2008/37/EC: Commission Decision of 14 December 2007 setting up the European Research Council Executive Agency for the management of the specific Community programme Ideas in the field of frontier research in application of Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2007-12-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU action, EU office or agency, EU programme, management, research programme, scientific research

12.1.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 9/15

(Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is not obligatory)

II

DECISIONS

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 14 December 2007
setting up the ‘European Research Council Executive Agency’ for the management of the specific
Community programme ‘Ideas’ in the field of frontier research in application of Council Regulation
(EC) No 58/2003

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2008/37/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(3)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19
December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies
to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of
Community programmes (1), and in particular Article 3(1)
thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 empowers the Commission
to set up executive agencies in accordance with the
general statute laid down by that Regulation and to
entrust them with certain management tasks relating to
one or more Community programmes.

The purpose of empowering the Commission to set up
executive agencies is to allow it to focus on core activities
and functions which cannot be outsourced, without relin-
quishing control over, or ultimate responsibility for,
activities managed by the said executive agencies.

(1) OJ L 11, 16.1.2003, p. 1.

research,

demonstration

Programme of

Decision No 1982/2006/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the
Seventh Framework
European
the
technological development
Community for
2013) (2)
to
and
European
the
the
provides
Research Council as a means of
implementing the
‘Ideas’ (3) Specific Programme. The European Research
an independent Scientific
Council
a dedicated implementation
Council
structure.

(2007
establishment of

shall
supported by

consist of

activities

for

(4)

(5)

Research

European

Council (4)

By Decision 2007/134/EC of 2 February 2007 estab-
lishing
the
the
in addition to setting up the European
Commission,
Research Council
(ERC) and the Scientific Council,
announced the setting-up of the dedicated implemen-
tation structure as an executive agency, to be established
by a separate act in compliance with Regulation (EC) No
58/2003.

Management of the ‘Ideas’ Specific Programme involves
implementation of
research projects which does not
entail political decision-making and requires a high
level of scientific and financial expertise throughout the
project cycle.

(2) OJ L 412, 30.12.2006, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 54, 22.2.2007, p. 81.
(4) OJ L 57, 24.2.2007, p. 14.

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Official Journal of the European Union

12.1.2008

(6)

(7)

(8)

the

The delegation, to an executive agency, of tasks related to
programme execution is possible with a clear separation
between the programming stage, this being established
by
the
Commission, and implementation, which would be
entrusted to the executive agency, according to the prin-
ciples and methodology established by the Scientific
Council.

Scientific Council

adopted

and

by

A cost-benefit analysis carried out
that purpose
showed that using an executive agency to manage the
activities of the European Research Council would be
advantageous both in financial and non-financial terms.

for

The Agency should implement its operating budget in
accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No
1653/2004 of 21 September 2004 which establishes a
standard financial regulation for the executive agencies
pursuant
to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003
laying down the statute for executive agencies to be
entrusted with certain tasks
in the management of
Community programmes (1).

(9)

The measures provided for by this Decision are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Committee for
Executive Agencies,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Establishment of the Agency

An executive agency (hereinafter

1.
Agency)
Community activity in the field of research,
governed by Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003.

the
the management of
its statute being

established for

referred to as

is hereby

The name of the Agency shall be ‘The European Research

2.
Council Executive Agency’.

Article 2

Location

The Agency shall be located in Brussels.

Article 3

Term

The Agency is hereby established for a period beginning on 1
January 2008 and ending on 31 December 2017.

for

Community
demonstration activities
Decision No 1982/2006/EC, with the following tasks:

(2007 to 2013)

technological development

and
established by

research,

— management of phases in the lifetime of specific projects —
as set out in the decision delegating powers to this Agency
— in the context of
implementing the Ideas Specific
Programme, on the basis of Council Decision No
2006/972/EC (2) and the work programme established by
the Scientific Council and adopted by the Commission, as
well as the necessary checks to that end, adopting the
relevant decisions where the Commission has empowered
it to do so,

— adoption of the instruments of budget execution for revenue
and expenditure and carrying out, where the Commission
has empowered it to do so, all the operations necessary for
the management of the ‘Ideas’ Specific Programme and, in
particular, those linked to the award of grants and contracts,

— gathering, analysing and passing on to the Commission and
the Scientific Council all the information needed to guide
the implementation of the Community programme.

2.
The Commission decision delegating authority to the
Agency shall set out in detail all the tasks entrusted to it and
shall be amended should any additional tasks be entrusted to
the Agency. It shall be forwarded, for information purposes, to
the Committee for Executive Agencies.

Article 5

Organisational structure

The Agency shall be managed by a Steering Committee

1.
and a Director appointed by the Commission.

2.
The members of
appointed for two years.

the Steering Committee

shall be

The Director of the Agency shall be appointed for four

3.
years.

The appointments of members of the Steering Committee

4.
and the Director may be renewed.

Article 4

Objectives and tasks

Article 6

Grants

1.
the

The Agency is hereby entrusted, within the framework of
European
Programme
Seventh

Framework

the

of

The Agency shall receive grants entered in the general budget of
the European Communities taken from the funds allocated to
the ‘Ideas’ Specific Programme.

(1) OJ L 297, 22.9.2004, p. 6. Regulation as amended by Regulation

(EC) No 1821/2005 (OJ L 293, 9.11.2005, p. 10).

(2) OJ L 400, 30.12.2006, p. 243.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Article 7

Supervision and reporting

The Agency shall be subject to supervision by the Commission and shall report regularly on progress in
implementing the programme for which it is responsible in accordance with the arrangements and at the
intervals stipulated in the instrument of delegation.

Article 8

Implementation of the operating budget

The Agency shall implement its operating budget in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No
1653/2004.

Done at Brussels, 14 December 2007.

For the Commission
Janez POTOČNIK
Member of the Commission