Annual report 2006.
Date: 2007-05-08
Institutions: Joint Research Centre
Subjects: Joint Research Centre, activity report

Report EUR 22678 EN 

European Commission
Joint Research Centre

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Table of Contents

04
05
06

07
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

Foreword from the Commissioner for Science and Research  
Observations from the Board of Governors  
Message from the Director General 

Support to EU Policies
Four new Community Reference Laboratories for Food Safety 
25 years and the International Atomic Energy Agency 
Route-based Risk Analysis helps Combat Fraud and increase Global Security   
Supporting the “Energy Package”  
Response to Crises in 2006 
Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe 
Coexistence of Genetically Modified (GM) and non-GM Crops in Europe 
Nine New Alternative Methods for Testing Pharmaceuticals/Chemicals 
Support to Policies via Economic Analysis   
New Member States, Candidate Countries and Associated Countries   
Snapshot Examples of Support to EU Policies 

18

JRC Excellence Awards 

24

2006 Highlights from JRC Institutes 

38
38
40
41
42
43

Horizontal Activities
The Multi Annual Work Programme 
Technology Transfer and Innovation 
Management of JRC’s Infrastructures 
Exploratory Research 
Press and Media Relations in Figures 

44

Figures on Staff, Budget and Publications

46

The Board of Governors  

48

The JRC Directors

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Foreword from the Commissioner
for Science and Research    

I extend my thanks to all JRC staff for their support 
in  the  adoption  of  FP7  and  would  like  to  encour-
age  you  to  continue  implementing  your  mission 
and contributing to scientific excellence and com-
petitiveness. FP7 is a great opportunity for research 
and, the fact that you are continually asked to sup-
port many key policy files, makes me very optimis-
tic about the JRC’s contribution to this Framework 
Programme.  I know I can count on you to keep up 
the good work. 

Janez Potoc˘nik

Commissioner Janez Potoc˘nik at the JRC-ITU together with 
Roland Schenkel (Diretor General) and Thomas Fanghänel 
(Director JRC-ITU)

2006,  the  last  year  of  the  Sixth  Framework  Pro-
gramme  (FP6),  ended  with  the  Council  and  Par-
liament’s  successful  adoption  of  the  Seventh 
Framework  Programme  (FP7)  for  Research  and 
Development, as well as the Specific Programmes. 
I consider that this is a very positive vote of confi-
dence in research at European level. The consider-
able  increase  in  funding  available  compared  with 
the previous Framework Programme is a significant 
achievement and a great opportunity for research-
ers  in  the  EU.  It  bears  witness  to  the  importance 
the  Commission,  the  Parliament  and  the  Member 
States attach to research in reaching the Lisbon tar-
gets. FP7 will provide a solid framework and finan-
cial basis for research in the EU over an extended 
period  of  time.  It  will  also  provide  an  important 
boost  to  basic  research  and  scientific  excellence 
through the European Research Council. 

The smooth adoption of the Specific Programmes 
of the JRC is a sign of the appreciation by the Mem-
ber States and the European Parliament of the work 
carried out by the JRC in FP6 and a confirmation of 
its role in FP7. The JRC should continue on its path 
to  strengthen  its  scientific  base  and  scientific  ex-
cellence. For this reason, I have set a target of 15% 
competitive income in FP7 and in this way, the JRC 
will demonstrate its competitiveness on a par with 
other research organisations in Europe.

In  2006,  the  JRC  continued  to  underpin  research 
and  work  on  an  impressive  range  of  policy  files: 
from performing risk evaluation on chemicals (with 
the adoption of REACH) to support in detecting GM-
contaminated rice, from predicting floods and fires 
to supporting the European energy policy. The list 
is long and the impact of the JRC’s work is becoming 
more pronounced as well as recognised. I welcome 
the  efforts  to  further  extend  scientific-technical 
support  beyond  the  Commission  to  the  European 
Parliament, the Council and to the Member States.

On 25 October, I visited the JRC Institute for Trans-
uranium  Elements  (JRC-ITU)  in  Karlsruhe  whose 
mandate it is to provide the scientific basis for pro-
tecting  Europe’s  citizens  against  risks  associated 
with the handling and storage of highly radioactive 
elements. No other civil laboratory in Europe offers 
such a broad range of analytical capabilities for nuc-
lear  material  and  its  capabilities  in  basic  actinide 
research are world class. It was especially reward-
ing to visit JRC-ITU in 2006, the 25th anniversary of 
collaboration with the International Atomic Energy 
Agency. 

04 | Foreword from the Commissioner

Observations from
the Board of Governors

Board of Governors meeting in Karlsruhe, November, 2006

This  report  provides  many  examples  of  the  im-
pact  the  Joint  Research  Centre  made  in  2006  on 
the  formulation,  implementation  and  monitoring 
of EU policies, in particular those designed to pro-
tect  human  health,  the  environment  and  secure 
citizens against economic and technological risks. 
By way of example, the new chemicals legislation 
(REACH),  adopted  in  December  2006,  is  largely 
based on the competence of the European Chemi-
cals  Bureau,  which  was  established  at  the  JRC 
over a decade ago. REACH is intended to make the 
European Union the most advanced region of the 
world in terms of regulating chemicals safety. 

We are pleased to note that in 2006, the JRC con-
tinued  to  deliver  rapid  response  scientific  and 
technological (S&T) support to Commission serv-
ices at times of crises, for example on the poten-
tial imports of GM-contaminated rice, the assess-
ment  of  the  needs  for  reconstruction  in  Lebanon 
and in the fight against illicit trafficking of nuclear 
materials.

The  Board  notes  with  satisfaction  the  further 
strengthening  of  the  customer-driven  orientation 
of the JRC, reflecting its mission statement. In en-
dorsing the JRC specific programmes and Multi An-
nual  Work  Programme,  the  Board  acknowledged 
the effectiveness of the arrangements for ensuring 
the relevance of the programmes to EU policy mak-
ing. In this regard, the Board strongly encourages 
the JRC to continue building its scientific research 
base in order to underpin the continued provision 
of state-of-the-art S&T support. 

In 2006, the Board supported a number of initia-
tives intended to strengthen the JRC’s governance. 
A core value statement aiming at better profiling  

the organisation in terms of its fundamental prin-
ciples  and  ethics  was  developed  and  guidelines 
were prepared towards upholding scientific integ-
rity and veracity. 

The Board constituted two ad hoc groups of Board 
members  with  the  purpose  of  raising  the  visibil-
ity of the JRC and enhancing interaction with the 
Member States. The recommendations, which were 
agreed to by the Board and welcomed by the JRC, 
are now being implemented. They include the set-
ting up of a network of National Contact Points to 
strengthen  operational  links  with  the  scientific 
communities  in  the  Member  States,  Associated 
Countries and Candidate Countries. 

The  Board  commends  the  JRC  management  and 
staff on the progress made by the JRC in 2006 in 
fulfilling its mission while at the same time raising 
its scientific profile and presence in the media. We 
wish to record our appreciation to Commissioner 
Janez Potoc˘nik for his vision and continuous sup-
port to the organisation. 

Fernando Aldana
Chairman of the Board

Observations from the Board of Governors | 05

 
 
 
Message from
the Director General

exciting policy files on the agenda to which we will 
provide support and overcome the scientific chal-
lenges required to do so. In my second year as DG 
(Director General), I am fully committed to continu-
ing this development. We will start FP7 with a sub-
stantially rejuvenated senior management (further 
rejuvenation to be completed during 2007) – this 
is both an opportunity and a challenge, coming at 
the  changeover  from  FP6  to  FP7.  I  acknowledge 
and thank our staff as well as outgoing Directors 
for ensuring a smooth transition period.

Attendance at Roland Schenkel’s end of year address to all 
staff in the JRC 

Finally, I wish to thank Commissioner Potoc˘nik for 
his support and guidance, the Board of Governors 
for  their  constructive  advice,  our  customers  and 
partners, for whom we provide S&T support, and 
all JRC staff for their dedication and support.

Roland Schenkel

The key event of 2006 for JRC was undoubtedly the 
adoption  of  the  Seventh  Framework  Programme 
for  Research  and  Development  and  of  the  spe-
cific programmes. Our programmes were adopted 
smoothly,  after  approval  by  the  Commission  and 
the Board of Governors. This is an achievement of 
which we can all be proud. 

In  2006,  the  trend  continued  of  increasing  re-
quests  from  the  Commission  services,  the  Mem-
ber States, the European Parliament, the Council 
and  our  partners  (e.g.  research  bodies,  universi-
ties,  agencies,  etc).  We  can  largely  attribute  this 
to  “living  the  mission  statement”,  implementing 
key  recommendations  of  the  (external)  five-year 
assessment,  developing  new  scientific  strategies 
and strengthening internal and external cooperation. 
Our change in work strategy to more strongly in-
volving  our  customers  and  stakeholders  in  our 
governance and communicating our achievements 
to key stakeholders and the local and wider pub-
lic, are clearly starting to pay off!

Our role as a scientific-technical reference centre 
continued to develop. In the 2005 annual report, 
I  pledged  to  expand  our  role  as  Community  Ref-
erence Laboratory (CRL) for food and feed safety 
topics  of  concern  to  Europe’s  citizens.  In  2006, 
we opened four new CRLs to address those topics 
(details on page 7). We have continued to provide 
customer-driven  scientific  and  technical  support, 
and  selected  examples  are  documented  in  the 
“Support  to  Community  Policies”  section  (pages 
7  to  17)  of  this  report.  Highlights  from  the  seven 
Institutes  (pages  24  to  38)  are  also  included  as 
well as our contribution to enlargement, the integ- 
ration of new Member States, technology transfer, 
press  and  media  actions  and  JRC  infrastructural 
progress.  In  2006,  we  also  continued  to  nurture 
and expand collaboration networks, promoted re-
cruitment and exchange programmes for Europe’s 
best scientists, its training programmes and use of 
JRC facilities. In line with this theme, a section of 
this report has again been dedicated to young sci-
entists’ awards and their innovative achievements 
in 2006 (pages 18-23).

2007,  the  first  year  of  FP7,  will  be  a  challenging 
year.  It  will  entail  the  fine  tuning  of  the  Specific 
Programmes and focusing and integrating our re-
search  activities  with  particular  emphasis  on  the 
socio-economic aspects of our work, as requested 
by  our  customer  DGs,  MEPs  and  Commissioners. 
Commissioner Potoc˘nik has set ambitious targets, 
including  15%  competitive  income  and  we  have 

06 | Message from the Director General

 
Four new Community Reference
Laboratories for Food Safety

In  2006,  the  Commission  designated  the  JRC  as 
Community Reference Laboratory (CRL) in four dif-
ferent areas, namely food contact materials, heavy 
metals, mycotoxins and polycyclic aromatic hydro-
carbons (PAHs) in food and feed. With the estab-
lishment of the four new CRLs under its responsibil-
ity, the JRC is now managing six in total. The JRC’s 
Institute  for  Reference  Materials  and  Measure-
ments  (IRMM)  has  also  been  appointed  Chair  of 
the  coordinating  board  of  experts  for  monitoring 
water in poultry, which carries out tasks similar to 
those of the CRLs.

The CRLs work together with networks of Nation-
al  Reference  Laboratories  (NRLs)  in  the  Member 
States. Their main tasks – developing and validat-
ing methods of analysis, producing standards, as 
well  as  organising  comparative  and  proficiency 
tests – are core activities of the JRC.

CRL for Food Contact Materials 

The  Community  Reference  Laboratory  for  Food 
Contact  Materials  (CRL  FCM)  was  officially  inau-
gurated on 7 December 2006 by Robert Madelin, 
Director General of the Health and Consumer Pro-
tection Directorate General.

Food  contact  materials,  which  are  essential  in 
processing,  transport  and  storage  of  food,  must 
comply with EU legislation. CRL FCM will provide 
National Reference Laboratories with harmonised 
analytical methods and reference substances and 
materials, and will work closely with them to en-
sure the harmonised enforcement of EU food con-
tact  materials  legislation  across  the  EU  Member 
States.

Official inauguration of the CRL FCM on 7 December, 2006

CRL for Heavy Metals in Feed and Food

European  legislation  sets  maximum  levels  of 
heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium, 
in food and feed. The task of the CRL is to facilitate 
the  implementation  of  those  rules  by  coordinat-
ing and monitoring the measurement capabilities 
of  the  national  reference  laboratories  analysing 
these metals in feed and food.

CRL for Mycotoxins

About 20% of food products, mainly of plant ori-
gin,  can  potentially  be  contaminated  with  myco-
toxins,  toxic  compounds  naturally  produced  by 
several species of fungi. To protect the consumers, 
European legislation sets maximum limits for their 
content in food and feed. The CRL for mycotoxins 
in food of plant origin and animal feed has  been 
established  to  facilitate  the  development,  im-
provement and application of methods of analysis 
and sample preparation for the official control of 
these maximum levels. 

CRL for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Polycyclic  aromatic  hydrocarbons  (PAHs)  in  food 
are formed as a result of combustion processes of 
organic substances. PAH contamination in food is 
largely related to production practices but can also 
be caused by contamination of the environment.

This  CRL  assists  the  national  laboratories  of  the 
Member States by developing and validating meth-
ods of analysis of these compounds, and by help-
ing harmonise official controls. 

Support to EU Policies | 07

International Atomic Energy Agency

25 years and the

Commissioner  Janez  Potoc˘nik  assured  the  JRC’s 
continuous  support  to  the  IAEA  by  stating  that 
“Work on Nuclear Safeguards is extremely impor-
tant for global security. Our work with the IAEA will 
remain fundamental to what we do in this field. I 
am sure the next 25 years will be as successful as 
the last”.

IAEA’s  Deputy  Director  General  and  Head  of  the 
Safeguards  Department,  Olli  Heinonen  said  “the 
Joint  Research  Centre  has  provided  us  with  tre-
mendous  scientific  and  technical  support  which 
has  enabled  us  to  perform  our  duties”.  This  has 
had a positive impact on the safety and security, 
not only of the citizens of the European Union, but 
also for people worldwide.”

Scientist analysing seized nuclear material using mass spec-
trometry

For  the  past  year,  Nuclear  Safeguards  has  been 
high on the political agenda with headlines such 
as the first test of a nuclear device by North Korea 
and  concerns  that  Iran’s  nuclear  fuel  enrichment 
programme  may  not  solely  have  energy-related 
aims.  The  International  Atomic  Energy  Agency 
(IAEA) is the UN’s “nuclear watchdog”, responsi-
ble  for  applying  Nuclear  Safeguards  throughout 
the world.

On 4-5 October, 2006, the JRC celebrated the 25th 
anniversary  of  the  European  Commission’s  Sup-
port Programme to the IAEA. The JRC’s other main 
“client” in its Nuclear Safeguards work is the Com-
mission’s  own  Directorate  General  for  Transport 
and Energy. 

Nuclear Safeguards can perhaps be best described 
as  “the  first  line  of  defence  for  keeping  nuclear 
materials  under  control”.  This  entails  checking 
and  ensuring  that  nuclear  materials  are  used  for 
peaceful purposes (e.g. energy, research, medical 
or other applications). Internationally, this is regu-
lated by the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons 
Treaty  (NPT),  to  which  188  states  belong.  Under 
the  NPT,  the  IAEA  is  responsible  for  performing 
Nuclear  Safeguards  throughout  the  world.  This 
is done routinely at over 900 facilities in 61 coun-
tries. 

For the past 25 years, the JRC has delivered techni-
cal instruments and equipment to the IAEA. This in-
cludes a laboratory robot for chemical separations 
and plutonium inventory instruments delivered to 
the on-site laboratory at the Nuclear Reprocessing 
Plant in Rokkasho, Japan.

It  has  developed  a  novel  automated  system  for 
Inspectors to verify that a complex nuclear instal-
lation  is  built  according  to  the  declared  design. 
This system is based on 3D laser technologies and 
software and can detect changes introduced with-
in  a  plant  to  millimeter  accuracy.  Since  its  initial 
deployment  at  the  Rokkasho  Reprocessing  Plant 
in  Japan,  the  system  was  successfully  tested  by 
an independent safeguards laboratory and is now 
used on a routine basis by the IAEA.

The JRC has analysed hundreds of “dust” samples 
taken from IAEA inspections across the globe for 
fissile material, such as highly-enriched uranium. 
It  also  has  provided,  and  continues  to  provide, 
isotopic reference materials and conduct interna-
tional  measurement  evaluation  programmes  for 
laboratories engaged in nuclear measurements. 

08 | Support to EU Policies

 
Route-based Risk Analysis helps
Combat Fraud and increase Global Security

The  JRC  has  developed  “ConTraffic”,  a  system 
based on route-risk analysis which can make a sig-
nificant contribution to the fight against fraud, and 
increased global security. The system can identify 
false  declarations  of  origin,  which  can  be  made 
to  circumvent  anti-dumping  duties,  and  reduce 
smuggling of counterfeit goods, nuclear materials 
or weapons.

The  ConTraffic  database  has  more  than  220  mil-
lion records relating to more than 4.4 million con-
tainers over a period of three and a half years. It 
also  keeps  information  on  more  than  2.6  million 
containers by seven leasing companies. While the 
database is not yet complete, it nonetheless con-
tains  enough  information  to  allow  a  route-based 
risk analysis on a sound statistical basis.

90% of the world’s cargo is transported in maritime 
containers, but only 2% is physically inspected by 
customs authorities. This increases the risk of il-
licit  activities,  such  as  avoiding  customs  duties, 
circumventing  quotas  or  smuggling.  Therefore,  a 
method is needed to control and monitor contain-
erised cargo. An information-based system using 
risk  analysis  is  therefore  a  very  effective  way  to 
identify high-risk consignments and target phys-
ical checks where needed.

Risk analysis has been used by customs authori-
ties for some years to detect suspicious cargoes. 
The  introduction  of  ConTraffic  means  authorities 
can now analyse risk, based on the routes taken 
by the containers at a global level. The routes in-
clude  the  port  where  the  container  was  loaded, 
any transit ports and the port where the container 
was eventually unloaded. This information is gath-
ered from web-based open sources.

