REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Annual Report on the progress achieved by the Joint Technology Initiatives Joint Undertakings in 2010
Date: 2012-04-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, EU programme, aeronautical industry, joint venture, nanotechnology, new technology, pharmacology, renewable energy, research and development

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 27.4.2012  
COM(2012) 190 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

Annual Report on the progress achieved by the Joint Technology Initiatives  
Joint Undertakings in 2010 

{SWD(2012) 105 final} 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

Annual Report on the progress achieved by the Joint Technology Initiatives  
Joint Undertakings in 2010 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The Joint Technology Initiatives are a novel way of  realising  public-private partnerships in 
industrial research at European level. They were established as pilots in 2007-2008 under the 
Seventh Framework Programme1 in five strategic areas – aeronautics and air transport (the 
Clean  Sky  Initiative),  public  health  (the  Innovative  Medicines  Initiative),  fuel  cell  and 
hydrogen technologies (the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Initiative), embedded computing systems 
(the  ARTEMIS  Initiative)  and  nanoelectronics  (the  ENIAC  Initiative)2.  Bringing  together 
industry, the research community and the EU to define common research agendas and invest 
in  large-scale  multinational  research  activities,  especially  in  times  of  a  global  economic 
downturn,  the  JTIs  represent  an  intriguing  opportunity  for  Europe  to  strengthen  its 
competitiveness based on the principles of scientific excellence, openness and innovation. 

The  Annual  report  on  the  progress  achieved  by  the  Joint  Technology  Initiatives  Joint 
Undertakings  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  "JTI  JUs")  is  prepared  pursuant  to  Article  11(1)  of 
each  Council  Regulation  setting  up  the  individual  JTIs,  which  states  that  "the  Commission 
shall present to the European Parliament and to the Council an annual report on the progress 
achieved  by  the  [name  of  the  JTI]  Joint  Undertaking.  This  report  shall  contain  details  of 
implementation  including  number  of  proposals  submitted,  number  of  proposals  selected  for 
funding, type of participants, including SMEs, and country statistics". 

The  legal  basis  also  sets  out  a  requirement  to  include,  if  relevant,  information  on  the 
assessment results of the Technology Evaluator which shall define the environmental impact 
and  benefits  of  the  overall  output  of  the  Clean  Sky  Joint  Undertaking3.  Since  the  first 
assessment  was  anticipated  in  the  end  of  2011,  this  report  gives  an  overview  of  the 
preparatory  steps  in  the  design  and  development  of  the  Technology  Evaluator  system 
undertaken in 2010. 

The present report is the second stand-alone document providing information to the European 
Parliament and the Council on the progress achieved by the JTI JUs since their establishment. 
The activities of the Joint Undertakings in 2008 were included in the general Annual report on 

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Decision  No  1982/2006/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  18  December  2006 
concerning the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological 
development and demonstration activities (2007-13), OJ L 412, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 

This  document  does  not  report  on  the  SESAR  Joint  Undertaking  (Single  European  Sky  Air  Traffic 
Management  Research),  which  is  a  public-private  partnership  funded  from  the  Seventh  Framework 
Programme and the trans-European Transport Networks and has its specific governance and reporting 
mechanisms. 

Referred to in Article 8(1) of the Statutes of the Clean Sky JU, Council Regulation (EC) 71/2008 of 20 
December 2007 setting up the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking, OJ L 30, 04.02.2008, p. 1. 

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research  and  technological  development  activities  of  the  European  Union  in  20084,  and  in 
particular,  annexed  to  the  Commission  Staff  Working  Document5  accompanying  the  report. 
Later on, it was decided to change the scope of the report and to separate the description of 
the  JTI  JUs'  activities  from  the  general  research  and  development  activities  of  the 
Commission.  

The  first  stand-alone  report  on  the  JTI  JUs'  activities  in  20096  was  adopted  in  September 
2011. The Commission's services have undertaken substantial efforts to present the next year's 
results  of  the  JTI  JUs'  activities,  object  of  this  report,  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council in a timely manner. 

The present Annual report on the progress achieved by the Joint Technology Initiatives Joint 
Undertakings in 2010 is prepared after the first interim evaluations of the Joint Undertakings 
foreseen  in  Article  11(2)  of  their  Council  Regulations.  It  takes  into  account  the 
recommendations  of  the  experts in  the  interim  evaluation  reports  and  the  response  from  the 
Commission7,  as  well  as  the  specific  actions  planned  by  the  JTIs  in  line  with  these 
recommendations. It also considers the opinion of the European Court of Auditors expressed 
in the reports on the annual accounts of the JTI JUs for the financial year ended 31 December 
20108. 

The report starts with a brief introduction of the JTI JUs, summarises their key achievements 
in  2010  and  outlines  the  fields  for  improvement  in  the  future.  It  is  accompanied  by  a 
Commission  Staff  Working  Document  containing  essentially  statistical  information  on  the 
research  activities  of  the  JTI  JUs  during  the  year  in  compliance  with  Article  11(1)  of  their 
Council Regulations. 

