WRITTEN QUESTION E-2324/99 by Daniela Raschhofer (NI) to the Commission. Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the EC and the Russian Federation.
Date: 1999-12-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Argentina, China, Community budget, EU financing, Russia, biotechnology, cooperation agreement (EU), cost-effectiveness analysis, military research, operation of the Institutions, scientific cooperation, technical cooperation

8.8.2000

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 225 E/101

3. To what extent are scientists, research workers, officials and other public employees involved under

this cooperation agreement?

4. Does this agreement also extend to research in the area of biotechnology or military biotechnology?

(2000/C 225 E/102)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2324/99

by Daniela Raschhofer (NI) to the Commission

(13 December 1999)

Subject: Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the EC and the Russian Federation

The Commission is proposing that a scientific and technological agreement should be concluded with the
Russian Federation. It would provide for an increase in cooperation and exchanges of views on research
and development.

As the Committee on Budgets has already stated, further and more precise information is needed from the
Commission in this regard.

Without answers to the following questions it will be impossible to give this matter appropriate
consideration:

1. What financial contribution will the Russian partners be making to the research activities?

2. Are there any analyses of the benefits and cost efficiency of international cooperation agreements of

this kind? If so, what do they say?

3. To what extent are scientists, research workers, officials and other public employees involved under

this cooperation agreement?

4. Does this agreement also extend to research in the area of biotechnology or military biotechnology?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-2322/99, E-2323/99 and E-2324/99
given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(11 January 2000)

Partners from non-member countries in all scientific and technical cooperation projects entered into under
these various agreements must ensure that their own research costs are covered.

Under those agreements, no Community funding is thus granted to partners from such countries.
Nevertheless,
in accordance with Council and Parliament Decisions, and as was the case before the
agreements took effect, China and Argentina continue to remain eligible for Community funding under
the specific (cid:145)research for development(cid:146) programme. As for Russia, even after the agreement takes effect it
will continue to benefit from Community funding of its INCO-Copernicus and INTAS activities.

The scientific and technical cooperation agreements between the Community and Argentina, the Commun-
ity and China and the Community and Russia will not, in themselves, generate any additional costs to the
Community budget apart from the management costs arising from said agreements. There has so far been
no genuine cost-benefit analysis of the other agreements on scientific and technological cooperation.

However, assessments are being, and will also be, carried out at cooperation-instrument and/or project
level with Argentina, China and Russia, the same applying to the other agreements in force.

The agreements with Argentina and China make specific provision for such assessments at regular
intervals, any extension of agreements being subject to the outcome of those assessments.

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Community scientists and research workers are directly affected by those agreements, which enable them
to enter into scientific and technical cooperation with their opposite numbers in the non-member
countries concerned and to exchange ideas, experience and skills. That cooperation and those exchanges
may, moreover, spur an increase in the human resources devoted to research within the Community.

The Commission(cid:146)s officials and other servants act as sources of information on the potential offered by the
agreement for the scientific communities, and also follow up the cooperation entered into and turn this to
account by their involvement, in particular, in the activities of each joint steering committee set up in
order to implement each of these agreements. They then report to the joint bodies which are responsible
for following-up all of their relationships with the Community for each of the countries concerned.

The S&T Cooperation Agreements only concern civilian research and embrace research in biotechnology.
In the case of Russia, biotechnology is not referred to specifically but, in actual fact, is included implicitly
in that biomedical research and health, which are increasingly dependent upon this, are themselves referred
to specifically.

(2000/C 225 E/103)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2326/99

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(13 December 1999)

Subject: Import of steel of dubious quality for use in reinforced concrete

The earthquakes which have occurred in Greece and Turkey have caused increased concern regarding the
quality of steel used in reinforced concrete. It is an (cid:145)open secret(cid:146) that imported steel on the Greek market is
in many cases of lower quality than that indicated. It is alleged that the checks carried out are either
inadequate or, if they do reveal that the steel is of inferior quality, it is still allowed to enter the European
market with a higher quality designation (for example steel ribs), facilitating its use as a product of higher
quality than that actually ascertained, in the absence of preventive checks (market regulation).

1. What steps will the Commission take, in cooperation with the Member States, to step up monitoring
procedures?

2. When will uniform quality standards be introduced for steel in reinforced concrete, together with
uniform monitoring procedures based on these standards?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(17 January 2000)

When considering imports of steel products from non-member countries where manufacturing standards
may be different from those used in the Community, we need to distinguish clearly between the way such
products are processed through customs and any judgment of actual product quality.

in one or other category of

As far as customs procedures are concerned, product quality is only considered in order to place the
product
the customs nomenclature corresponding to the harmonised
international tariff system (e.g. alloy steel, non-alloy steel). Any dishonest use of customs declarations,
e.g. to gain certain advantages in the application of customs duties, is punishable by law, following an
inquiry by the national customs authorities.

Generally speaking, the legal basis for attesting the conformity of construction products is Commission
Decision 97/597/EC of 14 July 1997 on the procedure for attesting the conformity of construction
products pursuant to Article 20(2) of Council Directive 89/106/EEC as regards reinforcing and prestressing