In 2006, as part of EC-US Customs Cooperation on 
transatlantic supply chain security, the JRC partici-
pated in the EC-US trans-shipment pilot exercise. 
The EC-US Customs Cooperation is considered to 
be  an  essential  instrument  contributing  towards 
combating  international  terrorism.  The  scenario 
prepared by the Taxation and Customs Union DG 
involved a significant input from ConTraffic, which 
was applied by the JRC’s team to container ship-
ment information delivered regularly by the US to 
the Commission during the exercise. The aim of the 
pilot exercise was to explore ways to improve the 
effectiveness  of  identifying  high-risk  containers 
destined  for  the  USA  via  European  ports,  whose 
real country of origin has been concealed.

ConTraffic  is  currently  being  expanded  to  ad-
dress  the  movement  of  security-sensitive  goods. 
It  should  then  be  able  to  provide  new  indicators 
to support control operations at ports, particularly 
in the context of the Container Security and Prolif-
eration Security Initiatives. Eventually it will also 
feed into a common set of minimum risk rules for 
container security in the EU.

Support to EU Policies | 09

Supporting the

“Energy Package”

The  rise  of  the  energy  topic  on  the  EU  policy 
agenda  has  also  led  to  the  JRC  playing  a  part  in 
a number of energy-related European Technology 
Platforms (hydrogen and fuel cells, zero-emission 
fossil fuel power generation, electricity networks 
of the future, biofuels, photovoltaics). These plat-
forms  bring  stakeholders  (policy-makers,  scien-
tists, regulators, NGOs etc.) together to formulate 
and  implement  a  strategic  research  agenda  and 
associated implementation plan on energy topics 
deemed of crucial importance for the EU, and for 
which the necessary financial means may only be 
mobilised through public-private partnerships. 

Electricity pylons in the sunset

“Energy for a changing world”

During  his  visit  to  the  Energy  Research  Site  at 
Petten  (The  Netherlands),  the  Energy  Commis-
sioner,  Andris  Piebalgs,  underlined  the  need  to 
act immediately to ensure a secure energy supply 
for Europe. Recalling that the EU currently imports 
50% of its energy (rising to 70% within 25 years), 
the Commissioner advocated exploring all sources 
of  energy  and  called  for  greater  energy  savings 
and  efficient  energy  use.  It  is  estimated  that  the 
EU could save at least 20% of its present energy 
consumption per year.

In 2006, the JRC provided input to the EU’s energy 
policy  documents  and  reacted  to  the  growing 
importance  of  energy  policy  on  the  worldwide 
political  agenda.  It  did  this  by  increasing  liaison 
and stepping up activities with the policy Directo-
rates-General (DGs) of the EC and with the Euro-
pean  Parliament.  Together  with  at  least  six  DGs, 
experts from a number of the JRC Institutes were 
involved  in  the  Commission’s  “integrated  energy 
and  climate  change  package  to  cut  emissions  in 
the  21st  century”.  The  topics,  with  which  the  JRC 
was involved, included:

•  an energy efficiency action plan;
low-CO2 fossil power generation;
• 
•  progress report on biofuels;
•  a renewable energy road map;
•  prioritised  actions  for  strengthening  the  EU’s 

energy infrastructure;

•  a European approach to nuclear power, safety 

and security and

•  the  outline  of  a  Strategic  Energy  Technology 

Plan for the EU. 

These documents, known collectively as the Energy 
Package, were adopted by the Commission in January 
2007. The implementation of the action plan and 
work on the Strategic Energy Technology Plan will 
be  the  main  focus  of  the  JRC’s  contributions  to 
energy policy in 2007 and beyond.

10 | Support to EU Policies

Response to
Crises in 2006

The JRC has supported the European Commission’s 
effort  to  enhance  its  crisis  preparedness  and  re-
sponse capability by developing a better capacity 
for early warning, alerting, situational awareness/
monitoring and impact assessment.

Response to Lebanon crisis and Indonesia earth-
quake

In reaction to the Lebanon crisis in 2006, the JRC 
contributed to the EU’s rapid response by:

•  performing  an  impact  assessment  of  the  oil 
spill which occurred following the damage to a 
power plant on the coast;

•  performing  a  rapid,  satellite-based,  damage 
assessment over southern Lebanon and Beirut 
which  was  used  by  the  EU  delegation  at  the 
Donor Conference and then by the Government 
of Lebanon and

•  providing  the  proposal  for  a  Spatial  Database 
Infrastructure  comprising  information  related 
to  damages,  EU  funded  projects  and  their  ex-
ecution,  in  support  to  the  Community  funded 
reconstruction programme.

The JRC’s expertise was used in 2006 to set up the 
Commission’s  portals  for  the  Lebanon  crisis  and 
the Indonesia earthquake. These emergency plat-
forms  integrate  relevant  information,  news  and 
maps related to a crisis or disaster and facilitate 
secure  information  exchange  within  the  relevant 
Commission  services  and  delegations.  The  Indo-
nesia  earthquake  portal  had  more  than  1000  ac-
cesses per day. 

Response to forest fires and flood events in 2006

In August 2006, Galicia (Spain) and northern Por-
tugal  experienced  a  large  number  of  forest  fires 
that were monitored closely through the JRC’s risk 
forecast  and  rapid  damage  assessment  tool,  the 
European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). The 
mapping of forest fire damages was performed in 
near-real time and results were sent to the perti-
nent  Spanish  and  Portuguese  authorities  and  to 
the European Parliament. 

As  in  previous  years,  Europe  was  hit  by  severe 
flooding in 2006. The European Flood Alert System 
(EFAS) monitored the snowmelt driven floods that 
affected mostly the Elbe and Danube river basins 
from March to April 2006. The national authorities 
in the relevant countries received early flood infor-
mation more than five days in advance. In 2006, a 

total of 141 Early Alert Reports were issued for 20 
incidents. 

Damage assessement has been done using photo-interpre-
tation of post-conflict Ikonos satellite imagery over Beirut 
recorded on 19 August, 2006

Response  to  the  detection  of  unauthorised 
Genetically Modified rice 

In August, the European Commission was alerted 
to  the  potential  contamination  of  US-imported 
long-grain rice with a non-authorised Genetically 
Modified (GM) strain (LLRice 601). In response, the 
JRC Community Reference Laboratory for GM Food 
and  Feed  (CRL-GMFF)  immediately  verified  the 
detection  method  for  the  identification  of  LLRice 
601  and  published  the  protocol  within  the  same 
month. The protocol, used to test rice shipments, 
directly supports the EU emergency measures put 
in  place  as  a  consequence  of  the  alert.  Analyses 
revealed up to 20% to be contaminated in traces. 
The  CRL-GMFF  plays  a  key  role  in  the  validation 
and verification of GM detection methods in general, 
to assure accurate traceability and labelling of ap-
proved GM products, and to help safeguard the EU 
from unauthorised substances.

Rice sampling for the presence of LLRice601 in the harbour of 
Rotterdam

Support to EU Policies | 11

Infrastructure for Spatial 
Information in Europe

The JRC processed the IMAGE2000 satellite image mosaic of 
Europe, a fundamental layer for the Infrastructure for Spatial 
Information in Europe (INSPIRE)

The activities undertaken by the JRC in 2006 include:

•  providing scientific support to the preparation 
of  the  technical  rules  on  data  harmonisation, 
documentation, and the network services neces-
sary to discover, view, and download data. This 
will  facilitate  the  coherent  implementation  of 
the Directive;

•  developing a prototype “European Geo-portal”, 
an  internet-based  facility  required  by  the 
Directive  to  provide  a  single point  of  entry  to 
the  environmental  and  geographic  infrastruc-
tures maintained by the Member States and
•  establishing  a  new  organisational  structure 
dedicated to spatial data infrastructure research 
and implementation, well connected with inter-
national standardisation initiatives and spatial 
data infrastructures in the US, Canada, and the 
United  Nations.  Strong  connection  with  the 
Global Earth Observation Community is ensured 
by co-chairing the Architecture and Data Com-
mittee of the Global Earth Observation System 
of Systems (GEOSS).

2006 has been a major milestone for INSPIRE and 
in particular for the JRC through the recognition of 
its scientific and technical contribution to this key 
Directive. With the full implementation of INSPIRE 
foreseen  by  2013,  the  European  Union  will  be  in 
a much stronger position to develop and monitor 
environmental  policy  based  on  sound  scientific 
knowledge. 

Most of the information needed to support envir-
onmental  policy  in  Europe  is  strongly  related  to 
the  location  where  natural  phenomena  occur. 
Although there have been major improvements in 
the availability and quality of information systems 
handling  geographic  and  environmental  informa-
tion,  there  are  still  major  barriers  that  make  it 
difficult to share and use this information across 
national boundaries on the European level. 

For  this  reason,  in  2004  the  European  Commis-
sion adopted a proposal for the establishment of 
an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe 
(INSPIRE).  Its  purpose  is  to  enable  to  find  data 
relevant to a specific environmental problem, un-
derstand their structure, content and quality across 
multiple  languages,  administrative  systems,  and 
scientific disciplines, process the data into relevant 
information and communicate this information to 
the interested parties in a timely manner. Following 
two years of intensive negotiations, the European 
Parliament and the Council found an agreement in 
November 2006 on the text of the Directive, which 
will come into force in Spring 2007.

The JRC has played a key role in the development 
of  the  INSPIRE  proposal  in  partnership  with  the 
Environment  Directorate  General  and  the  Euro-
pean  Statistical  Office,  EUROSTAT.  A  Memoran-
dum of Understanding among these three organi-
sations signed in 2006 recognises the contribution 
of the JRC and gives it responsibility for the overall 
technical co-ordination of the Directive. 

The JRC developed and hosts the European Geo-portal, designed 
to be the main entry point into geospatial information in Europe

12 | Support to EU Policies

Coexistence of Genetically
Modified (GM) and non-GM Crops in Europe

Coexistence refers to the ability of farmers to choose 
between  conventional,  organic  or  Genetically 
Modified  (GM)  crop  production,  in  compliance 
with the relevant EU legislation on labelling and/
or  purity  standards.  EU  regulations  establish  a 
0.9%  labelling  threshold  for  the  “adventitious” 
– unintended or unavoidable – presence of GM ma-
terial  in  non-GM  products.  So  far,  EU  experience 
with the commercial cultivation of GM crops and 
practical  coexistence  measures  is  limited  to  GM 
maize in some Member States. 

Genetically modified corncob (Bt maize)

Since agriculture does not take place in a closed 
environment,  complete  segregation  cannot  be 
guaranteed.  However,  the  case  studies  carried 
out by the JRC conclude that, for the crops studied, 
the  application  of  feasible  coexistence  measures 
could  help  limit  final  admixture  in  harvests  to 
within EU labelling thresholds. This would there-
fore  protect  farmers  from  the  possible  economic 
consequences  of  accidental  GM  mixing.  In  2003, 
the  Commission  adopted  guidelines  to  assist 
Member  States  develop  their  own  science-based 
measures  for  co-existence.  Within  this  context, 
the JRC was requested to study how farmers could 
reduce  the  presence  of  GM  material  in  non-GM 
harvests and to rank measures based on their cost-
effectiveness. 

A  consortium  led  by  the  JRC  selected  a  number 
of European case studies covering crop and seed 
production  of  maize,  sugar-beet  and  cotton.  The 
final analysis, published in 2006, led to the devel-
opment of a tool allowing the estimation of adven-
titious admixture of GM and conventional crops in 
a  given  landscape.  The  methodology  used  takes 
advantage  of  sophisticated  computer  models  to 
simulate gene flow, combined with Geographical 
Information Systems (GIS) data picturing European 
agricultural  landscapes  and  economic  analysis. 
This allowed the JRC to evaluate the cost-effective-
ness of proposed agronomic measures to ensure 
coexistence. 

These case studies concluded that coexistence in 
crop  production  at  the  0.9%  labelling  threshold 
set by the Commission is feasible, with few or no 
changes in current agricultural practices for most 
crops.  However,  for  maize,  additional  measures 
are necessary for some fields particularly affected 
by cross-pollination due to shape, size and relat-
ive position with respect to prevailing winds and 
distance from neighbouring GM fields. The report 
further details and reviews the effectiveness and 
feasibility of such measures. 

This report has been widely disseminated to Member 
States during 2006 and is regarded as an important 
science-based reference to support future design and 
implementation of coexistence measures within the 
EU. Following the Spring 2006 Agriculture Council 
conclusions, the Commission has the mandate to 
develop, in cooperation with Member States, best 
practices for technical segregation measures leading 
to commonly accepted crop-specific recommenda-
tions. 

A digital version of the agricultural landscape of the Poitou-
Charentes region (France) used to study coexistence between 
non-GM and GM maize crops (A). Fields devoted to non-GM 
(green) or GM (pink) maize are shown. Gene flow models were 
used to produce an estimation of the adventitious presence of 
GM maize grains (in %) in the conventional maize harvested 
in each field

Support to EU Policies | 13

 
Nine New Alternative Methods
for Testing Pharmaceuticals/Chemicals

During  2006,  the  Scientific  Advisory  Committee 
of the European Centre for the Validation of Alter-
native  Methods  (ECVAM)  endorsed  the  scientific 
validity of nine alternative testing methods. Eight 
of the new methods will either replace the equiva-
lent  animal-based  test  methods  or  substantially 
reduce  the  number  of  animals  to  be  tested.  The 
other method can be used as an alternative to the 
current regulatory in-vitro test. 

Five  of  the  alternative  in-vitro  test  methods  use 
human blood cells for detecting possible contami-
nation  of  pharmaceuticals  with  fever-inducing 
substances. Although based on the same principle 
and with similar performance, each method has its 
own  particular  set  of  advantages  which  makes  it 
preferable  to  a  given  application  of  the  test.  The 
principle  of  the  methods  relies  on  cytokines,  re-
leased by the cells in case of contamination, which 
can be detected using biochemical techniques. 

A further method provides the means of predicting 
the maximum tolerated dose for chemotherapeu-
tic  drugs  which  would  otherwise  require  testing 
on  dogs.  Using  bone  marrow  culture  from  mice 
and  cord  blood  cells  from  humans,  the  method 
decreases  the  risk  of  an  initial  lethal  overdose  – 
something that cannot be identified during current 
preclinical  testing  strategies.  The  test  has  been 
demonstrated  to  provide  more  accurate  predic-
tions than the traditional animal-based tests.

Zebra fish (Danio rerio), used in aquatic toxicity testing – courtesy 
of Prof. T. Braunbeck, University of Heidelberg, Germany

The  endorsement  of  another  method  is  based 
on  the  validation  of  a  model  for  skin  corrosion 
and  uses  human  cultured  skin  thereby  replacing 
testing  on  rabbits.  Another  method  is  an  in-vitro 
micronucleus test, having the potential to detect 
genotoxic  aneugens  (chemicals  which  induce 
numerical chromosome changes) which might be 
missed by the current mutagenicity tests. It is also 
less  costly,  easier  to  perform,  and  lends  itself  to 
automation. 

14 | Support to EU Policies

Performing an Enzyme Linked Immunoassay (ELISA) 

And  finally,  there  is  a  reduction  method  which, 
simply by modifying the steps in the current test-
ing  strategy  for  acute  aquatic  toxicity  testing, 
could  reduce  the  number  of  fish  to  be  tested  by 
up to 60%. 

2006  also  celebrated  the  15th  anniversary  of 
ECVAM and provided a landmark occasion for the 
public launch of the database service DB-ALM. The 
service provides factual information in the form of 
evaluated  data-sheets  on  various  aspects  of  ad-
vanced  and  alternative  techniques  for  toxicology 
assessment. The database draws on more than 10 
years of results and since its launch on 29 October 
has received more than 300 registrations. 

On  18  December,  the  European  Partnership  for 
Alternative  Approaches  to  Animal  Testing  (EPAA) 
organised  its  second  annual  conference  entitled 
“Europe goes alternative – looking beyond animal 
testing”.  At  the  event,  Commissioner  Potoc˘nik 
stressed the importance of the 3Rs principle which 
lies at the heart of the work on alternative methods. 
He even proposed to add 2 new “Rs” to this principle: 
firstly  reliability  and  then  research.  He  repeated 
his  commitment  to  research  to  develop  reliable 
alternatives so we can refine, replace and reduce 
animal testing in the future.

Support to Policies
via Economic Analysis

Internal Market

The  JRC  supported  the  revision  of  a  Directive  on 
Deposit  Guarantee  Schemes  (how  banks  should 
protect  customers  in  the  event  of  a  crisis  in  the 
banking  system)  with  an  analysis  included  in  a 
Commission  Communication.    Published  on  the 
Internal Market and Services (MARKT) DG’s official 
website,  these  results  helped  the  Commission 
to  negotiate  with  stakeholders.  Similarly  in  May 
2006, the Commission published a working docu-
ment on “Clearing and Settlement” in the EU. The 
econometric part of the study was run by the JRC 
econometricians under the guidance of the Impact 
Assessment Steering Group chaired by DG MARKT. 
Based on the results, the Commission demanded 
industry  to  commit  itself  to  improving  transpar-
ency  and  increasing  competition.  The  study  is 
regularly  cited  by  institutions  (e.g.  the  European 
Central Bank) and private market participants. 

Competition

The  econometric  work  performed  by  the  JRC 
formed an important part of a sector inquiry into 
retail banking conducted by the Competition DG. 
A report on payment cards was published in April 
2006;  a  second  report  on  current  accounts  was 
presented  at  a  public  hearing  in  July  2006.  The 
final results of the inquiry were released in January 
2007. Moreover, the JRC contributed to a second 
inquiry into business insurances, with an interim 
report published in January 2007.

Growth and Stability

The  JRC  modelling  work  was  retained  by  the 
Economic  and  Financial  Affairs  (ECFIN)  DG  in  the 
EU  Economy  2006  Review,  which  stated  “The 
model [QUEST] is an extended version of a DSGE 
(Dynamic  Stochastic  General  Equilibrium)  model 
for the Euro area, which was developed and esti-
mated jointly by DG ECFIN and the Joint Research 
Centre”.

Innovation

The  JRC  contributed  to  the  European  Innovation 
Scoreboard  with  two  reports  on  strengths  and 
weaknesses  of  European  countries  in  innovation 
also  using  the  recent  Community  Innovation  Survey 
(CIS4).  The  JRC  contributed  to  the  e-Business 
readiness index published on the annual European 
Spring Council 2006.  