2. 

THE JTI JUS AT A GLANCE 

The  Joint  Technology  Initiatives  have  been  set up  in  the  form  of  Joint  Undertakings  on  the 
basis of Article 187 of the Treaty on the functioning of the EU (ex Article 171 of the Treaty 
establishing  the  European  Community)  stipulating  that  "the  Union  may  set  up  joint 
undertakings or any other structure necessary for the efficient execution of Union research, 
technological  development  and  demonstration  programmes".  They  were  established  as 

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Annual  Report  on  research  and  technological  development  activities  of  the  European  Union  in  2008, 
COM(2009) 558 final, Brussels, 22.10.2009.  
Commission Staff Working Document accompanying the Annual Report on research and technological 
development activities of the European Union in 2008, SEC(2009) 1380 final, Brussels, 22.10.2009. 
Annual Report on the progress achieved by the Joint Technology Initiatives Joint Undertakings in 2009, 
COM(2011) 557 final, Brussels, 14.09.2011. 
Report  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and 
Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  "First  interim  evaluation  of  the  ARTEMIS  and 
ENIAC Joint Technology Initiatives", COM(2010) 752 final, Brussels, 16.12.2010. 
Commission  Staff  Working  Paper  "Report  on  the  first  interim  evaluation  of  the  [IMI,  Clean  Sky  and 
FCH JUs]" accompanying the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the 
Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions "Partnering 
in research and innovation", SEC(2011) 1072 final, Brussels, 21.09.2011. 
Reports on the annual accounts of the [name of the JTI] Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2010, 
together with the replies of the Joint Undertakings, OJ C 368, 16.12.2011. 

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"Community bodies" as defined in Article 185 of the EU Financial Regulation9. Having as a 
main  objective  to  support  key  areas  where  research  and  technological  development  can 
contribute  to  the  European  competitiveness  and  quality  of  life,  but  where  the  traditional 
instruments  of  the  Framework  Programme  are  not  adequate10,  the  JTI  JUs  have  been 
introduced as a major novelty under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). 

In  line  with  the  FP7  "Cooperation"  Specific  Programme,  five  JTI  JUs  were  established  in 
2007-2008 for a limited period up to 31 December 2017: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

Aeronautics  and  Air  Transport  (Clean  Sky)  JU  increasing  the  competitiveness  of 
the  European  aeronautics  industry  while  reducing  emissions  and  noise,  established 
by Council Regulation (EC) 71/2008 of 20 December 2007; 

Innovative  Medicines  Initiative  (IMI)  JU  fostering  the  development  of  better  and 
safer medicines for patients, established by Council Regulation (EC) 73/2008 of 20 
December 2007; 

Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (FCH) JU speeding up the development and deployment 
of  hydrogen  supply  and  fuel  cell  technologies,  established  by  Council  Regulation 
(EC) 521/2008 of 30 May 2008; 

Embedded  Computing  Systems  (ARTEMIS)  JU  helping  the  European  industry  to 
consolidate and reinforce its world leadership in embedded computing technologies, 
established by Council Regulation (EC) 74/2008 of 20 December 2007; 

Nanoelectronics  Technology  2020  (ENIAC)  JU  targeting  to  achieve  a  very  high 
level  of  miniaturisation  required  for  the  next  generation  of  nanoelectronics 
components, established by Council Regulation (EC) 72/2008 of 20 December 2007. 

To  achieve  their  objectives,  the  Joint  Undertakings  select  projects  through  annual  open  and 
competitive  calls  for  proposals  following  a  one-  or  two-stage  submission  and  evaluation 
process.  They  provide  funding  for  collaborative  projects  and  coordination  and  support 
actions. The calls for proposals launched by the Clean Sky JU are more specific due to their 
scope, shorter duration and expected results which should be at higher technology readiness 
levels. Thus, Clean Sky publishes several calls per year. 

Until  they  became  autonomous,  the  European  Commission,  as  a  co-founding  member,  was 
responsible  for  the  establishment  and  the  initial  operation  of  the  JTI  JUs.  When  the  Joint 
Undertakings  built  up  their  legal  and  financial  framework,  demonstrating  capacity  to 
implement their own budget, they were granted autonomy from the Commission. ARTEMIS, 
IMI and Clean Sky gained officially their autonomy in October-November 2009, followed by 
ENIAC in May and FCH in November 2010. Thus, 2010 was the first full year of autonomous 
functioning of most of the JTI JUs. 

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Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable 
to the general budget of the European Communities, OJ L 248, 16.09.2002, p. 1. 
Commission  Staff  Working  Document  "Joint  Technology  Initiatives:  Background,  State-of-Play  and 
Main Features", SEC(2007) 692, Brussels, 15.05.2007. 

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3. 

