMP, any publication of 
results of the joint research shall be made jointly by the participants. In addition to the 
foregoing general rule, the following procedure shall apply: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

In the case of publication by a Party or public bodies of that Party, of scientific and 
technical journals, articles, reports, books, including video and software arising from 
joint research pursuant to the Agreement, the other Party shall be entitled, with 
written permission from the publisher, to a world-wide, non-exclusive, irrevocable, 
royalty-free licence to translate, reproduce, adapt and publicly distribute such works. 

The Parties shall endeavour to disseminate literary works of a scientific  character 
arising from joint research pursuant to the Agreement and published by independent 
publishers as widely as possible. 

All copies of a copyright work to be publicly distributed and prepared under this 
provision shall indicate the names of the author(s) of the work unless an author or 
authors expressly declines or decline to be named. Copies shall also bear a clearly 
visible acknowledgement of the cooperative support of the Parties. 

if 

IV. UNDISCLOSED  INFORMATION 

A. Documentary  undisclosed  information 

1. 

Participants shall identify at the earliest possible moment, and preferably in the 
JTMP, the information that it wishes to remain undisclosed in relation to this 
Agreement, taking into account, among other things, the following criteria: 

secrecy of the information in the sense that the information is not, as a body or 
in the precise configuration or assembly of its components, generally  known 
among or readily accessible by lawful means to experts in the field; 

the actual or potential commercial value of the information by virtue of its 
secrecy; 

previous protection of the information in the sense that it has been subject to 
steps that were reasonable under the circumstances  by the person lawfully in 
control, to maintain its secrecy. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Participants shall not normally be required to provide undisclosed information to the 
Parties. Should the Parties become aware of such information, they shall respect the 
privileged nature thereof, and It shall not be further disclosed by, within, or between 
the Parties, without the written consent of the participant(s) to whom the  information 
belongs. These limitations shall automatically terminate when such information is 
disclosed by the owner, without restriction, to experts in the field. 

Each Party shall ensure that undisclosed information, communicated  between them 
under the Agreement, and its ensuing privileged nature is readily recognizable as 
such by the other Party, for example, by means of an appropriate marking or 
restrictive  legend. This also applies to any reproduction of the said information, in 
whole or in part. 

Undisclosed  information communicated under the Agreement, and received from the 
other Party, may be disseminated by the receiving Party to persons within or 
employed by the receiving Party and other concerned departments or agencies of 
the receiving  Party authorized for the specific purposes of the joint  research 
underway, provided that any undisclosed information so disseminated shall be 
pursuant to a written agreement of confidentiality and shall be readily  recognizable 
as such, as set out above. 

5.  With the prior written consent of the Party providing undisclosed information  under 
the Agreement, the receiving Party may disseminate such undisclosed  information 
more widely than otherwise permitted in  Paragraph 4 above. The Party shall 
cooperate in developing procedures for requesting and obtaining prior written 

\C 

consent for such wider dissemination, and each Party will grant such approval to the 
extent permitted by its domestic policies, regulations and laws. 

B. 

Non documentary  undisclosed  information 

Non-documentary  undisclosed or other confidential or privileged information provided in 
seminars and other meetings arranged under the Agreement, or information arising from 
the attachment of staff, use of facilities, or joint projects, shall be treated by the Parties or 
their participants according to the principles specified in Section  IV A above, provided, 
however, that the recipient of such undisclosed or other confidential or privileged 
information  has been made aware in advance and in written form of the confidential 
character of the information to be communicated. 

C.  Control 

Each Party shall make its best efforts to ensure that undisclosed information received by it 
under the Agreement shall be controlled as  provided therein. If one of the Parties 
becomes aware that it will be, or may reasonably be expected to become, unable to meet 
the non-dissemination  provisions of Paragraphs A and B above, it shall immediately  inform 
the Party likely to be affected by the dissemination. The Parties involved shall thereafter 
consult to define an appropriate course of action. 

i* 

APPENDIX 

INDICATIVE  FEATURES OF A JOINT TECHNOLOGY  MANAGEMENT  PLAN  (JTMP) 

The JTMP is a specific contract to be concluded between the participants  In joint  research 
defining their respective  rights and obligations. With respect to Intellectual Property Rights, 
the JTMP will normally address, inter alia: ownership, protection, user rights for  research 
and development  purposes, exploitation and dissemination, including arrangements for 
joint publication, the rights and obligations of visiting researchers and dispute  settlement 
procedures.  The JTMP may also address foreground and background information, the 
rules governing disclosure of undisclosed information, licensing and deliverables. 

£ 

FINANCIAL  STATEMENT 

1.  Title of the operation 

International  scientific  cooperation  :  Agreement  with  Canada  for  cooperation  in  the  area  of 
nuclear  research. 

2.  Relevant budget headings 

Travel  costs  for  EC  officials  will  be  charged  to  the  specific  budget  headings  of  the 
programmes  within  the  Framework  Programme  of  Community  activities  in  the  field  of 
research  and training  for  the European Atomic Energy  Community  (1994-1998)  and  possible 
subsequent  similar Framework  Programmes. 