Education

JRC-CRELL (Centre for Research on Lifelong Learn-
ing  based  on  Indicators  and  Benchmarks)  pro-
vided  input  to  the  Education  and  Culture  (EAC) 
DG  for  the  working  paper  “Progress  towards  the 
Lisbon Objectives in Education and Training”, May 
2006,  and  published  methodological  reports  on 
“Measuring  Active  Citizenship”  and  “Vocational 
Education  and  Training.”  CRELL  cooperates  with 
Commission  services  and  international  organisa-
tions  (OECD  and  IEA)  in  data  collections  such  as 
the European Social Survey, the EU-Labour Force 
Survey, the European Indicator on Language Com-
petencies (EILC) and the European Pilot Project on 
learning to learn. More information is available at 
www.jrc.cec.eu.int/uasa.

“Econometricians at work at the JRC Ispra” - designing the 
sensitivity analysis for the Clearing and Settlement impact 
assessment

Support to EU Policies | 15

New Member States, Candidate
Countries and Associated Countries

During 2006 the JRC continued its programme to 
consolidate  the  Scientific  and  Technical  (S&T) 
integration of the 10 new Member States (MS10) 
across its activities and projects. Special attention 
was given to the needs of the then Acceding Coun-
tries  (AC),  namely  Bulgaria  and  Romania,  which 
joined  the  EU  on  1  January,  2007,  and  Candidate 
Countries  (CC),  Croatia,  Turkey  and  the  former 
Yugoslav  Republic  of  Macedonia  (FYROM).  The 
programme  was  also  opened  to  the  Potential 
Candidate Countries (PCC), namely Albania, Bosnia 
and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia – includ-
ing Kosovo. 

A large audience attended the Croatian JRC Information day 
in Zagreb, on 20 June 2006, which was opened by Dragan 
Primorac, Minister of Science, Education and Sports of Croatia

The  mission  of  the  Enlargement  and  Integration 
Action  (E&IA)  of  the  JRC  is  to  stimulate  the  in-
tegration  of  S&T  organisations  and  researchers 
from  the  MS10,  CCs,  PCCs,  and  from  countries 
which are associated to the Framework Research 
Programmes FP6, into relevant JRC activities. The 
E&IA uses a number of integrated instruments, such 
as  scientific  and  technical  collaboration,  hosting 
temporary staff at JRC Institutes, organising work-
shops and training courses and disseminating in-
formation  within  the  target  countries.  Highlights 
from 2006 include: 

•  Some  100  workshops  and  training  courses  on 
various  S&T  aspects  of  EU  policies  have  been 
organised  by  the  JRC  Institutes,  with  the  par-
ticipation of over 4000 experts from ministries, 
authorities, research Institutes and controlling 
bodies  coming  mainly  from  the  Enlargement 
countries, but also from the (old) MS and third 
countries. Collaboration with DG Enlargement’s 
Technical Assistance and Information Exchange 
(TAIEX)  unit  has  continued  in  particular  in  the 
areas  of  agriculture  and  food  safety.  All  these 
workshops were also opened, on a selective basis, 
to  experts  from  EU  neighbouring  countries  in 
Northern Africa and Eastern Europe.

•  A number of JRC Information Days were held in 
2006, namely in Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia, 
involving some 700 participants. These, together 
with  a  visit  of  a  high-level  Turkish  delegation 
to JRC Institutes, increased the number of net-
works and collaborations between ACs, CCs and 
the  JRC.  In  order  to  trigger  new  partnerships 
with  leading  S&T  organisations  in  the  MS10, 
in  2005  the  JRC  developed  a  new  instrument 
called “The Round Table”. Directed at focusing 
collaboration on the priority research needs of 
these countries, Round Tables were organised 
in Hungary, Lithuania and Malta in 2006.

•  The  JRC  fosters  collaboration  with  the  FP7  As-
sociated Countries, notably EFTA (e.g. Switzer-
land  and  Norway,  Iceland  and  Liechtenstein) 
and  Israel.  The  visit  of  the  State  Secretary  for 
Education and Research, Charles Kleiber, led to 
setting up a strategic collaboration and arrang-
ing a JRC Information Day to be held in Switzer-
land in 2007.

•  Collaboration with the European Committee for 
Standardisation  (CEN)  continued,  particularly 
through  participation  in  CEN-STAR  (Standardi-
sation  and  Research)  and  including  coordin-
ation of initiatives in Enlargement countries.

Petre Stanciu, Director of the Romanian Meteorological Insti-
tute INMH, and Roland Schenkel, Director General of the JRC, 
signing the Memorandum of Understanding between their 
institutions, on 11 May 2006 in Bucharest, Romania

16 | Support to EU Policies

Snapshot Examples of 
Support to EU Policies

•  Developed and validated analytical methods for 
cocoa  butter  needed  to  implement  the  Choco-
late Directive 2000/36/EC. 

•  Contributed to the draft Commission decision on 
the  intercalibration  exercise  for  implementing 
the  Water  Framework  Directive  (WFD)  through 
securing the first common criteria (approved by 
experts  from  the  Member  States)  on  the  eco-
logical quality of surface waters.

•  The  European  Commission  adopted  (in  its  De-
cisions  C(2006)  2994  from  4  July  and  C(2006) 
3469 from 7 August) eight Best Available Tech-
niques Reference (BREF) documents which were 
elaborated  by  the  JRC  for  issues  concerning 
large  combustion  plants,  emissions  from  stor-
age,  economic  and  cross-media  effects,  waste 
incineration,  waste  treatments  industries,  sur-
face  treatment  of  metals  and  plastics,  organic 
fine chemicals and food, drink and milk. 

•  To support Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 
on  the  risk  evaluation  of  priority  chemicals, 
input  from  the  European  Chemicals  Bureau 
(ECB) led to publishing several risk assessment 
results  and  proposals  for  risk  reducing  meas-
ures in the Official Journal, including a 3rd Com-
mission  Regulation  and  a  Commission  Com-
munication. Furthermore, at its joint meeting in 
February 2006, the OECD formally adopted 86 
harmonised templates for summarising data in 
study  reports  related  to  chemical  substances 
and their hazards. 

• 

In support to the Fisheries and Maritime Affairs 
(FISH)  DG,  the  JRC  has  applied  an  Ecosystem 
Health  Indicator  to  FAO  fisheries  data  over  50 
years  and  in  all  defined  FAO  areas.  Prelimi-
nary results have shown a continuous decline, 
from the 1970’s, in the world marine ecosystem 
health and thus the need for more effective policy 
measures.

•  A report on the release of toxic substances re-
leased from the use of toys (blast stinkers) was 
delivered  to  the  Health  and  Consumer  Protec-
tion (SANCO) DG in response to RAPEX notifica-
tions from Poland and the Czech Republic. This 
is  an  example  of  fast  reaction  from  the  Com-
mission  to  RAPEX  notifications  from  Member 
States. 

•  The  JRC  delivered  a  background  paper  for  the 
preparation  of  the  EU-OPEC  third  Ministerial 
Meeting  (June  2006)  to  the  Energy  and  Trans-
port (TREN) DG. The paper emphasised the ex-
pected evolution of crude oil flows in the forth-
coming ten years, based on current trends.

•  The  JRC  was  invited  by  the  Government  of 
Romania  to  attend  the  “National  Exercise  on 
Preventing  and  Combating  Nuclear  Terrorism” 
in  May  2006.  The  exercise  was  organised  by 
the National Commission for Nuclear Activities 
Control (CNCAN) and the Romanian Intelligence 
Agency (SRI). 

•  Support was provided to EuropeAid (AIDCO) DG 
for the Safety of Russian and Ukrainian Nuclear 
Power  Plants.  Through  technical  and  financial 
assessment of tenders for equipment, input was 
provided  to  the  Russian  Nuclear  Power  Plant 
(NPP) of Beloyarsk, Ukrainian NPP in Khmelnitsky 
and the Russian NPP in Novovoronezh. 

•  The JRC provided scientific expertise to the Euro-
pean Parliament for its position on the REACH 
legislation  and  thus  facilitated  the  successful 
adoption of REACH.

•  Provided  information  on  the  “Impact  of  Clean 
Coal  Technologies”  to  the  European  Parlia-
ment. This was on request of MEP Buzek and in 
collaboration with DG TREN. 

•  For DG SANCO, the JRC (1) evaluated three spe-
cies/animal  specific  Polymerase  Chain  Reac-
tion (PCR) methods for the detection of banned 
meat  and  bone  meal  in  feed  and  (2)  finalised 
and  submitted  two  studies  to  enforce  the  re-
quirements for the use of processed proteins in 
feed as specified in Regulation 1774/2002.

•  Via DG TREN, the Dutch police asked the JRC to 
analyse  uranium  seized  in  The  Netherlands.  A 
number  of  samples  of  nuclear  and  radioactive 
materials were seized including depleted uranium 
metal, uranium oxide and thorium oxide. 

•  The  JRC,  as  Community  Reference  Laboratory 
(CRL)  for  GM  Food  and  Feed,  validated  detec-
tion methods for sugar beet H7-1 and the modi-
fied  hybrid  cotton  line  281-24-236/3006-210-
23,  respectively.  As  required  by  Regulation 
1829/2003,  the  CRL  transmitted  these  reports 
to  the  European  Food  Safety  Authority  (EFSA) 
for inclusion in its Opinion to the Commission.

•  Daily  reporting  on  Avian  Flu  using  the  JRC-de-
veloped  European  Media  Monitoring  (EMM) 
system  was  used  by  Commission  staff  in  DGs 
SANCO,  External  Relations  (RELEX),  Enlarge-
ment (ELARG), AIDCO, Development (DEV), and 
Environment (ENV). 

Support to EU Policies | 17

 1                             2                             3                            4

JRC Excellence Awards

Best Young Scientist 
Blackburn E. (JRC-ITU). Neutron Scattering Studies 
of Actinide Compounds.

The actinide series plays host to a wide range of 
exotic  chemistry  and  physics.  As  such,  actinide 
compounds are important test beds for our under-
standing  of  modern  quantum  physics.  However, 
because  of  the  radio-toxicity  of  this  series,  such 
materials can only be handled at a limited number 
of sites around the world, of which the JRC-ITU is a 
prominent member.

Through  close  collaboration  with  the  European 
neutron and X-ray scattering large facilities based 
in Grenoble, France, it is possible to investigate the 
microscopic structural and magnetic characteristics 
of actinide compounds directly. This affords us a 
unique insight into what makes these materials tick. 

One recent material of interest has been UPd2Al3. 
This material has the rare property of being both 
magnetic and superconducting at the same time. 
The magnetic component is large, when compared 
to similar materials such as those containing cerium. 
This means that UPd2Al3 is perfect for studies try-
ing  to  unravel  the  interplay  between  these  two, 
often  antagonistic,  phenomena.  Neutron  scatter-
ing  is  sensitive  to  magnetic  moments,  and  much 
progress  has  been  made  towards  understanding 
the effect of the magnetic structure on the electron 
dynamics. (Physical Review B 74, 024406 (2006)).

By  looking  at  these  dynamics  on  nanosecond 
timescales  (Physical  Review  Letters  97,  057002 
(2006)), using the apparatus shown in the photo 
above, we have been able to distinguish between 
the two main theoretical models for the supercon-
ductivity in UPd2Al3, giving us an important clue in 
deciphering the behaviour in other materials. 

1. Elizabeth Blackburn graduated in 2002 from Cambridge Univer-
sity with a first-class degree in natural sciences and completed 
her PhD in 2005 at the Université Joseph-Fourier I, Grenoble, in 
physics as one of the JRC-ITU grantholders. She is currently at 
the University of California, San Diego.

18 | JRC Excellence Awards

Three Best Peer-Reviewed Scientific Papers
1. Mollicone D., Eva H. D. and Achard F. (JRC-IES). 
Human role on Russian wild fires. Nature, 440:436-
437. 2006.

This  publication  drew  a  great  deal  of  attention 
from  the  scientific  community  and  will  perhaps 
lead to an opening up of a debate on the role of 
forest fires in future climate mitigation policies.

Satellite image (MODIS) at 1 km resolution depicting Fires 
along the Lena River in Eastern Siberia on 19 August 2002.
Image size: around 200 km x 300 km. Boreal forests appear 
in green, fires in red and smoke trails in white

The  paper  provides  estimates  of  the  number  of 
forest fire events across boreal Russia from 2002 
to 2005. The spate of forest fires in northern Russia 
has coincided with climate extremes in 2002-2003, 
so not surprisingly anthropogenic climate change 
has been suggested as a cause. A detailed survey 
of fires in the region confirms that over 87% of the 
fires  are  “anthropogenic”.  This  means  they  are 
directly related to what humans do in forests and 
are not mediated by climate.

The fact that human activity is driving over 87% of 
the fires in the boreal Russia region is a surprising 
but convincing finding.

The  climate  effect  is  currently  felt  more  through 
the combination of climate anomalies with human 
activities  than  through  a  direct  climate  impact 
which will take longer to materialise. In the mean-
time, changes are taking place at a truly rapid rate. 
Whether  climate  change  will  exacerbate  man’s 
impact  on  its  environment  should  now  be  the 
dominant question.

2. Danilo Mollicone graduated in 1996 from the University of 
Rome and completed his PhD in Forest Ecology from the Uni-
versity of Padova in 2002. He worked at the JRC from 2000 to 
2005 as grant holder and research assistant. Danilo is now at 
the Max Planck Institute of Biogeochemistry in Jena, Germany.

3. Hugh Eva has worked as a Research Officer at the JRC since 
1997.  He  graduated  from  Cranfield  University  and  completed 
his  PhD  from  the  Catholic  University  of  Louvain-la-Neuve  in 
1999.  He  specialises  in  the  use  of  remotely  sensed  data  for 
mapping fires and forests in tropical and boreal ecosystems.

4. Frédéric Achard graduated from Ecole Polytechnique in 1984 
and completed his PhD at Toulouse University in 1989. He has 
worked  as  a  Research  Officer  at  the  JRC  since  1992,  special-
ising in Earth observation techniques for forest monitoring in 
the Tropics and boreal Eurasia, with implications for the global 
carbon budget.

2.  Apostolidis  C.,  Molinet  R.,  Rasmussen  G.  and 
Morgenstern  A.  (JRC-ITU)  Production  of  Ac-225 
from  Th-229  for  Targeted  Alpha  Therapy.  Anal. 
Chem. 77 (2005) 6288-6291.

Alpha-immunotherapy (AIT) is a novel and promis-
ing strategy for the therapy of cancer and infectious 
diseases. The treatment is based on the coupling 
of  alpha-particle  emitting  radionuclides  to  target 
selective  carrier  molecules  such  as  monoclonal 
antibodies or peptides (see Fig. below). Due to the 
high linear energy transfer of alpha particles and 
their short path length in human tissue (‹0,1 mm), 
a highly cytotoxic radiation dose can be delivered 
to  targeted  cells,  while  damage  to  surrounding 
healthy tissue is limited.

The alpha emitter Bi-213, available to hospitals via 
a  radionuclide  generator  loaded  with  its  mother 
nuclide  Ac-225,  is  currently  most  applied  in  AIT. 
The  authors  report  a  process  for  the  production 
of quality controlled, clinical-grade Ac-225/Bi-213 
radionuclide generators. It is based on the combina-
tion of ion exchange and novel extraction chromato-
graphic  methods,  complemented  by  radiometric 
and mass spectrometric quality control, and yields 
a  product  of  high  purity.  With  this  process,  the 
JRC-ITU has been the first laboratory worldwide to 
provide the rare isotopes Ac-225/Bi-213 in sufficient 
quantity and purity to hospitals and cancer research 
centres for pre-clinical research and clinical studies.

JRC-ITU  has  supplied  in  excess  of  200  Ac-225/
Bi-213 generators to partners worldwide. Close to 
100 patients suffering from leukemia, Non-Hodg-
kin’s  lymphoma,  malignant  melanoma  or  brain 
tumours have been treated using the clinical grade 
Ac-255/Bi-213 prepared by JRC-ITU.

5                             6                              7                              8

Collage to depict alpha-immunotherapy

5. Alfred Morgenstern received his PhD in radiochemistry from 
the Technical University in Munich in 1997. Following postdoc-
toral studies at Florida State University in the field of plutonium 
chemistry, he joined the JRC in 2000 to develop actinide separa-
tion methods. Since 2003 he has been focusing his research on 
therapeutic applications of alpha emitting isotopes. 

6.  Christos  Apostolidis  received  his  PhD  in  metallo-organic 
chemistry from the University of Heidelberg in 1982. Following 
his  postdoctoral  research  at  the  Institute  for  Radiochemistry 
of the Technical University in Munich, in 1986 Christos joined 
the JRC to work on nuclear waste reprocessing, analytical and 
coordination chemistry. He has been responsible for the alpha-
immunotherapy action at JRC-ITU since 1988.

7. Roger Molinet joined the JRC in 1967 as a laboratory tech-
nician to support the development of mass spectrometric and 
analytical methods. For 15 years he has worked on the alpha-
immunotherapy project. Roger retired in October 2004.

8. Gert Rasmussen was educated at Aarhus Technical College 
and  Aarhus  University,  Denmark  in  instrumental  analytical 
chemistry. He worked at the University of Southern Denmark 
doing research on ion-molecule reactions. Since 1989, he has 
worked at the JRC-ITU on analysis of nuclear materials by mass 
spectrometric techniques.

JRC Excellence Awards | 19

  
  
9                            10                           11                            12

3.  Ibarreta  D.,  et  al.  Putting  pharmacogenetics 
into  practice  (JRC-IPTS).  Nature  Biotechnology. 
2006 Apr;24(4):403-10.

The  paper  represents  the  summary  of  studies  in 
the  field  of  pharmacogenetics  that  were  carried 
out  by  JRC-IPTS  in  2005  (EUR  22214).  The  study 
globally  maps  and  evaluates  major  private  and 
public  sector  players  in  the  pharmacogenetics 
scene.  Comprehensive  industry  activities  tables 
demonstrate the obvious lead of the US over the 
EU. The study focused on identifying key barriers 
hindering  wider  implementation  of  pharmacoge-
netics technologies in clinical care. 

Lack  of  comprehensive  cost-effectiveness  studies 
on the use of pharmacogenetics tests as part of the 
drug prescribing process is cited as a prime barrier 
to implementation of pharmacogenetics technolo-
gies in the clinical setting. To help overcome this 
barrier,  this  study  has  examined  the  cost-effec-
tiveness of pharmacogenetics diagnostics in Ger-
many,  Ireland,  The  Netherlands  and  the  United 
Kingdom, using two case studies: HER2 testing in 
breast  cancer  and  thiopurine  methyl  transferase 
(TPMT)  testing  in  childhood  leukemia.  The  study 
concludes that for these case studies, pharmaco-
genetics diagnostics are definitely cost-effective. 

The regulatory scene for pharmacogenetics drugs 
and diagnostics was examined and the lack of EU-
wide harmonisation of regulations for diagnostics 
and drug/test co-development pinpointed as a po-
tential hurdle in the field.

These  results  were  instrumental  in  developing 
the specific lines of funding related to pharmaco-
genetics in FP7. 

9. Dolores Ibarreta is a molecular biologist with a PhD in ge-
netics. Before joining the JRC, she worked as a researcher at 
Georgetown  University  Medical  Center  (US).  Since  1999,  she 
has been working at IPTS on the analysis of the socio-economic 
impacts of new health-related biotechnologies in Europe.

Three Awards for Support to EU Policies
1. Shepherd I. (JRC-IPSC), Papatryfon I. (JRC-IPTS), 
Schrimpf W. (JRC-IES). Support to the EU’s Emerging 
Maritime Policy.

A team from three JRC Institutes took part in the 
process leading to the release by the Commission 
of a Green Paper on Maritime Policy in June 2006.

Many  of  the  issues  incorporated  scientific  ele-
ments. The JRC chaired working groups looking at 
maritime and marine monitoring and related data. 
Analysis indicated that authorities responsible for 
monitoring vessel traffic would benefit from inte-
gration of separate systems for fisheries control, 
navigation safety and maritime security as well as 
shared  assets  such  as  satellite  observation  sys-
tems. Similarly European cooperation within many 
individual  sectors  –  fisheries,  pollution  control, 
oceanography – is good, but poor communication 
between them leads to duplication and fragmen-
tation  of  physical,  chemical  and  biological  data. 
This  limits  opportunities  for  the  development  of 
commercial  value-added  services  and  reduces 
the ability of scientists to assess threats such as 
the environmental impact of fishing or the global-
warming induced rise in sea-level. Proposals for a 
more  sustainable  and  cost-efficient  system  were 
developed.

Black sea dolphins

Finally,  a  JRC  paper  on  the  potential  economic 
benefits  of  marine  biotechnology  in  areas  such 
as pharmaceuticals and food production was wel-
comed  as  a  contribution  towards  improving  the 
competitiveness  of  the  EU  in  a  dynamic  knowl-
edge-driven economy – the Lisbon goal.

20 | JRC Excellence Awards

13                            14                  

2. Delgado Sancho L. and Aguado-Monsonet M.A. 
(JRC-IPTS). Supporting the European Environmental 
Policy.

The European Integrated Pollution Prevention and 
Control Bureau (IPPC) of JRC-IPTS is a prime example 
of JRC support to the implementation and further 
development of the European environmental pol-
icy. The robustness of the Bureau stems from four 
elements: neutrality, transparency of the process, 
technical competence and stability.

2006 was an important year for the Bureau because 
the work programme, co-decided between the JRC 
and the Environment DG back in 1997, was complet-
ed. The Bureau delivered the first versions of no less 
than 32 BREFs (Best Available Techniques Reference 
Documents).  When  the  Commission  adopts  BREFs 
they are published in the EC Official Journal and are 
publicly  available  from  http://eippcb.jrc.es.  These 
documents  are  the  cornerstones  for  implementing 
the IPPC Directive. In 2006, the Bureau also started 
to broaden its focus to include the reviewing of exist-
ing BREFs.

The  work  of  the  Bureau  is  a  collective  effort.  For 
this  award,  the  Bureau  was  represented  by  Luis 
Delgado Sancho, Acting Head of the Bureau, and 
Miquel A. Aguado-Monsonet, who has been work-
ing  within  the  Bureau  since  1999  and  who  is  the 
author of two BREFs and co-author of another one.

Meeting of the Pulp and Paper BREF working group, 13-15 
November, 2006 

13. Luis Delgado Sancho is an agriculture engineer and econo-
mist. He has been an official in the European Commission since 
1987. He has worked in the Agriculture and External Relations 
DGs and as Member of a Commissioner’s Cabinet. Since 1999, 
he has been an action leader in the JRC-IPTS.

14. Miquel A. Aguado-Monsonet has a PhD in chemical engineer-
ing.  He  has  professional  experience  in  environment,  energy 
and several industrial sectors. He joined the JRC in 1993 taking 
charge  of  energy-related  projects,  coordinating  stakeholders’ 
working groups and helping in the coordination of the European 
IPPC Bureau.

JRC Excellence Awards | 21

Better data on ice-melting in Greenland and the Antarctic 
would reduce uncertainies in future sea-level rise in Europe

Diesel powered ice breaker-Kapitan Dranitsyn, 1998

10. Iain Shepherd is a graduate in physics who has been involved 
from  the  outset  in  the  JRC’s  efforts  to  support  the  Common 
Fisheries Policy – first on technologies to monitor compliance 
with the rules and later to support the scientific advice needed 
to frame these rules.

11.  Ilias  Papatryfon  BS,  PhD  has  been  a  member  of  the  Sus-
tainability  in  Agriculture,  Food  and  Health  unit  of  IPTS  since 
2004;  he  is  mainly  involved  in  carrying  out  and  coordinating 
research  on  (bio)technology  assessment  in  support  of  policy 
development as well as on related policy analyses and impact 
assessments. 

12. Wolfram Schrimpf has a Dipl.Ing. in mechanical engineering 
and  a  Dr.Ing.  in  civil  engineering.  He  is  presently  involved  in 
the execution and coordination of coastal and marine research 
activities,  monitoring  and  assessment  of  marine  ecosystems 
and implementation of institutional projects for policy support 
to the coastal and marine environment. He is an Action Leader 
at JRC-IES.

15                           16                           17                            18

3. Arsenis S., Karvounaraki A., Sgarlata G. and Fayl J. 
(JRC-IPSC). Support to Anti-fraud Policy.

Extract from the Theseus Website

Diverse frauds against the budget of the European 
Community  give  rise  to  unexpected  and  strong 
increases in reported trade of the particular prod-
uct  and  the  countries  of  origin  and  destination. 
Depending  on  the  trade  dataset  explored,  the 
presence  of  such  increases,  called  spikes,  may 
indicate wide ranging fraud control problems such 
as  stockpiling  before  EU  enlargements,  fraud  in 
payment of export refunds, and deflection of trade 
to  evade  import  duties  or  quotas  in  force  for  im-
ports into the EU. 

A statistical data mining procedure has been de-
veloped and applied for detecting spikes in trade 
datasets  in  order  to  scan  large,  appropriately 
compiled  trade  datasets,  for  signalling  out  trade 
flows suspicious for fraud against the Community 
budget. This approach has produced results that 
enable  monitoring  numerous  regulations  on  en-
largement, agriculture and customs. 

While the volume of such results is drastically re-
duced, the results are of considerable complexity 
due to options made in the detection  procedure. 
The  web  is  perfectly  suitable  for  the  representa-
tion,  storage,  and  dissemination  of  results  to  in-
terested experts in the European Anti-fraud Office 
(OLAF),  customs,  control  and  anti-fraud  agencies 
in the Member States. By December 2006, the web-
site  THESEUS  (http://theseus.jrc.it),  where  results 
are  published,  was  already  being  used  by  ap-
proximately  65  authorised  users  in  17  agencies. 
In 2006, the team took the opportunity to present 
their work to Commissioners Potoc˘nik and Kallas 
and to other Director Generals.

15.  Spyros  Arsenis  studied  mathematics  and  statistics  at  Co-
lumbia  University  (A.B.  Cum  Laude  1975,  M.A.  1977)  and  MIT 
(PhD, 1985). He is interested in statistical pattern recognition, 
statistical  data  mining,  asymptotic  and  Bayesian  estimation. 
Working at the JRC from 1990, he currently leads the JRC Insti-
tutional action on “Statistics for Anti-fraud”.

16.  Athina  Karvounaraki  studied  statistics  in  the  Athens  Uni-
versity of Economics and Business (1991), and Computational 
Statistics  at  the  University  of  Bath,  (MSc,  1992).  As  of  2000, 
she works at the Joint Research Centre on anti-fraud projects. 
She  applies  statistical  data  mining  methods  and  is  author  or 
co-author of several European Commission technical reports.

17.  Giuseppe  Sgarlata  graduated  in  computer  science  at  the 
University  of  Milano.  He  designed  and  developed  databases 
and  the  websites  in  various  Europa  website  projects.  Since 
2005, he has worked in the JRC on the design and implemen-
tation of the THESEUS website and explores database driven 
solutions to make it completely dynamic.

18. Jagello Gilbert Fayl studied economics and political sciences 
at the University of Copenhagen and Business and Administra-
tion from the Copenhagen Business School. Since 2004 he has 
been working in the JRC on data analysis, programming in SAS 
and  Web  publishing  of  results.  He  is  interested  in  data  min-
ing,  structuring  knowledge  for  web-based  dissemination  and 
international trade.

Two Awards for Technical Support
1. Spruyt P. (JRC-IPSC). Support to the Post-Tsu-
nami Assistance Package.

1.

2.

1. Installing DGPS reference station in Hambantota (Sri Lanka) 
2. Destroyed city of Banda Aceh (North Sumatra)

On behalf of the External Relations DG and financed 
by  the  European  Commission,  the  JRC  provided 
hands-on support to the post-tsunami assistance 
package.  The  author  was  selected  for  the  job  on 
the basis of his expertise in land-surveying tech-
niques, ortho-rectification of Very High Resolution 
(VHR) imagery and GIS. In this context, he carried 
out  two  2-week  trips  in  order  to  deliver  VHR  im-
agery and to start the ortho-rectification process 
together with the national authorities of both Sri 
Lanka and Indonesia. The main tasks during these 
trips  were  capacity  building  and  the  transfer  of 
know-how  to  the  local  technical  staff  in  Banda 
Aceh (north Sumatra) and Colombo (Sri Lanka) in: 

22 | JRC Excellence Awards

19                            20                  

•  handling  of  VHR  imagery  IKONOS  and  QUICK-

BIRD

•  processing the image data using ortho-rectifica-

• 

tion and pan-sharpening techniques
land-surveying using Global Positioning systems 
high  end  dual  frequency  carrier-phase  receivers 
for Ground Point Collection

•  different aspects in Geographic Information sys-

tems. 

facility  is  sealed  by  a  40,000  kg  door  in  order  to 
retain any potential shockwaves. The gas system 
also  comprises  a  1,500  litres  buffer  at  200  bars 
which allows the hydrogen to be re-cycled using a 
special compressor. The leak rate is measured by 
placing the tank in an aluminium tube filled with 
helium linked to a gas chromatograph capable of 
measuring hydrogen in low concentration ranges. 
The aluminium tube is in turn placed within a pres-
sure vessel filled with nitrogen.

Cross section of the bunker

20.  Freek  Harskamp  graduated  from  the  Technical  College 
Santpoort in The Netherlands in 1980 as a Mechanical Engineer 
and started working for the Royal Volker Stevin the same year. 
He joined the JRC in Petten in 1986 as a laboratory technician 
for Dr E. Lang and is currently the manager of the SYSAF (SYS-
tems for Alternative Fuels) laboratories.

Training of the local staff in DGPS ground point collection 
(Sri Lanka)

The author’s work was considered as an essential 
contribution  to  helping  post-tsunami  reconstruc-
tion in both Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

19. Peter Spruyt was born on 1964 in Gent, Belgium and stud-
ied land-surveying at Gent Industrial-High-School. He started 
working for the Flemish government in 1987, joined the JRC in 
1997 and today he works in the Management Support Unit at 
JRC-IPSC. 

2.  Harskamp  F.  (JRC-IE)  Building  a  Tank  Testing 
Facility for the Safety of New Energy Systems.

The JRC-IE was requested to construct a tank testing 
facility  to  evaluate  the  performance  of  hydrogen 
storage  tanks  under  simulated  working  environ-
ments.  The  180  litre  tanks  are  subjected  to  1000 
cycles – filled to 340 bars within 3 minutes and emp-
tied in less than 20 minutes – which corresponds 
to a normal vehicle’s life time. In order to conduct 
such tests in a safe environment, a “Bunker” was 
constructed with a 1 metre composite wall (30 cm 
concrete, 30 cm polystyrene, 40 cm concrete) de-
signed  to  contain  an  explosion  equivalent  to 
50 kg TNT (Tri-nitro-toluene). A 3 metre thick layer 
of  sand,  with  a  layer  of  geo-textile  every  30  cm, 
covers the bunker on 3 sides. The entrance to the 

Excellence Awards Ceremony in Ispra, 2006

JRC Excellence Awards | 23

Reference Materials and Measurements 

JRC Institute for

The mission of the JRC-IRMM is to promote a com-
mon and reliable European measurement system 
in support of EU policies.

The  JRC-IRMM  has  a  long  history  in  validating 
methods  of  analysis,  producing  measurement 
standards  and  organising  comparative  and  profi-
ciency  tests.  Today,  these  are  the  core  activities 
in  its  work  programme  that  is  largely  based  on 
the  needs  of  other  Directorates-General  of  the 
Commission.  This  kind  of  expertise  is  also  key 
for  operating  Community  Reference  Laboratories 
(CRLs). In 2004 JRC-IRMM became the CRL for feed 
additives’ authorisation. In 2006, its mandate was 
extended  to  also  cover  feed  additives  control, 
and the JRC-IRMM was designated as the CRL for 
heavy metals in feed and food, for mycotoxins and 
for  polycyclic  aromatic  hydrocarbons  (PAHs).  In 
addition, JRC-IRMM was appointed Chair of the co-
ordinating  board  of  experts  for  monitoring  water 
in poultry, similar in function to the CRLs. In 2006, 
JRC-IRMM  has  also  continued  its  modernisation 
plan to upgrade its accelerator facilities.

Besides operating the CRLs, JRC-IRMM runs many 
interesting research projects. These projects range 
from developing new reference materials for gen-
etic testing to the analysis of semicarbazide in food 
and complex organic pollutants, measuring neutron 
cross-sections and radioactivity in the environment 
or  studying  how  to  distinguish  organically  grown 
crops  from  those  grown  conventionally.  Common 
for all is the drive to create confidence in measure-
ments.

JRC-IRMM runs an International Measurement Evaluation 
Programme (IMEP)

24 | 2006 Highlights from the JRC Institutes

New reference materials for life sciences

JRC-IRMM is one of the largest reference material 
providers in the world. In 2006, the reference ma-
terials programme of JRC-IRMM resulted in 24 new 
sets of certified reference materials being released 
for distribution.

JRC-IRMM was the first to produce reference ma-
terials  for  the  analysis  of  Genetically  Modified 
Organisms  (GMOs).  Certified  reference  materials 
are  needed  for  calibrating  the  methods  used  to 
quantify  the  GM  content  and  for  controlling  the 
quality of measurements. Implementing EU legis-
lation on labelling of food and feed products con-
taining GMOs largely depends on the accuracy and 
reliability of those measurements. The new series 
released  in  2006  include  certified  reference  ma-
terials for the analysis of GM cotton, sugar beet, 
starch-modified potato and two for GM maize. The 
release  of  these  new  products  has  brought  the 
number  of  certified  GMO  reference  material  sets 
to 14.

In 2006, JRC-IRMM also released its first certified 
reference materials for genetic testing. The three 
certified reference materials have been developed 
for the detection of G20210A mutation in the hu-
man prothrombin (Factor II) gene, and are suitable 
for the quality control of polymerase chain reaction 
(PCR) -based methods. The certification covers the 
sequence of the 609 bp human prothrombin gene 
fragment included in a plasmid.

Another  highlight  in  2006  was  two  new  certified 
genomic DNA reference materials for the analysis 
of food-borne pathogens. These reference materi-
als  can  be  used  as  positive  control  materials  for 
the detection of Escherichia coli O157 and Listeria 
monocytogenes by diagnostic PCR methods, or for 
harmonising and validating those methods.

The certified reference materials of JRC-IRMM are 
produced  under  the  European  Reference  Materi-
als (ERM®) label that guarantees the use of best 
practices in production and certification.

Studies on semicarbazide

Semicarbazide is a metabolite of nitrofurazone, an 
antibiotic that is banned from use within the EU. 
It was measured to detect illegal use of nitrofura-
zone until it became known that nitrofurazone is 
not the only source of semicarbazide in processed 
foods.  It  may  also  be  formed  by  other  reactions 

JRC-IRMM

Geel, Belgium 

e.g. during a hypochlorite treatment, or it may be 
transferred  from  gaskets  used  in  jars.  Semicar-
bazide is a weak genotoxic and carcinogenic agent 
but its occurrence in baby food is a considerable 
concern. Certain gasket materials have, however, 
already been phased out to avoid this problem.

When  the  problem  was  acute,  JRC-IRMM  and  its 
collaborators developed sensitive methods to de-
tect semicarbazide in different types of baby food, 
eggs and egg powder at levels as low as 10 ng/g. 
These methods were validated by interlaboratory 
comparisons, and in 2006 a proficiency test organ-
ised by JRC-IRMM showed that European laborat-
ories’ performance, in relation to measuring semi-
carbazide, is good. A validated method was used 
to  monitor  semicarbazide  in  107  different  baby 
food products produced in 11 European countries, 
purchased  at  local  supermarkets  in  14  Member 
States. Results showed that the semicarbazide con-
tent ranged from below 0,2 ng/g to 50 ng/g.

Interlaboratory comparisons

JRC-IRMM organises interlaboratory comparisons 
for many purposes. JRC-IRMM runs an Interlaborat-
ory  Measurement  Evaluation  Programme  (IMEP), 
a Regular European Interlaboratory Measurement 
Evaluation Programme (REIMEP) for nuclear meas-
urements,  and  an  Interlaboratory  Measurement 
Evaluation  Programme  for  Nuclear  Signatures  in 
the  environment  (NUSIMEP).  In  2006,  JRC-IRMM 
was running an evaluation campaign on the ana-
lysis of sulphur in diesel, on the analysis of trace 
elements,  polychlorinated  biphenyls  (PCBs)  and 
PAHs in sewage sludge, and on measurements of 

isotopes  of  plutonium  and  uranium.  Other  inter-
laboratory comparisons dealt with PAHs in edible 
oils  and  primary  smoke  condensate,  semicar-
bazide in baby food and in egg, and evaluation of 
the comparability of data collected by the JRC-IES 
from  laboratories  measuring  radioactivity  in  the 
environment.