Budget items concerned  : 

B6-8111 : Nuclear fission  safety 
B6-8121 : Controlled  thermonuclear  fusion 

3.  Legal basis 

Article  101, paragraph 2, Euratom Treaty 
Council Decision 96/253/Euratom of 4 March  1996 
Council Decision 94/268/Euratom  of 26 April  1994 

4.  Description of the operation 

4.1. 

Specific  objectives  of the operation 

The  essential  objective  is to  stimulate  RTD  cooperation  between  EURATOM  and  Canada  in 
terms  of  research  projects  covered  by  the  framework  programme  and  in the  sectors  covered 
by the Agreement. 

4.2.  Duration 

Unspecified  : ongoing  annual  budget  entry  (the  cooperation  agreement  includes  a  clause  by 
which  either  or  both  parties  can  give  notice  of  terminating  the  agreement),  but  subject  to 
annual budget disponibilities. 

5.  Classification  of the expenditure 

5.1.  Non-compulsory  expenditure 

5.2.  D ifferentiated  appropriations 

3 

6.  Type of expenditure 

Financing  of  missions  to  Canada  by  Commission  officials;  organisation  of  workshops, 
seminars and meetings in Europe and Canada. 

7.  Financial impact 

7.1.  Method of calculating the total annual cost of the operation (estimate) 

Implementing  activities,  technical  information  exchange  meetings  and  workshops, 
review of the cooperation : meetings of the Joint Science and Technology Cooperation 
Estimate : 55.000 Ecus/year 
Committee, visits of officials  and experts to Canada 

7.2.  Multi-annual schedules of the EAEC Framework Programme (MECU)1 

1995 

1996 

1997 

1998 

1999 

2000 + 

TOTAL 

C.A. 

418.034 

346.296 

285.147 

286.523 

-

-

1.336.000 

P.A. 

227.459 

331.576 

278.645 

281.587 

123.661 

93.072 

1.336.000 

8.  Anti-fraud  measures 

There  are  many  administrative  and  financial  controls  at  each  stage  of  the  signature  and 
implementation of research contracts.  Among these controls are the following : 

At the stage prior to the conclusion 

- 

Initial selection of proposals based on the scientific merit of the project  and on the realism 
of  research  costs  relative  to  the  content,  duration  of  the  project  and  its  potential 
implications. 

-  Analysis of financial details submitted by the proposers in the contract negotiation form. 

After signature of the contract 

-  Examination  of  expenditure  at  a  number  of  levels  (financial  officer,  scientific  officer) 

before payment. 

- 

Internal audit performed by the Financial Controller. 

As proposed  in the Preliminary  Draft  General  Budget of  1997. 

lo 

On-site  audit,  which  should  allow  the  detection  of  errors  and  other  irregularities  by 
In  order  to  improve  the  efficiency  of  these 
examination  of  supporting  documents. 
controls,  the  Commission  services  have  established  an  audit  unit  which  coordinates  all 
controls  taking place.  These controls  are carried  out either  by members  of this audit unit 
or  by  audit  firms  with  which  the  Commission  has  concluded  a  contract,  under  the 
supervision of personnel from this audit unit. 

On  the  spot  inspections  made by  the  Financial  Controller  of  the  Commission  and  by  the 
Court of Auditors of the European Union. 

9.  Cost-effectiveness  analysis 

9.1. 

Specific  objectives,  target population 

-  The agreement  is designed to enable the Community  and Canada to profit  on the basis of 
the principle  of mutual benefit,  from  the  scientific  and  technical  progress  achieved  under 
their  reciprocal  research  programmes,  via  the  participation  of  the  Canadian  scientific 
community  and  industrial  sector  in  the  Community's  research  projects  and  via  the 
independent  and  non-subsidised  participation  of  bodies  established  in  the  Community  in 
Canadian research projects; 

-  beneficiaries  in  the  EAEC  and  Canada  will  be  the  scientific  communities,  the  industrial 
sector and the general public, thanks to the direct and indirect effects  of cooperation. 

9.2. 

Justification  of the operation 

Community  budget  intervention  is  indispensable  because  the  planned  cooperation  comes 
under  the  implementation  of  the  framework  programme,  including  the  budgetary  section  : 
participation by Canada in certain specific  programmes  and  administrative  expenditure on the 
European  side  (missions by Community  officials,  organisation  of  seminars  in the Community 
and Canada). 

9.3.  Monitoring and evaluation of the operation 

An  evaluation  of  all  the  cooperation  activities  in  the  context  of  this  agreement  will  be made 
by the Commission's departments at the end of each year. 

10. Implications  for  administrative  expenditure 

-  The  Commission  is  not  requesting  any  additional  posts  for  the  management  of  the 

Agreement. 

-  No officials  are being specifically  assigned  to manage the Agreement.  It will be managed 
by the staff  authorised  for the specific programmes of the EAEC Framework  Programme. 

2 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(98) 575 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

12  11  15 

Catalogue  number  :  CB-CO-98-579-EN-C 

ISBN  92-78-39762-8 

Office  for  Official  Publications of the European  Communities 

L-2985  Luxembourg 

£2.