Neutron cross sections for transmutation studies 
and reactor calculations

Lead is an important element for studies on how to 
minimise highly radioactive waste. It is the coolant 
in Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS) and in one of 
the new Generation-IV systems. In 2006, the meas-
urements  of  206,207,208Pb  neutron  inelastic  scat-
tering  and  (n,2n)  cross  sections  were  completed 
at  JRC-IRMM.  Exceptionally  good  energy  resolu-
tion and accuracy were attained. These results, to-
gether with measurements of the neutron capture 
and total cross sections of 206Pb of JRC-IRMM, will 
allow improved reactor calculations.

In  2006,  JRC-IRMM  investigated  also  the  energy 
spectrum  of  neutrons  emitted  after  fission  of 
235U, which is the most important isotope for en-
ergy  production  in  a  reactor.  The  Working  Party 
on  Evaluation  Cooperation  of  the  OECD  Nuclear 
Energy  Agency  requested  this  investigation  as 
the  accuracy  of  experimental  data  and  theoreti-
cal modelling for this process is still insufficient. 
New  measurements  were  started  to  attain  a  bet-
ter accuracy and statistical precision. The first re-
sults have revealed discrepancies with theoretical 
models, and indicate an angle dependence of the 
spectrum overlooked so far.

JRC-IRMM is one of world’s largest reference material producers

2006 Highlights from the JRC Institutes | 25

The mission of the JRC-ITU is to provide the scientific 
basis  for  the  protection  of  the  European  citizen 
against  risks  associated  with  the  handling  and 
storage of highly radioactive elements.

Nuclear waste: spent fuel characterisation

Main  progress  in  2006  concerned  the  effects  of 
alpha-decay damage accumulation in solid waste 
form. Unequivocal evidence to show that the mac-
roscopic properties and microstructure alterations 
associated  with  accumulating  radiation  damage 
are  not  dependent  on  the  decay  dose  rate,  was 
obtained. 

A new approach was introduced to perform source 
term  studies  on  Mixed  Oxide  (MOX)  fuel:  the 
Knudsen  cell  method  was  used  to  estimate  the 
grain boundary inventory of the fuel, in addition to 
traditional leaching tests. Similar parallel analyses 
were  performed  to  compare  the  information  ob-
tained from leaching with the outcome of electro-
chemistry  measurements.  Data  obtained  on  the 
secondary phases formed on corroded iron under 
reducing conditions, showed incorporation of acti-
nides in the newly precipitated phases. 

Nuclear waste: partitioning and transmutation

In  2006,  the  fabrication  and  characterisation  of 
physical and thermal properties of two Molybde-
num based composite nuclear fuels was success-
fully completed. This material will be irradiated in 
the Phénix reactor in France within the FUTURIX ir-
radiation programme of the EUROTRANS integrat-
ed project. This experiment will provide essential 
data concerning the behaviour under irradiation of 
these advanced fuels.

Pyro-partitioning  of  actinides  from  fission  prod-
ucts  was  demonstrated  by  using  a  high  liquid 
level  waste  (HLLW)  from  PUREX  reprocessing  of 
uranium oxide and MOX fuels containing 600ppm 
of transuranium elements and 2000 ppm of fission 
products. 

Safety of nuclear fuel

JRC Institute for

Transuranium Elements 

firmed the “superplastic” behaviour of the unique 
microstructure.

Further  progress  to  note  was  the  inclusion  of  a 
model for hydrogen absorption in the TRANSURA-
NUS  fuel  performance  code  by  the  cladding  of  a 
VVER (Russian-type reactor) during a loss-of-cool-
ant accident.

In May, a workshop focusing on the application of 
microbeam  analysis  techniques  to  nuclear  fuels 
was held in Karlsruhe. The event was judged a great 
success by both participants and organisers.

Commissioner for Science and Research J. Potoc˘nik handling a 
piece of plutonium crystal in a glove box

Basic research on the actinides

JRC-ITU’s  position,  as  the  European  laboratory 
focal  point  for  actinide  materials,  fundamental 
physics and chemistry, has been strengthened by 
a) the progress made in understanding the nature 
of the magnetic and non-magnetic correlations in 
strongly  correlated  electron  systems,  and  b)  by 
stimulating the access of external users to our fa-
cilities  (Actinide  User  Laboratory,  ACTINET).  The 
thermodymamic assessment of molten salt reactor 
systems and innovative nuclear reactor systems of 
the next generation was another priority. 

JRC-ITU secured a seat on the steering committee 
of the international Nuclear Fuel Industry Research 
Program  (NFIR)  project.  This  project  investigates 
the high burn-up properties of uranium oxide and 
MOX fuel and the role of the high burn-up struc-
ture  on  fuel  disruption  during  a  reactor  power 
transient. Initial investigations have already con-

Two nuclear science training courses were organ-
ised, four PhD theses successfully presented, and 
the  new  edition  of  the  Karlsruhe  Nuclide  Chart 
completed. “Preparing the Future” was addressed 
by  the  organisation  of  a  workshop  on  the  chem-
istry and physics of actinide molecular clusters in 
November.

26 | 2006 Highlights from the JRC Institutes

JRC-ITU

Karlsruhe, Germany

Alpha-immunotherapy

Nuclear Safeguards

The  application  of  alpha  emitters  for  therapy  of 
cancer and infectious diseases was further devel-
oped  in  2006.  Radiochemical  support  along  with 
31 shipments of quality controlled, clinical grade 
Ac-225/Bi-213  were  provided  to  hospitals  and 
cancer research centres in Europe, USA and Aus-
tralia for pre-clinical studies and clinical trials. In 
collaboration  with  the  Albert  Einstein  College  of 
New  York,  the  successful  targeting  and  killing  of 
HIV-infected  cells  using  a  Bi-213  labelled  mono-
clonal antibody in an animal model was reported 
for the first time. 

Radiobiological  studies  in  cooperation  with  the 
University  of  Düsseldorf  led  to  the  identification 
of  time-  and  dose-dependent  patterns  of  alpha-
induced effects in a human lymphoma cell line at 
transcriptional  level,  accompanied  by  the  func-
tional characterisation of irradiated cells.

In  2006,  JRC-ITU’s  support  to  the  IAEA  focused 
on its On-Site Laboratory at the Rokkasho Repro-
cessing Plant in Japan, which is starting operation. 
Calibration of a measurement instrument, training 
of  IAEA  staff  and  development  of  software  for  a 
specifically developed measurement device, were 
performed. 

The operation of the Energy and Transport (TREN) 
DG’s  on-site  laboratories  at  the  two  large  Euro-
pean reprocessing plants in Sellafield (UK) and La 
Hague (F) continued, taking into account the new 
Safeguards strategy of DG TREN.

In  the  area  of  nuclear  security,  support  was  pro-
vided to the IAEA for drafting documents related to 
illicit trafficking of nuclear materials. Two training 
courses on “response to illicit trafficking of nuclear 
materials”  were  jointly  organised  with  the  IAEA 
and  held  at  JRC-ITU.  At  the  request  of  a  Member 
State,  three  samples  of  seized  nuclear  material 
were subjected to nuclear forensic investigations 
at JRC-ITU. 

Visit of the JRC-ITU laboratories by H. Fenrich, Mayor of Karls-
ruhe, and first attempt to manage the telemanipulators for 
working in the hot cells

Mapping radionuclides in biological tissues

Secondary  Ion  Mass  Spectrometry  (SIMS)  has 
been successfully applied to the mapping of Boron 
(10B) in brain tissues and of Technetium (99Tc) in 
heart tissues, in collaboration with the Istituto di 
Fisiologia Clinica (CNR, Pisa) and the University of 
Pisa. The sample preparation and its preservation 
during the transport from Italy to Germany was a 
critical step in both experiments. 

The  mapping  of  Boron  helps  to  understand  the 
mechanism  of  its  absorption  in  the  cell,  contrib-
uting  to  the  optimisation  of  the  Boron  neutron 
capture cancer therapy. Technetium is tested as a 
tracer for studying some cardiovascular pathology.

Group picture in front of the Karlsruhe castle on the occasion of 
the 7th European Microbeam Analysis Society (EMAS) Regional 
Workshop

2006 Highlights from the JRC Institutes | 27

The  mission  of  the  JRC-IE  is  to  provide  scientific 
and technical support for the conception, develop-
ment, implementation and monitoring of Commu-
nity policies related to energy.

Rising oil prices, diminishing supplies of fossil fu-
els and concerns about global climate change, air 
quality and reliable sources of energy have moved 
the energy topic up high on the political agenda.  
In the EU, this is clearly manifested by the active 
follow-up  requested  by  the  European  Council  to 
the  Commission’s  March  2006  Green  Paper  on  a 
European  Strategy  for  Sustainable,  Competitive 
and Secure Energy.

Support to current and future reactor safety 

1. Stress corrosion cracking evaluation under both 
current and future reactor conditions

Work in 2006 continued on the evaluation of ma-
terial susceptible to stress corrosion cracking under 
both current and future reactor parameters. In the 
frame  of  the  PERFECT  project,  cold  worked  AISI 
304 stainless steel was tested under BWR (Boiling 
Water Reactor) conditions by means of fracture re-
sistance measurements and constant load stress 
corrosion cracking tests.

AISI 316L stainless steel and WWER (Water Energy 
Reactor)  1000  reactor  pressure  vessel  steel  with 
cladding were also tested. The crack growth initia-
tion and propagation was monitored in-situ by po-
tential drop measurements and fracture surfaces 
were examined by scanning electron microscopy. 
The parameters crack growth rates da/dt and J-in-
tegrals were calculated to describe the conditions 
of the crack growth. A new improved generation of 
bellows based loading system was also designed 
and manufactured. 

A new autoclave and a high-pressure loop for test-
ing  of  materials  in  parameters  of  future  Super 
Critical  Water  Reactors  (SCWRs)  were  installed, 
and  first  tests  evaluating  coupon  tests  of  corro-
sion properties of materials for SCWR internals at 
600°C and 250 bar were carried out.

2. Safety of Innovative reactor designs

The final preparation and successful start of a new 
HTR pebble fuel irradiation test took place in the 
High  Flux  Reactor  (HFR)  in  Petten  including  the 
related new ancillary systems. The test comprises 
reference fuel from former German production and 

JRC Institute for

Energy 

newly produced Chinese fuel. The irradiation will 
last for approximately 2 1/2 years and the results 
concerning  fission  product  release  at  very  high 
burn-up will be shared within the European High 
Temperature Reactor Technology Network (HTR-TN). 

Work  has  continued  on  the  feasibility  and  safety 
analyses  of  innovative  nuclear  reactors,  and  has 
focused on the GIF concept Lead-cooled Fast Re-
actor. It has been shown that this type of reactor 
works well for different fuel cycle options such as 
Plutonium (Pu) burner (burning material from light 
water  reactors  and  decommissioned  weapons) 
and Pu breeder (allowing uranium reserves to be 
enhanced by a factor of 50).  

Fuel cell stack undergoing testing in the Petten facility

Support towards the realisation of the hydrogen 
economy

The Fuel Cell Testing Facility conducts comprehen-
sive  testing  and  evaluation  of  Proton  Exchange 
Fuel Cells (PEFC) stacks, components and systems 
under conditions that typically exist in stationary 
and transport applications. The facility is used to:

•  characterise  fuel  cell  performance:  in  2006, 
tests at ambient conditions were conducted within 
ongoing  FP6  projects  particularly  the  CELINA 
(fuel CELl application IN a new configured Air-
craft) STREP, while testing of a 96 kW fuel cell 
module  was  performed  for  a  Dutch  fuel  cell 
manufacturer under a third party contract; and
•  validate  and  benchmark  fuel  cell  testing  pro-
cedures, measurement methodologies & proto-
cols: a test campaign was started in the frame 
of the IE coordinated FP6 project FCTESQA (Fuel 
Cell Testing, Safety & Quality Assurance) STREP 
involving  leading  laboratories  from  Europe, 
North  America  and  Eastern  Asia.  The  FCTEST-
NET protocol was applied to a 11 kW PEFC stack 
to assess stack performance at various electri-
cal  load  levels.  Examples  of  the  polarisation 
curves obtained are shown in Figures 1 and 2.

28 | 2006 Highlights from the JRC Institutes

 
JRC-IE

Petten, the Netherlands

Figure 1: Polarisation curve (voltage vs. current density) of a 
PEFC stack of 11 kW nominal power output. The red curve repre-
sents the average stack voltage at different stack current densi-
ties while the blue one represents the sum of the individual cell 
voltages (see insert) as a comparison

Figure 2: Polarsation curves (voltage/power vs. current density) 
of a PEFC stack of 11 kW nominal power output. The blue curves 
represent the average stack voltage during stepwise increase 
(solid line) and decrease (dotted line) of the stack current 
density while the red curves represent that of the correspond-
ing average stack power. The error bars indicate the variations 
between maximum and minimum of these values

In the catalyst testing laboratory, isotopic exchange 
studies  have  been  performed  to  investigate  the 
temperature  dependence  of  CO  adsorption  and 
desorption  on  commercial  platinum-based  fuel 
cell catalysts. In collaboration with the JRC-IRMM, 
steady  state  isotopic  transient  kinetic  analysis 
measurements  focusing  specifically  on  the  com-
petitive  adsorption  between  hydrogen  and  low 
concentrations  of  CO  at  PEFC  anodes  have  been 
performed.

The action clarified the status and needs for har-
monisation  of  global  regulations,  standardisa-
tion and pre-normative research from a European 
perspective  to  the  Implementation  Panel  of  the 
Hydrogen  and  Fuel  Cell  Technology  Platform.  In 
this  context  it  also  contributed  to  international 
bodies such as IEA Advanced Fuel Cells Annex XIX, 
and liaised with IEC TC105 and ISO TC 197 WG 12. 

The  FCTESTNET  fuel  cell  glossary  was  delivered 
to IEC TC 105 enabling it to standardise fuel cells 
glossary and definition of terms. A New Work Item 
Proposal (NWIP) for standardisation of single cell 
PEMFC  was  also  submitted  to  this  body  jointly 
with  FCTESQA  consortium  members,  NREL  of  US 
and NEDO of Japan. ISO requested that JRC-IE con-
sider research work with a goal to establish fuel cell 
test  protocols  for  fuel  impurity  and  contaminant 
tolerance. As well as that, the institute acts as the 
technical  interlocutor  for  the  CEN  specifically  for 
Standardisation  of  Hydrogen  and  Fuel  Cell  Tech-
nology.

Furthermore,  pushing  the  goals  of  the  Hydrogen 
and  Fuel  Cell  Technology  Platform  (HFP)  forward 
was achieved via JRC-IE’s role in the HFP Secretariat, 
the S&T inputs provided in a number of processes 
and most notably through its assignment to draft 
the Implementation Plan. This document provides 
a concerted description of how hydrogen and fuel 
cell technologies will be pursued across the EU in 
the next decade, and acts as an indispensable in-
gredient of a future Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) 
proposal. 

By sustaining and capitalising on its catalytic role 
and  exploiting  its  unique  experimental  facilities, 
the  JRC-IE  will  continue  supporting  the  develop-
ment of H2 and FC technologies within the EU.

The H2 tank testing facility

2006 Highlights from the JRC Institutes | 29

the Protection and Security of the Citizen  

JRC Institute for

2. Crop yield forecasting

During 2006, JRC-IPSC monitored the crop season 
in  the  EU  and  forecasted  a  below  average  cereal 
season explained by a summer drought followed 
by  very  wet  conditions  during  harvest  in  many 
important districts. Germany, Poland, Baltic coun-
tries,  the  United  Kingdom  and  France  marked 
strong-to-significant  yield  reductions.  According 
to  the  reduction  in  yield  of  at  least  4%,  the  final 
cereal  EU  production  was  forecasted  to  drop  by 
about  15  Mt  (million  tonnes)  compared  to  2005 
(average  year)  and  to  drop  by  45  Mt  comparing 
to 2004 (high level year). The forecasts were con-
tinuously updated throughout the development of 
the cropping season. 

The  JRC-IPSC  provides  research-based,  systems-
oriented support to EU policies so as to protect the 
citizen  against  economic  and  technological  risk. 
The  Institute  maintains  and  develops  its  exper-
tise and networks in information, communication, 
space and engineering technologies in support of 
its mission. The strong cross-fertilisation between 
its nuclear and non-nuclear activities strengthens 
the expertise it can bring to the benefit of customers 
in both domains.

In  2006,  the  JRC-IPSC  has  further  focused  its  ac-
tivities  on  security  research  and  on  the  fast  and 
effective deployment of resources in response to 
various types of crises within and outside the EU. 
Significant results have been obtained in these areas 
and some examples are given below.

Disaster prevention and response

1.Tsunami research: new JRC tsunami model

After  the  immediate  crisis  activities  in  response 
to the tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean at the 
end of 2004, the JRC-IPSC has started a more sys-
tematic modelling activity of tsunami events which 
has resulted in the realisation of a near real-time 
3D tsunami model.

NDVI: Normaliseed Difference Vegetation Index. Relative 
Range (VCI: Vegetation Contition Index) from 21 to 31 July, 
2006. Spot-vegetation

Support to the Maritime Policy

Realising  that  the  European  maritime  domain  is 
governed by a wide variety of regulations coming 
from a number of different authorities, in 2006 the 
Commission published a Green Paper on Maritime 
Policy  addressing  the  needs  of  all  stakeholders 
and suggesting priority areas for inter-sector and 
European  coordination.  JRC-IPSC  played  a  major 
role within the Interservice Task Force that carried 
out this work under the auspices of the Fisheries 
and Maritime Affairs DG. 

JRC-IPSC has also given extensive technical support 
to FRONTEX, the EU’s agency on external borders, 
in  the  preparation  of  the  “BORTEC”  feasibility 
study for surveillance systems for the southern EU 
maritime border. 

Tsunami research: new JRC tsunami model

The new JRC tsunami model calculates the depth 
and travel time of waves propagating from under-
water earthquakes. It came into operation, for the 
first time, for the earthquakes on 17 October 2006 
(Papua  New  Guinea)  and  20  October  2006  (Peru 
coasts),  whereupon  it  automatically  calculated 
the wave height and travel time. The integration 
of the model in the Global Disasters Alert and Co-
ordination  System  (http://www.gdacs.org/)  has 
improved the quality of the tsunami-related alerts 
by identifying more accurately the tsunami affected 
regions.

30 | 2006 Highlights from the JRC Institutes

JRC-IPSC

Ispra, Italy

Support to the free movement of people 

Interoperability of electronic passports

In 2006, JRC-IPSC organised two testing sessions 
aiming  at  assessing  the  interoperability  of  elec-
tronic passports according to the standard of the 
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and 
EU legislation. The trial showed that although the 
individual  components  (passports  and  readers) 
are working properly, full system interoperability 
is still to be achieved.

Support to the free movement of goods

1. Cargo sealing in the Lithuanian corridor

Lithuania,  as  one  of  the  transit  countries,  faces 
illegal downloads from trucks crossing it on their 
journey along the so-called “Lithuanian corridor”. 
In order to help solve this problem, JRC-IPSC carried 
out a very successful field trial in June 2006 where 
two different types of electronic seals were tested, 
based on active and passive transponder-technol-
ogy.  The  field  test  was  instrumental  in  achieving 
a  more  in-depth  understanding  of  the  customs 
requirements  and  provided  invaluable  in-field 
expertise, which will be used to further refine the 
concept and improve the mechanical design of the 
sealing device. In addition, seals based on passive 
transponder technology have been developed and 
patented by JRC-IPSC.

2. A new tracking and monitoring system to protect 
animals during long journeys

JRC-IPSC  has  produced  the  technical  specifica-
tions and a prototype tracking system to monitor 
the transport of live animals. National authorities 
and stakeholders broadly agreed upon these as a 
reference for Europe-wide enforcement of animal 
welfare. (Implementation of the navigation system 
according to Reg. 1/2005.)

Support to standardisation

1. Eurocodes

As  a  part  of  the  JRC  activities  in  support  to  the 
conception  and  adoption  of  the  acquis  commun-
autaire,  JRC-IPSC  efforts  are  directed  to  pre-  and 
co-normative research on European standards for 
construction, and to support the implementation, 
harmonisation and further development of the EN 
Eurocodes. JRC-IPSC is also working on the estab-

lishment of a “distributed laboratory” to link the 
structural engineering research sites across Europe 
with  the  objective  to  optimise  the  usage  of  the 
large facilities needed to do research in this area.

Examples of seals from the Seals and Identification Tech-
niques Laboratory

2. Wireless communications

New and emerging technologies such as Software 
Defined  Radio  (SDR)  platforms  and  Ultra  Wide 
Band systems provide an efficient solution to the 
problem of building multimode, multi-band, multi-
functional  wireless  devices  to  fulfil  requirements 
of  communication  in  security  applications.  The 
goal is to position the JRC-IPSC as a European Test 
and  Evaluation  Centre  for  wireless  communica-
tions in the context of security applications.

Safety Reports in the context of the Seveso indus-
trial installations

In the context of support to the implementation of 
the Seveso Directive for the control of major acci-
dent hazards, JRC-IPSC has developed guidelines 
for the content of safety reports and for land-use 
planning in the vicinity of Seveso industrial installa-
tions.  These  guidelines  have  been  developed  at 
the request to the European Parliament and in order 
to fulfil the Directive’s obligations for greater tech-
nical support to land-use planning.

2006 Highlights from the JRC Institutes | 31

Environment and Sustainability 

JRC Institute for

The JRC-IES adopted a new mission statement in 
2006:  “to  provide  scientific-technical  support  to 
the  European  Union’s  policies  for  the  protection 
and  sustainable  development  of  the  European 
and  global environment.” With the aim to make the 
institute better address complex issues in an inte-
grated way, scientific units have been reorganised 
for global environment monitoring, transport and 
air quality, rural, water and ecosystem resources, 
spatial data infrastructures, and land management 
and natural hazards. 

While  adapting  to  future  needs,  the  JRC-IES  has 
continued  in  2006  to  deliver  key  support  to  the 
European policy-maker in different fields of action. 
This includes, among others, the development of 
information resources, such as the Environmental Ma-
rine Information System (EMIS) (http://emis.jrc.it), but 
also the production of a large number of reports, 
some  of  them  issued  jointly  with  the  European 
Environment Agency (EEA). A major milestone has 
been the signature of the “Group of 4” Agreement 
between the Environment Directorate General, Euro-
stat, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and 
the JRC on the creation of European Environmental 
Data Centres. The JRC-IES has been given the respon-
sibility  to  develop  the  Data  Centres  for  Soils  and 
Forests.

At the same time, the JRC-IES continues to strive 
for scientific excellence, as can be proven by a high 
number of publications in peer-reviewed journals, 
one of them in Nature (D. Mollicone, H. Eva, F. Achard: 
“Human  role  in  Russian  wild  fires”,  Nature  440, 
pp. 436-437). The JRC-IES also took the initiative 
to  launch  the  “International  Journal  for  Spatial 
Data  Infrastructure  Research”  (http://ijsdir.jrc.it) 
as  a  new  forum  for  the  geographic  information 
community.  Furthermore,  the  JRC-IES  engaged 
in the training of young scientists by hosting the 
first  training  course  of  the  Marie  Curie  Training 
Series, “Methods in Interdisciplinary Environmental 
Research  (METIER)”,  organised  jointly  with  the 
Partnership for European Environmental Research 
(PEER).

Providing answers to the policy-maker on air pol-
lution: The Urbino Questions

In  the  frame  of  the  ACCENT  Network  of  Excel-
lence  on  Atmospheric  Composition  Change,  JRC-
IES  scientists  facilitated  the  interaction  between 
policy-makers and the atmospheric research com-
munity by editing a booklet entitled “Answers to 
the Urbino Questions” (http://ccu.jrc.it/Pubblica-

tions/Urbino_Questions.pdf). In this booklet, the 
research  community  answers,  in  a  short,  concise 
and understandable way, the major questions posed 
by policy-makers to scientists on the situation of 
air pollution in Europe.

From  toxic  emissions  to  health  effects:  Krakow 
Project finalised

The historic city centre of Krakow, declared a UNESCO world 
heritage site

In May 2006, the JRC-IES presented the results of 
its integrated emissions, air quality and health im-
pacts  case  study  in  Krakow,  Poland.  The  goal  of 
the project, co-ordinated by the JRC-IES Transport 
and  Air  Quality  Unit,  was  to  apply  an  integrated 
methodology  for  the  design  of  adequate  emis-
sion abatement strategies to tackle the problems 
of  toxic  emissions,  the  resulting  air  quality  and 
their impacts on human health. The results of the 
study show that domestic heating (common use of 
coal stoves) is the major reason for observed high 
Particulate  Matter  concentrations,  having  a  clear 
correlation with respiratory diseases. The recom-
mendations  made  by  the  JRC-IES  will  help  to  im-
prove the quality of life of the citizens of Krakow 
and to protect its unique historic centre, declared 
a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

A key asset of the Krakow Project has been its strong partici-
patory approach involving the local population

32 | 2006 Highlights from the JRC Institutes

JRC-IES

Ispra, Italy

Support to the restoration of the Black Sea eco-
system

With the accession of Bulgaria and Romania and 
the  ongoing  accession  negotiations  with  Turkey, 
the  Black  Sea  is  moving  into  the  public  gaze,  as 
undoubtedly  the  most  endangered  marine  eco-
system  in  Europe  today.  With  limited  levels  of 
dissolved  oxygen  and  little  water  exchange  with 
the Mediterranean, the Black Sea is extremely vul-
nerable to the impact of human activities. As part 
of  its  support  work  to  the  Bucharest  Convention 
on  the  Protection  of  the  Black  Sea,  in  June  2006 
the JRC-IES carried out a measurement campaign 
in  co-operation  with  the  Institute  of  Oceanology 
of  the  Bulgarian  Academy  of  Sciences.  The  cam-
paign’s main objective was to retrieve key data on 
the ecological health of the Black Sea marine and 
coastal ecosystems. 

Image of Chlorophyll concentration in the Black Sea showing 
the impact of the Danube, Dnjestr and Don rivers

First common criteria for surface water ecological 
quality 

A  major  break-through  in  harmonising  the  envi-
ronmental objectives for implementing the Water 
Framework  Directive  (WFD)  occurred  in  October 
2006. The first common criteria for ecological sta-
tus  assessment  of  surface  waters  were  approved 
between the Member States’ experts. These crite-
ria  include  ecological  quality  ratio  values  for  na-
tional assessment systems for river invertebrates 
and common reference status and boundary values 
for phytoplankton (such as chlorophyll-a) for lakes 
as well as for coastal waters. The compilation and 
agreement  of  these  criteria  has  been  facilitated 
and coordinated by the JRC-IES over the last four 
years. 

By 2015 all surface waters of the European Union shall have a 
good ecological quality

Largest ever photovoltaic solar energy conference

The 21st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Con-
ference and Exhibition held in Dresden in Septem-
ber 2006 ended with a record-breaking number of 
visitors.  2,700  scientists,  industrial  representa-
tives and politicians from 95 countries and around 
3,600  visitors  to  the  parallel  trade  exhibition  in-
formed themselves about the latest developments 
in solar energy generation. The JRC-IES Renewable 
Energies Unit has been in charge of the technical 
programme of the conference which was also sup-
ported  by  the  UNESCO  and  the  German  Federal 
Ministry for the Environment.

The JRC stand at the 21st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy 
Conference in Dresden

2006 Highlights from the JRC Institutes | 33

Health and Consumer Protection 

JRC Institute for

The mission of the JRC-IHCP is to provide scientific 
support for the development and implementation 
of EU policies related to health and consumer pro-
tection.

More specifically, the main policy foci of the Insti-
tute’s  work  include:  methodology  for  analysis  of 
Genetically  Modified  Organisms  (GMOs)  in  food, 
feed and seeds; toxicity assessment of chemicals; 
evaluation of methods for replacement of animal 
tests;  and  exposure/effect  and  risk  assessment 
of chemicals from consumer and nanotechnology 
products. The Institute hosts two European Com-
munity  Reference  Laboratories  (CRLs):  a  CRL  on 
GMOs in Food and Feed and a CRL on Materials in 
Contact with Food.

The JRC provides scientific and technical support for issues 
related to health and consumer protection

Support to the Chemicals Policy

Much  of  the  related  current  European  legislation 
on  chemicals  will  shortly  be  replaced  with  the 
implementation  of  the  new  REACH  (Registration, 
Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals) Regu-
lation which was adopted by the European Council 
and European Parliament at the end of 2006. 

The European Chemicals Bureau (ECB) of the JRC-
IHCP  provides  scientific  input  to  the  current  leg-
islation  on  chemicals  and  technical  guidance  to 
enable  industry,  the  new  Chemicals  Agency  and 
government  authorities  to  implement  the  REACH 
legislation.  In  particular,  the  ECB  has  been  re-
sponsible, in close cooperation with the chemicals 
industry  and  the  Organisation  for  Economic  Co-
operation and Development (OECD), for designing 
and managing the development of the informatics 
tools (REACH IT and the IUCLID 5) databases which 
will play a central role in implementing the legisla-
tion. The tools will be used by industry as well as 
the future European Chemicals Agency which will 
be established in Helsinki in 2007. 

34 | 2006 Highlights from the JRC Institutes

Alternatives to Animal Testing 

The  Institute’s  European  Centre  for  the  Valida-
tion of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) directly sup-
ports the EU Directive regarding the protection of 
animals used for experimental and other scientific 
purposes.  ECVAM  celebrated  its  15th  anniversary 
towards the end of 2006, and used the occasion for 
launching a public database service on alternative 
methods, DB-ALM. During 2006, ECVAM finalised 
the validation of nine alternative in-vitro methods 
(e.g. for skin corrosion, chemotherapeutic drugs, 
aquatic toxicity testing, and bacterial contamina-
tion  of  pharmaceuticals)  that  were  endorsed  by 
the  ECVAM  Scientific  Advisory  Committee.  Some 
of these validations are important for the phasing 
out  of  animal  testing  for  cosmetics  ingredients. 
The importance of ECVAM’s work was made highly 
visible at the second conference of the European 
Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal 
testing (EPAA) in December 2006. ECVAM also co-
ordinated  the  toxicity  test  strategy  development 
for REACH.

During  2006,  the  JRC-IHCP  installed  a  robotic 
testing platform in ECVAM which will provide the 
means of increasing throughput of in-vitro toxicity 
assays.

Cell viability test

Nanotechnology

In order to facilitate its investigation into the po-
tential  toxicity  of  nanoparticles,  the  JRC-IHCP  in-
stalled  new  state-of-the-art  laboratory  facilities 
in 2006 which will allow it to tackle the scientific 
impact  assessment  of  nanoparticles  on  human 
health.  In  conjunction  with  its  work  in  nanotech-
nology,  the  JRC-IHCP  developed  a  novel  type  of 
immunosensor platform based on nanostructured 
surfaces. This delivers enhanced sensor perform-

JRC-IHCP

Ispra, Italy

ance and can be used to analyse cell metabolites 
in-vitro,  thereby  supporting  the  work  of  ECVAM. 
The JRC-IHCP also houses a variable-energy, multi-
particle  cyclotron  which,  as  well  as  carrying  out 
collaborative research into the production of ther-
apeutic medical isotopes, is also used to develop 
nanoparticle  tracers  in  support  of  the  Institute’s 
work in nanotechnology. 

Support to the Legislation of GMOs

Although  only  authorised  GMOs  are  legally  al-
lowed in the European market, preventing or even 
detecting  the  release  of  non-authorised  GMOs  is 
challenging.  Moreover,  it  must  be  ensured  that 
authorised  GMOs  are  below  the  agreed  level  al-
lowed  in  food  and  feed  to  be  labelled  GMO-free. 
The  CRL  for  GMOs  in  Food  and  Feed  (CRL-GMFF) 
provides  suitable  validated  methods  for  control 
and enforcement processes with respect to label-
ling legislation within the EU. This is performed in 
close collaboration with its JRC sister Institute in 
Geel (IRMM) and a formal network of GMO expert 
laboratories within the European Union. The CRL-
GMFF, which also supplies and distributes appro-
priate reference materials for practical application 
to the EU Member State enforcement laboratories, 
is  accredited  according  to  ISO  17015  and  was 
awarded ISO 9001 certification in 2006.

In  2006,  the  CRL-GMFF  provided  support  to  the 
emergency measures resulting from the release of 
non-authorised GM rice into the European market 
(see section “Response to Crises”). 

Consumer Products

Selection of European wines

The  Institute  directly  supports  EC  Directives  in 
the field of textiles and other consumer products 
including materials in contact with food. In 2006, 
the  JRC-IHCP  provided  validated  methods  for  the 
quantitative analysis of certain new fibre mixtures 
in  textiles,  and  measured  the  release  of  volatile 
organic  compounds  from  carpets  and  building 
materials,  in  its  specialised  “indoortron”  facility, 
mimicking  real  exposure  conditions.  The  Insti-
tute provided the first results concerning the ap-
plication  of  the  “European  Exposure  Assessment 
Toolbox”  on  exposure  assessments  of  chemicals 
released  from  consumer  products  and  articles 
(e.g. toys, textiles). In 2006, whole genome DNA-
microarrays  were  used  to  compare  early  events 
in  biological  responses  of  human  cells  exposed 
to different chemical mixtures relevant for indoor 
environments.  The  Institute  also  provided  train-
ing  on  analytical  methods  for  the  European  wine 
databank to new European Member States and of-
ficially inaugurated the CRL on Food Contact Ma-
terials in December 2006. The latter is responsible 
for  providing  national  control  laboratories  with 
harmonised analytical tools, and will co-ordinate 
the Network of National Reference Laboratories to 
exchange information, build capacity and provide 
training.

DNA analysis by gel electrophoresis

2006 Highlights from the JRC Institutes | 35

Prospective Technological Studies 

JRC Institute for

The mission of the JRC-IPTS is to provide customer-
driven  support  to  the  EU  policy-making  process 
by researching science-based responses to policy 
challenges that may have both a socio-economic 
as well as a scientific/technological dimension.

Second International Seminar on Future-Oriented 
Technology Analysis and FOR-LEARN Online Fore-
sight  Guide:  JRC-IPTS  confirms  its  role  as  inter-
national reference point for the scientific foresight 
community.

“Foresight”  is  shorthand  for  a  set  of  techniques 
increasingly  used  to  support  policy-makers  in 
building  long-term  strategies  through  structured 
and  focused  interaction  with  experts  and  stake-
holders. Since the creation of the JRC-IPTS in 1994, 
foresight activities have been at the core of most of 
the research activities undertaken by the Institute. 
Today the JRC-IPTS is recognised internationally as a 
world reference centre in this domain. 

Future Oriented Technology Analysis Conference (FTA) on 28, 
29 September, 2006

In 2006, the JRC-IPTS hosted the second bi-annual 
International  Seminar  on  Future-Oriented  Tech-
nology  Analysis  (FTA).  The  Seminar  has  become 
the major international conference in the field of 
foresight and other prospective techniques. In the 
2006  edition,  around  160  high-level  academics, 
practitioners and public and private sector decision 
makers from 35 countries and all continents par-
ticipated.

2006 also saw the publication of “FOR-LEARN On-
line  Foresight  Guide”,  which  provides  a  practical 
introduction  to  foresight  methodologies  by  mak-
ing use of real case examples. The tool, developed 
at the request of the Research DG, is recognised 
as a reference in the field and is used by organisa-
tions for teaching and training. More information 
at: http://forera.jrc.es/ 

36 | 2006 Highlights from the JRC Institutes

Successful conclusion on the FISTERA project: a 
major international effort to foresight the Informa-
tion Society

The  thematic  network  “Foresight  on  Information 
Society Technologies (IST) in the European Research 
Area”  (FISTERA),  is  scientifically  coordinated  by 
the  JRC-IPTS.  It  was  set  up  at  the  request  of  the 
Information  Society  and  Media  DG  to  contribute 
to a common vision and approach towards the In-
formation Society in an enlarged Europe in 2010. 
FISTERA created a pan-European platform on fore-
sight  in  Information  Society  Technologies  (IST), 
involving up to 600 key EU and national IST policy 
makers  and  players  and  is  a  good  example  of  a 
practical  application  of  foresight  methods  to  a 
specific policy field.

In 2006, FISTERA published its final report where 
various  aspects  of  the  future  role  and  impact  of 
Information  and  Communication  Technologies  are 
analysed (ftp://ftp.jrc.es/pub/EURdoc/eur22319en.
pdf). For instance, FISTERA analysed and assessed 
social and environmental needs and their possible 
technological solutions concluding that education 
and learning, health applications, governmental ap-
plications,  and  the  working  environment  showed 
the biggest potential for Information and Commun-
ication Technologies.

FISTERA also studied the potential constraints on 
future  integration  of  ISTs  into  European  society. 
The five biggest challenges identified were: “pri-
vacy and trust”, “security and robustness”, “ethi-
cal  concerns”,  “digital  divide”,  “infrastructure 
and  investment  gaps”,  “social  innovation  and  IT 
literacy”.

eHealth diagnosis

JRC-IPTS

Seville, Spain

FISTERA has also enriched discussions around the 
FP7  Information  Society  Technologies  programme 
and performed a strategic priority-setting exercise 
at  the  European  level  in  IST.  The  “European  Per-
spectives on Information Society” (EPIS), launched 
in 2006, will continue the path opened by FISTERA 
by running focused foresight exercises on selected 
areas in Information and Communication Technolo-
gies and their specific policy implications. 

Climate Change Mitigation: Cost Analysis of Emission 
Reduction Strategies

As a basis for considering medium and longer term 
emission reduction strategies, the European Coun-
cil  asked  the  Commission  to  analyse  the  direct 
and  indirect  costs  and  the  benefits  of  post-2012 
actions  to  mitigate  climate  change,  taking  into 
account  both  their  environmental  and  economic 
consequences. 

Road flooded by a river

At  the  request  of  DG  Environment,  the  JRC-IPTS 
carried out an analysis of three climate policy sce-
narios,  exploring  possible  climate  regimes  and 
Greenhouse  Gas  (GHG)  reduction  targets  up  to 
the 2025 time horizon, and the corresponding im-
plications  of  various  countries’  full  or  increasing 
participation in international climate policy agree-
ments.

This  research  contributed  directly  to  the  Commis-
sion’s Communication, “Winning the Battle against 
Global Climate Change” on Action on Climate Change 
Post-2012. 

In  2006,  the  JRC-IPTS  published  this  research  in 
the  report  “Analysis  of  Post-2012,  Climate  Policy 
Scenarios with Limited Participation” ftp://ftp.jrc.
es/pub/EURdoc/eur21758en.pdf.  The  economic 
analyses  were  conducted  using  a  partial  equilib-
rium  model  of  the  global  energy  market  (POLES) 
and a multi-national macroeconomic general equi-
librium model (GEM-E3). 

Analysis and Economic Assessment of Food Qual-
ity Assurance Schemes in Europe

Quality Assurance Schemes (QASs) are aimed, on 
one hand, at differentiating food products on the 
market according to their intrinsic qualities, origin 
etc. and, on the other, at facilitating management 
of  quality  standards  by  different  players  across 
the economic chain, from production to retailing. 
While the number of QASs for food and agriculture 
in Europe is constantly growing, the overall volume 
of  agricultural  production  covered  by  schemes 
regulated  at  the  European  level  remains  small. 
The European Parliament (EP) requested the Euro-
pean Commission to analyse the existing schemes 
and identify the different approaches that can be 
taken in the future to ensure that a greater share of 
agricultural production is covered, and that farmers 
producing to higher standards retain a fair share 
of the added value. The Agriculture and Rural De-
velopment  DG,  after  receiving  the  request  from 
the EP, asked for JRC-IPTS’ assistance.

In  the  framework  of  this  two-year  project,  com-
pleted in 2006, the JRC-IPTS conducted an analysis 
of  the  existing  QAS  and  –  in  particular  –  the  in-
depth  economic  assessment  of  nine  cases  which 
showed  the relevant benefits and costs for farm-
ers, traders, processors, retailers and consumers. 
The analysis concluded that schemes focusing on 
product differentiation on the end market have to 
be clearly communicated to the final consumer to 
generate  benefits  for  all  participants  in  the  food 
supply-chain. In the case of schemes securing the 
management of chain standards, the study shows 
that a concentration process is ongoing and some 
schemes have a considerable market power. 

The  results  of  this  study  will  be  presented  at  a 
European Commission conference on “Food Quality 
Certification  –  adding  value  to  farm  produce”,  to 
be held in 2007. More information on the project is 
available at: http://foodqualityschemes.jrc.es/

Certified cured ham

2006 Highlights from the JRC Institutes | 37

The Multi Annual 

Work Programme 

The  Multi  Annual  Work  Programme  (MAWP)  of 
the JRC for 2007-2013 is firmly set in the context 
of  the  Commission  policy  agenda,  as  outlined  in 
the  more  general  Specific  Programmes  for  FP7 
(COM(2005)439 and COM(2005)444). The MAWP 
serves the objectives of growth, sustainable develop-
ment and security through a series of actions dedi-
cated to the development and provision of scien-
tific  and  technical  support  to  the  relevant  policy 
items.  As  proposed  in  the  Specific  Programmes, 
this  will  secure  the  best  match  between  the  JRC 
Agenda and the priority policy needs.

Prosperity  in  a  knowledge  intensive  society  is  a 
top  political  priority  as  it  includes  high  sustain-
able  growth,  more  and  better  jobs,  knowledge, 
and competitiveness. The JRC proposal comprises 
a  spectrum  of  actions  which  serves  those  objec-
tives through attention to the regulatory context, 
the  development  of  measurement  standards  and 
data  harmonisation  and  a  support  to  key  policy 
areas such as energy, transport, information soci-
ety, chemicals and biotechnologies. A direct sup-
port to policy formulation is provided in the areas 
of economic, market and fiscal policies.

The  sustainable  management  of  resources  is  a 
long standing area of work of the JRC and one in 
which  it  has  well  established  competences.  The 
policies on which the JRC will focus are well iden-
tified;  they  relate  to  Community  competences  in 
agriculture and environment which are large areas 
in the work agenda of the Commission. The “envi-
ronment and health” theme is emerging as a new 
focus of attention. Climate change remains a key 
feature of this portfolio.

Security and freedom is a growing concern of the 
Union.  This  covers  internal  security  where  inter-
actions  between  the  Commission  and  Member 
States is expanding and where technical support 
is critical. It also includes a well established policy 
area  where  many  new  challenges  lie  ahead,  in-
cluding the safety of food and feed and response 
to disasters. 

38 | Horizontal Activities

The inclusion of “Europe as a world partner” is a 
departure from previous research Framework Pro-
grammes in that it now explicitly identifies a new 
geographical  scope  of  work.  Such  development 
serves  as  support  to  a  range  of  external  policies 
(in particular international trade, Community actions 
relevant to stability, non-proliferation and common 
foreign and security policy, development coopera-
tion policy, humanitarian aid and European neigh-
bourhood)  but  it  also  indicates  a  strategic  posi-
tioning of the JRC on the global playing field. The 
global dimension is of critical relevance in future 
EU  policies;  it  touches  upon  security  issues  and 
development cooperation. 

In the EURATOM programme, the objective of the 
JRC is to develop and assemble knowledge, to pro-
vide  crucial  scientific/technical  data  and  support 
for  safety/security,  reliability,  sustainability,  and 
control  of  nuclear  energy,  including  the  assess-
ment of safety and security aspects related to in-
novative/future systems. 

The  MAWP  capitalises  on  past  investments  in 
know-how and facilities. It is characterised by:

•  flexibility in responding to the changing needs 
associated with the evolution of EU policies for 
the duration of the programme (7 years);

•  a focus on issues which are important in terms 
of socio-economic concerns, which have a clear 
community dimension and strong R&D compo-
nent;

•  attention  to  the  provision  of  quality  expertise 
and support to other Commission services upon 
the  emergence  of  new  issues  in  crises  situa-
tions;

• 

•  reinforcement of competences and facilities in 
new fields of investigations which are relevant 
to future policies and
increased  reliance  on  networks  and  partner-
ships with other institutions and expert groups 
pursuing  similar  objectives  and  interests;  the 
JRC  will  also  increase  its  role  as  technical  co-
ordinator  of  expert  networks  created  in  policy 
Directorates General.

Horizontal Activities | 39

Technology Transfer
and Innovation

•  tool  for  assessing  ecological  health  of  a  Euro-

pean lake, JRC-IES;

•  new thermometry system for hyperthermia ap-

plications, JRC-IHCP;

•  tox  Finder  –  in-vitro  metabonomics  for  neuro-
toxicity screening: an alternative to animal test-
ing, JRC-IHCP;
inSaw  –  Industrial  Security  Risk  Assessment 
Workbench, JRC-IPSC;
innovative  radar  imaging  technique  for  early-
warning of snow avalanches, JRC-IPSC;

• 

• 

•  prototype  of  a  calibrating  radiation  source  for 

installed radiation monitors, JRC-IRMM.

The purpose of this competition was to encourage 
JRC  researchers  to  create  and  exploit  innovative 
products  and  processes,  and  to  stimulate  devel-
opment of projects prior to commercialisation. The 
projects came from various sources: the JRC insti-
tutional work programme, participation in indirect 
actions, or exploratory research.

In November, the scientists involved in the innova-
tion projects showcased the results of their work at 
a seminar in Ispra. The outcome of the innovation 
competition is positive: interest from commercial 
partners was raised and will lead to a number of 
collaboration  and  exploitation  agreements  being 
negotiated.  Several  patent  applications  are  also 
under preparation. 

To  celebrate  the  results,  the  project  participants 
were  awarded  certificates  for  their  accomplish-
ments  by  the  Director  of  the  Institute  for  Health 
and Consumer Protection.

The  JRC’s  Technology  Transfer  Programme  com-
prises different activities aiming at exploitation of 
knowledge developed at the JRC: 

• 

intellectual Property awareness raising seminars 
providing  information  on  patents,  copyright 
issues  in  databases  and  publications,  trade-
marks, contracts and agreements. In 2006, six 
such seminars were organised at the institutes 
for Action Leaders and newcomers;  

•  an  entrepreneurship  curriculum  that  seeks  to 
prepare  potential  entrepreneurs  at  the  JRC  in 
planning,  starting  and  running  a  technology-
based  company.  In  2006,  15  scientists  partici-
pated  in  the  two  three-day  courses  and  wrote 
business  plans  intended  to  help  them  set  up 
their own companies; 

•  the  negotiation  of  licence  and  exploitation 
agreements  led  to  the  signature  of  15  licence 
and exploitation agreements in 2006. This gen-
erated an income of € 418,760; and 
•  an Innovation Project Competition. 

2006  marked  the  conclusion  of  the  Innovation 
Project  Competition  launched  in  2005.  Seven 
successful  projects  from  five  different  institutes 
were selected, across different fields of interest 
and application:

•  exploitation of new developments in the treat-
ment of tumour lesions in the liver by molecular 
targeted  radiotherapy  and  auto-transplanta-
tion, JRC-IE;

Monotoring Avalanches in Alagna, Italy

40 | Horizontal Activities

 
Management of

the JRC’s Infrastructures

In  2006,  site  development  at  the  JRC  was  very 
much focused on the preparation and adoption of 
a multi-annual strategy. Following up on a request 
from  the  Board  of  Governors,  the  JRC  developed 
a  plan  entitled  “Priorities  for  JRC  Infrastructure 
Development  2007  –  2010”.  Funded  with  about 
63  M€,  this  strategy  focuses  on  important  new 
construction  projects  at  the  Geel,  Karlsruhe  and 
Ispra  sites.  They  are  all  aimed  at  reinforcing  the 
scientific  capability  of  the  JRC  and  increasing  its 
efficiency, while contributing to the modernisation 
of the ageing infrastructure at these sites. 

In  particular,  the  Plan  foresees  the  following 
projects: 

•  a  new  reference  materials  process  building  in 

Geel;

•  a  new  facility  for  environmental  laboratory  re-

search and a new crèche in Ispra;

•  an additional controlled area facility in Karlsruhe.

In anticipation of the final adoption of the Plan by 
the Board of Governors, the JRC sites have already 
launched the planning and design work associated 
with the selected projects. At Ispra, in particular, a 
“Concours d’idèes” elicited promising designs for 
a modern and efficient Ispra Science Zone. 

2006  also  saw  a  variety  of  site  improvement 
projects, launched or completed:

•  defined a strategy on energy conservation and 
environmental  protection  at  the  JRC-IRMM  in 
Geel;

Ispra: winning concept of design contest showing new 
Science Zone 

• 

• 

installed a new server room in Ispra, re-launched 
the works on the “Auditorium” conference centre 
seating  up  to  266  people  (to  be  completed  in 
the fourth quarter of 2007), launched the con-
struction of the VELA-7 laboratory and installed 
provisional offices for up to 85 staff;
launched major restructuring works of the exist-
ing controlled area at the JRC-ITU in Karlsruhe, 
aiming to separate areas at risk of contamina-
tion  (e.g.  hot  cells)  from  contamination-free 
areas  (e.g.  offices),  hence  reducing  the  need 
for monitoring and easing the flow of personnel 
and materials;

•  transformed three old buildings at the JRC-IE in 
Petten into modern and energy-efficient technical 
and administrative facilities, housing mechanical 
workshops  as  well  as  the  informatics  depart-
ment; and 

•  extended  the  JRC-IPTS  in  Seville  now  occupying 
the whole of the 2nd floor of the EXPO’92 Building, 
thereby alleviating the site’s needs for office space, 
meeting rooms and videoconference facilities.

Petten: new office

Karlsruhe: measuring contamination 

Horizontal Activities | 41

 
 
Again  in  2006,  the  Exploratory  Research  Sympo-
sium  showed  that  curiosity-driven  and  open  re-
search gives life and vitality to the JRC’s work. The 
divergence  of  projects,  fields,  methods,  together 
with the enthusiasm of the teams, created a forum 
of  real  research.  The  JRC  will  continue  to  invest 
in exploratory research (5-10% of its institutional 
budget) and the six projects presented in 2006 are 
as follows:

The projects

The JRC-IPTS study (Ref. 1) focused on the poten-
tial  impacts  of  genome-based  technologies  on 
health  care.  Asthma  in  children  was  chosen  as  a 
case study and gene-screening as the technology 
assessed to explore the cost-effectiveness of ap-
plying an early genetic-screening to newborns and 
a preventive treatment to the population at risk. A 
Markov model consisting of six mutually exclusive 
disease  states  (healthy,  mild  intermittent,  mild 
persistent,  moderate  persistent,  severe  persist-
ent and dead) was constructed and the simulation 
horizon of the model was 100 years. 

The  JRC-IRMM  project  (Ref.  2)  was  presented  in 
which  an  experimental  design  (farm  approach), 
with  20  analytical  methods,  was  selected  for  its 
efficiency in distinguishing organically vs. conven-
tionally grown food commodities. Several analyti-
cal  methods  may  be  needed  to  discriminate  the 
crops in both agricultural systems by developing 
multiplexed  analytical  tests  and  using  multivari-
ate statistical analysis.

The JRC-IES project (Ref. 3) hopes to create a re-
search  framework  for  producing  soil  maps  and 
provide  tools  and  guidelines  for  soil  mappers  in 
order  to  create  “easy-to-interpret-and-use”  soil 
data and improve collaboration between users of 
soil data.

The JRC-IE project (Ref. 4) on fuel cell aims to re-
veal the vital role of the microstructure on flow and 
transport, thus providing proper closure relations, 
such  as  capillary  pressure-permeability-satura-
tion, which are important for reliable fuel cell per-
formance  predictions  on  the  basis  of  continuum 
models. 

The JRC-IPSC project (Ref. 5) dealt with assessing 
the relative risks of money laundering activities in 
each of the Member States using composite indi-
cators. The lack of clear definitions, differences in 
reporting, the lack of statistics or the unwillingness 

Exploratory Research

of the authorities to cooperate, are only some of 
the problems encountered. The team came up with 
methods allowing the detection of money launder-
ing activities and the construction of a composite 
indicator.

The  JRC-IHCP  project  (Ref.  6)  supports  the  new 
EU  chemical  policy  whereby,  for  ethical  reasons, 
alternatives to animal testing must be promoted. 
The need for toxicity tests is evident including all 
stages of prenatal development posing a difficult 
challenge for the development of non-animal tests. 
The work was done on embryonic stem cell lines, 
which are not only pluripotent, but they provide a 
tool to study embryo toxicity minimising the ani-
mal use. The team genetically engineered cells to 
fluoresce when cell signalling controlling embryo 
development is active.

Modelling the impact of genome screening on health care 

References: 
1.  E.  Gutiérrez  de  Mesa,  D.  Ibarreta,  I.  Hidalgo,  P.  Christidis,  J.  Carlos 
Ciscar, C. Ruiz de León, IPTS: Modeling the impact of genome screen-
ing  technologies  on  health  care:  A  prospective  cost-effectiveness 
analysis.

2.  A. Macquet, M. Berglund, P. Kockerols, C. Guillou, IRMM: Identifica-

tion of the origin of the production systems.

3.  F.  Carré,  T.  Hengl,  HI  Reuter  and  L.  Rodriguez-Lado,  IES:  Develop-
ment of novel GIS and remote sensing-based techniques for deriva-
tion and mapping of soil units and key soil constituents applicable at 
European scales.

4.  A. Podias, P. Moretto, G. Tsotridis, IE: Simulation of transport phe-
nomena  and  physico-chemical  processes  within  porous  structures 
using the Lattice-Boltzmann equation method.

5.  A. Karvounaraki, IPSC: Money Laundering in the European Union.
6.  L. Harenge, S. Bremer, IHCP: The use of signaling pathways as toxico-

logical endpoint for development toxicity testing.

42 | Horizontal Activities

Press and Media

Relations in Figures

In  2006,  the  core  work  areas  of  the  JRC  received 
significant coverage in the print, audiovisual and 
online media. Total recorded hits were above the 
2,000 mark for the first time. Global coverage was 
up 51% on 2005 and nearly 300% on 2004. 

The result has to be seen as a combination of better 
targeting, well attended events, interesting press 
releases,  one-to-one  specialised  sell-ins,  more 
astute  coverage  searches  and  overall,  greater 
attention to day-to-day media management. 

Types of events included thematic press briefings 
and conferences, organisation of media visits, in-
formation days and Round Tables in new Member 
States and Candidate Countries, stands at exhibi-
tions and conferences, open days at institutes and 
informal ‘meet & brief’ media breakfasts/lunches 
with senior management and scientists.

Snapshot of 2006 results compared to 2005

•  60  countries  generated  coverage  (53  in  2005) 

with 18 “new” countries;

•  2057  coverage  pieces  were  generated  (1,950 
print & 107 audiovisual) giving a 51% increase;
•  TV  coverage  was  up  34%  and  radio  was  up 

• 

29%;
in 2006, 6 stories were generated every day and 
2  specialised  TV  and  radio  programmes  were 
facilitated every week.

less than 10 articles and broadcasts
10-50 articles and broadcasts
more than 50 articles and broadcasts

Coverage generated in 60 Countries Worldwide

Angola,  Argentina,  Armenia,  Australia,  Austria,  Bangladesh, 
Belarus,  Brazil,  Brunei,  Belgium,  Bulgaria,  Canada,  Chile, 
China,  Colombia,  Costa  Rica,  Croatia,  Cyprus,  Czech  Repub-
lic,  Denmark,  Estonia,  Finland,  France,  Germany,  Greece, 
Guatemala,  Hungary,  India,  Indonesia,  Ireland,  Israel,  Italy, 
Kazakhstan,  Kuwait,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Luxembourg,  former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, The 
Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, 
Qatar,  Romania,  Slovakia,  Slovenia,  South  Africa,  Spain,  Sri 
Lanka,  Sweden,  Switzerland,  Turkey,  Uganda,  United  King-
dom, United States.

JRC  visibility  was  secured  in  all  25  EU  Member 
States  and  Candidate  and  Associated  Countries 
including Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Norway and 
Switzerland. Events held in the Presidency countries 
(Austria and Finland) helped to increase coverage 
there  6–7  fold.  Modest  to  large  increases  were 
also recorded in Portugal (44), Belgium (39), Hungary 
(22) and Ireland (14).

Looking at the number of articles per country, Italy 
(431) remained on top with Germany (240) second 
and  Spain  (223)  in  third  place.  Growth  was  also 
noticeable in France (115) and the United Kingdom 
(69). 

In  2007,  special  attention  needs  to  be  given  to 
Poland (7) where coverage dropped and remains 
low.  Decreases  were  also  noted  in  the  Czech 
Republic, Denmark, Greece, The Netherlands, Ro-
mania, Slovenia and Sweden. In terms of non-EU 
coverage snapshots, there was a marked increase 
in  the  USA  (111),  Australia  (11),  Brazil  (6),  China 
(21) and Morocco (9).

Interview on energy issues – BBC World Service

Portuguese radio broadcasts on EFFIS – Radio Renascença

Interview on BNCT on Dutch Radio – RTV-NH

Interview on Food Contact Materials on Italian Radio

Italian report on renewable energy and climate change – Rai3

Geographical reach of coverage generated by the JRC events 
series in 2006. Colour depth from orange to dark red shows 
the amount of coverage generated

Romanian report on EFAS – TVR

Belgian report on nuclear safeguards – RTBF

French documentary on JRC – TV5

Examples of TV and radio broadcasts in 2006

Horizontal Activities | 43

 
Staff, Budget and Publications

Figures on

Core staff

Visiting staff

The core staff of JRC (M-male, F-female) is composed 
of the following categories:

Core staff  (end-of-year situation)  2006

M          F         Total

Officials

Temporary agents on renewable contracts

Temporary agents on non-renewable contracts

TOTAL

 1138  404 

1542

  89 

  25 

52 

9 

141

34

 1252  465 

1717

Of the 1,717 total, roughly 64% are working on scien-
tific projects in support of customers, and 16% are 
doing administrative or support work. Some 18% 
are working in infrastructure, logistics and techni-
cal support and 2% are working in Nuclear Decom-
missioning and Waste Management.

Distribution of JRC Staff by function

Distribution of JRC Staff by function 2006

Administrative

Support and infrastructure

Competitive

Decommissioning

Institutional S/T

In addition to its core staff, the JRC has an active 
policy of hosting grant holders, visiting scientists, 
seconded national experts, auxiliaries and trainees, 
primarily from the Member States and Candidate 
Countries. Visiting scientists bring advanced skills, 
knowledge  and  expertise  to  help  resolve  current 
and  future  scientific  challenges,  while  benefiting 
from  the  cultural  diversity,  multidisciplinary  re-
search domains and extensive research networks 
at the JRC. In order to respond to the ever increas-
ing demands for scientific and technical support, 
the number of visiting staff has increased in latter 
years.

Visiting staff

The distribution of all staff, among JRC Institutes 
and Directorates is as follows:

Visiting Staff (end-of-year situation) 2006

M         F      Total

 16%

  18%

 12%

  2%

 52%

Trainees

Postgraduate grant holders

Post-doctoral grant holders

Visiting scientists*

Seconded national experts

Auxiliaries

Contractual agents

TOTAL

  16 

  13 

  50 

  0 

  45 

  34 

15 

11 

22 

0 

20 

27 

31

24

72

0

65

61

  390  430  820

  548  525  1073

*  Contracts for visiting scientists have been replaced by those for con-
tractual agents. The reason why Visiting scientists in 2006 appears as 
zero is because they are included in the Contractual agents category

Total staff 

Staff distribution (core and visiting) 2006
(end-of-year situation)

M         F      Total

Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements

  193 

128  321

Institute for Transuranium Elements

Institute for Energy

  220 

84  304

  172 

54  226

Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen

  313 

121  434

Institute for Environment and Sustainability

Institute for Health and Consumer Protection

Institute for Prospective Technological Studies

DG, ISR, DPRM and ISD

TOTAL

  290 

157  447

  160 

149  309

  101 

69 

170

  351  228  579

 1800  990  2790

Commission policy for the “integration of research 
staff into the mainstream of the Commission’s per-
sonnel policy” is reflected in an overall decrease 
in  the  number  of  temporary  agents  from  2003 
(516 staff) to 2006 (175 staff) through converting a 
number of posts to permanent positions.

Nevertheless,  a  margin  of  flexibility  of  between 
10% and 35% of permanent research posts will be 
maintained for the recruitment of specialised staff 
to cope with needs that have a strict time limit and 
to ensure a healthy flux of ideas and competencies.

Core staff distribution (end-of-year situation) 2006

M         F      Total

Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements

Institute for Transuranium Elements

Institute for Energy

Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen

Institute for Environment and Sustainability

Institute for Health and Consumer Protection

Institute for Prospective Technological Studies

DG, ISR, DPRM and ISD

TOTAL

  141 

  177 

70 

211

49  226

  122 

26 

148

  195 

  197 

  102 

  53 

52  247

56  253

74 

23 

176

76

  265 

115  380

 1252  465  1717

44 | The JRC in Figures

 
Equal opportunities 

The “JRC Equal Opportunities and Women & Science” 
working group was established in December 2005 
with the mandate to implement the JRC Action Plan 
2006-2008 for Equal Opportunities. 

In  2006,  the  group  drafted  recommendations, 
launched  a  questionnaire  and  held  a  workshop 
aimed  at  improving  the  gender  balance  at  man-
agement level. In 2006, the JRC appointed two new 
female  Directors  and  a  female  Deputy  Director 
General. It conducted a survey on the implementa-
tion of the Code of Good Practice for the replace-
ment  of  women  on  maternity  leave,  proposed 
training  actions  and  organised  several  meetings, 
including  a  presentation  to  all  JRC  management, 
on the Equal Opportunities JRC action plan.  

Budget
(budget and expenses – institutional activities)

The available credits to the JRC are subdivided into 
staff expenses, means of execution (maintenance 
of buildings and equipment, electricity, insurance, 
consumables etc.) and specific credits (direct sci-
entific procurements). The credits come from the 
institutional budget and in 2006, the total amount 
committed was €310.6 million plus 4.6 million in 
contributions from countries in the European Eco-
nomic Area.

In  addition,  a  total  amount  of  €19  million  was 
made  available  to  finance  an  action  programme 
to shut down and decommission nuclear installa-
tions  and  manage  the  waste  activities  related  to 
the EURATOM Treaty. 

Institutional budget 

avalilabel Me  implemented Me  consumption %

Staff expenses 

  211,481 

Means of execution 

  64,513 

Operational expenses    39,245 

TOTAL 

  315,239 

Decommissioning 

19,000 

211,481 

64,511 

39,235 

315,227 

18,993 

100,00%

99,99%

99,97%

99,99%

99,96%

Supplementary credits of €14.3 million came from 
contributions  from  other  countries  associated  to 
the Framework Programme.

A portion of the JRC’s income comes from participa-
tion in FP6 indirect actions, performing additional 
work for Commission services, and contract work 
for third parties such as regional authorities or in-
dustry.  These  competitive  activities  complement 
the  tasks  outlined  in  the  JRC’s  work  programme 
and are seen as an essential tool for acquiring and 
transferring expertise and know-how. 

Contracts signed (in million Euro) 2006

Indirect actions

Competitive activities outside the Framework Program (FP)

Third party work

TOTAL

19,2

29,4

11,4

60

2006  turned  out  to  be  exceptionally  successful 
in terms of competitive income. Competitive con-
tracts  signed  amounted  to  60M€  which  is  sub-
stantially higher than the average income gener-
ated in the three previous years of FP6 (+/- 35M€ 
annually). The increase is due to higher income for 
all categories of competitive activities: Framework 
Programme  Indirect  Actions,  Third  Party  Work, 
and  especially  Direct  Support  to  Customer  DGs. 
Indeed,  almost  half  of  all  competitive  contracts 
signed are the result of requests from Commission 
services for additional S&T support.

At the end of the Sixth Framework Programme, the 
JRC’s  involvement  in  Indirect  Actions  turned  out 
very positive with participation in more than 250 
FP6 activities, some 50 of which were granted in 
2006. Around 2/3 of these activities are collabo-
rative  projects  and  networks,  and  some  25%  are 
coordination  and  support  actions.  A  particularly 
high number of actions are in the fields of policy-
oriented research, information society, nuclear ac-
tivities, global change, and energy.

Publications registered in 2006

             1              2             3              4                    TOTAL

86           

81          

46            

108             

144

96

55           

2          

36            

66             

87

46

55           

71          

73            

79             

78

21

6             

0

1           

6         

1            

3             

4

3

1             

2

197           

160          

156            

256             

313

166

79

3

JRC competitive activities 

ISD

51             

21             

0

1

The  table  below  shows  the  value  of  contracts 
signed and inscribed in the accounts during 2006. 
The quantity cashed amounted to €47.1 million.

612 

314 

383 

  21 

1330

1.  Monographs and articles
2.  Technical EUR reports
3.  Contribution published in conference proceedings
4.  Other documents and publications

The JRC in Figures | 45

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
     
     
     
The Board of Governors
(Status December, 2006)

Prof Fernando ALDANA 
 Secretario General CYTED
Programa Iberoamericano de Ciencia y 
Tecnología para el Desarrollo
ES 28015 Madrid – Spain

CHAIRMAN

MEMBERS

Dr Monnik DESMETH  
General Adviser Public Planning Service
“Science Policy”
BE 1000 Brussels – Belgium

BELGIQUE/
BELGIË

Dr Karel AIM
ICPF Scientific Board Chair
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals
CZ 165 02 Praha 6 – Czech Republic

C˘ESKÁ 
REPUBLIKA

Mr Nicos SYMEONIDES
Director General
Research Promotion Foundation
CY 1683 Nicosia – Cyprus

CYPRUS

Dr Hans Peter JENSEN
Department Head
Department of Natural Sciences (NSM)
Roskilde University (RUC)
DK 4000 Roskilde – Denmark

DANMARK

Dr Walter MÖNIG
Ständiger Vertreter des Abteilungsleiters 1
Europäische und internationale
Zusammenarbeit
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung 
DE 53175 Bonn – Germany

DEUTSCHLAND

FRANCE

Mr Philippe PRADEL  
Directeur de l’énergie nucléaire
de Commissariat à l’énergie atomique (CEA) 
FR 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex – France
Replaced Mr. Philippe GARDERET
in June 2006

IRELAND

Dr Killian HALPIN
IE Dublin 13 – Ireland

ITALIA

Ing Paolo VENDITTI
Direttore Generale  Consorzio SICN
IT 00196 Roma – Italy

LATVIJA

Prof Andrejs SILIN¸ S˘
Vice President
Latvian Academy of Sciences
LV 1524 Riga – Latvia

LIETUVA

Prof Zenonas Rokus RUDZIKAS
President
Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
LT 01103 Vilnius – Lithuania 

LUXEMBOURG

Mr Pierre DECKER
Conseiller de Gouvernement 1ère classe
Ministère de la Culture, de l’ Enseigne-
ment Supérieur et de la Recherche
LU 2273 Luxembourg – Luxembourg

Dr Toivo RÄIM
Counsellor for Scientific Affairs
Permanent Representation of Estonia to the
European Union
BE 1040 Brussels – Belgium

EESTI

Prof Dimitrios KYRIAKIDIS
Director
National Hellenic Research Foundation
EL 116 35 Athens – Greece

ELLAS

Prof José Pío BELTRÁN
Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology of Plants
(CSIC-UPV)  
Campus de la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia
ES 46022 Valencia – Spain

ESPAÑA

MAGYARORSZÁG

Prof László KEVICZKY
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
HU 1051 Budapest – Hungary

MALTA

Dr Jennifer Cassingena HARPER
Policy Unit Director
Malta Council for Science and Technology
MT Kalkara CSP 12 – Malta

NEDERLAND

Mr Jan NIEUWENHUIS
Directeur Innovatiestructuur
Ministerie van Economische Zaken
NL 2500 EC Den Haag – The Netherlands

46 | The Board of Governors

 
Dr Daniel WESELKA
Bundesministerium für Bildung, 
Wissenschaft und Kultur, Abteilung VI/4
AT 1010 Wien – Austria

ÖSTERREICH

ISRAEL

Dr Michael BEYTH 
Professor Emeritus 
Geological Survey
IL 99870 Jerusalem – Israel

Prof Jerzy LANGER
Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Physics
PL 02 668 Warszawa – Poland 

POLSKA

FÜRSTENTUM
LIECHTENSTEIN

Mrs Sabine ALTHOF
Amt für Volkswirtschaft
LI 9490 Vaduz – Liechtenstein  

Prof José CARVALHO SOARES
Centro de Fisica Nuclear da Universidade de Lisboa 
PT 1649 003 Lisboa – Portugal

PORTUGAL

NORGE

Mr Stanislav SIPKO
Director General
Ministry of Education – Science and Technology
SK 813 30 Bratislava – Slovak Republic
Replaced Prof Vladimír S˘ UCHA, in June 2006

Dr Livija TUS˘AR
Department for Science Undersecretary
Ministry of Higher Education,
Science and Technology
SI 1000 Ljubljana – Slovenia
 Replaced Dr. Milos˘ KOMAC in March 2006  

SLOVENSKÁ
REPUBLIKA

ROMÂNIA

SLOVENIJA

SUISSE

Mr Simen ENSBY
Head of Unit
The Research Council of Norway
NO 0131 Oslo – Norway

Prof Dr Ioan DUMITRACHE
President
Ministry of Education and Research
National University Research Council
RO 050025 Bucharest – Romania

Mr Jean-Pierre RUDER
State Secretariat for Education and
Research SER
Head of the Multilateral Research
Cooperation
CH 3003 Berne – Switzerland

Prof Erkki KM LEPPÄVUORI 
Director General  VTT
Technical Research Centre of Finland 
FI 02044 VTT – Finland

SUOMI/
FINLAND

Ms Madelene SANDSTRÖM
FOI – Swedish Defence Research Agency
SE 17290 Stockholm – Sweden

SVERIGE

Dr James McQUAID 
Office of Science and Technology  
UK Sheffield S7 2LL – United Kingdom

UNITED
KINGDOM

PARTICIPANTS

Mrs Albena VUTSOVA
Director
Ministry of Education and Science
BG 1000 Sofia – Bulgaria

BA˘LGARIJA

Dr Radovan FUCHS
Deputy Minister for International Cooperation
Minsitry of Science, Education and Sports
HR 10 000 Zagreb – Croatia
Nominated in November 2006

HRVATSKA

Dr Axel BJÖRNSSON 
Professor in Environmental Sciences
University of Akureyri 
IS 600 Akureyri – Iceland

ISLAND

TÜRKIYE

Prof Dr Nüket YETIS 
Acting President
Scientific and Technical Research Council 
(TÜBITAK)
TR Kavaklidere, 06100 Ankara – Turkey 

Secretary of the Board of Governors:

Mr Giancarlo CARATTI
Joint Research Centre, European Commission
SDME 10/44 – BE 1049 – Brussels 
Tel: +32 2 296 15 16  
Fax: +32 2 299 23 01
e-mail: Giancarlo.Caratti@ec.europa.eu

Secretary: Ms Dorothy URSULET
Joint Research Centre, European Commission
SDME 10/40 – BE 1049 – Brussels
Tel: +32 2 299 11 04  
Fax: +32 2 299 23 01
e-mail: dorothy.ursulet@ec.europa.eu

Michael Francis FAHY (replaced
Ms Piedad GARCÍA de la RASILLA
in June 2006) retired on 31 January 2007

The Board of Governors | 47

 
The JRC

Directors

1 

2 

3  4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11

Left to right

1.  Director* IPSC, Alois Sieber

(replaced Jean-Marie Cadiou who retired on 30 November, 2006) 

2.  Director IPTS, Peter Kind
3.  Director PRM, Megan Richards

(replaced acting Director Freddy Dezeure)

4.  Director ITU, Thomas Fanghänel

(replaced acting Director Jean-Pierre Michel)

5.  Director General, Roland Schenkel
6.  Director* ISR, Michael Francis Fahy
7.  Director IE, Kari Törrönen
8.  Director IRMM, Alejandro Herrero-Molina
9.  Director IS, David R. Wilkinson
10. Director IHCP, Elke Anklam

(replaced acting Director Dimitrios Kotzias)

11. Director IES, Manfred Grasserbauer

* Acting

48 | The JRC Directors