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2010 

After  the  relatively  slow  operational  start  of  the  JTI  JUs,  to  a  certain  extent  due  to  the 
limitations of the existing legal and the regulatory framework for a "Community body"11, in 
2010  the  five  Joint  Undertakings  revealed  that  the  new  business  model  between  public  and 
private  sectors  in  research  promises  to  be  successful.  The  JTIs'  activities  that  have  been 
launched  and  already  ongoing  were  recognised  to  be  overall  efficient  and  of  a  high  quality 
according to the conclusions of first interim evaluations of the Joint Undertakings performed 
in 2010 (April 2011 for the FCH JU). 

3.1. 

Operational activities  

In  2010,  the  five  JTI  JUs  concentrated  efforts  on  the  management  of  their  calls  for 
proposals – finalising negotiations, signature of grant agreements and kick-off of the projects 
coming out from the 2008 and 2009 calls, as well as launch of the 2010 calls, evaluation and 
selection  of  the  winning  proposals  and,  for  some  JTIs,  start  of  the  negotiation  process.  The 
Joint Undertakings worked also on the preparation of the 2011 calls for proposals: based on 
the  lessons  learned  from  the  previous  calls  and  consultations  with  the  various  stakeholders, 
they came out with a definition of the next calls' topics.  

All  JTI  JUs  were  successful  in  attracting  a  wide  variety  of  participation  in  their  calls  from 
Europe  and  FP7-associated  countries.  Overall,  a  large  number  of  SMEs  took  part  in  the 
proposals.  There  were,  however,  some  obstacles  which  the  JTIs  had  to  deal  with  to  further 
strengthen the SME involvement in their research activities.  

As to the running projects, according to the initial observations, they manage to address the 
identified  priorities  of  the  JTI  JUs'  research  agendas  and  are  complementary  to  other  FP7 
activities in the same domain without overlapping or duplicating them. This has been ensured 
by  regular  checks.  At  the  same  time,  the  ongoing  projects  were  showing  a  satisfactory 
technical progress in line with the different industrial implementation strategies.  

Detailed  information  on  the  JTI  JUs'  research  activities  in  2010,  types  of  applicants,  SME 
participation,  statistics  per  country  and  amounts  of  funding  in  the  calls  is  presented  in  the 
Commission Staff Working Document accompanying this report. 

During the year 2010, most of the Joint Undertakings started revision of strategic documents 
and updating research priorities laying the foundation of the calls' topics in order to reflect 
the  scientific  advances  and  the  evolution  of  needs  of  the  different  industries.  Clean  Sky 
carried out an assessment of its environmental objectives, as defined originally in its technical 
proposal12.  The  result  of  this  re-evaluation  widely  confirmed  the  relevance  of  Clean  Sky's 
initial targets. The ITD work programmes and the related calls topics were also revised based 
on  these  updated  elements.  IMI  considered  the  recommendation  from  its  industry 
stakeholders,  expressed  also  in  the  first  interim  evaluation  report  and  endorsed  by  the 
European  Commission,  to  launch  a  number  of  large  initiative  projects  and  apply  a  "Think 

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Designing together the "ideal house" for public-private partnerships in European research, JTI Sherpas’ 
Group, Final Report, January 2010. 
This  consisted  in  defining  more  precisely  the  environmental  forecasts  according  to  the  "concept 
aircraft" specified for the first Technology Evaluator assessment, starting in 2010 and to be completed 
in 2011. This exercise was linked to the revised selection of applicable technologies and definition of 
the demonstrators, performed during the first two years of the Programme. 

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Big" approach in formulating its calls topics. FCH undertook specific actions to overcome the 
limitations of the matching principle and the funding rates identified as a main risk factor for 
its  operational  activities.  ARTEMIS  started  work  and  ENIAC  elaborated  a  new  release  of 
their research agendas to keep pace with the new trends and fast evolution in their fields. 

3.2. 

Clean Sky JU: Technology Evaluator  

The  Technology  Evaluator  is  at  the  core  of  Clean  Sky  with  the  purpose  of  assessing  the 
environmental  performance  of  the  technologies  developed  with  its  support.  The  Technology 
Evaluator  recovered  from  the  delays  faced  in  2009  and  all  work  packages  were  active  in 
2010. The first Technology Evaluator assessment was planned to be done through modelling 
the air transport system by comparing two scenarios – with and without the participation of 
Clean  Sky.  It  was  scheduled  for  the  end  of  2011.  The  results  of  the  assessment  will  be 
presented in the next Commission's reports. 

3.3. 

Administrative activities 

After  the  cumbersome,  but  successful  set-up  and  launch  of  the  five  Joint  Undertakings, 
ARTEMIS, IMI and Clean Sky progressively developed their legal and financial framework 
and, by the end of 2009, were granted autonomy from the Commission. Thus, 2010 was the 
first year of autonomous functioning of the entities.  

Following the same path, in 2010, ENIAC and FCH focused on completing the establishment 
of  their  governance  and  internal  control  systems  and  elaborating  their  risk  management 
processes. After these Joint Undertakings met the autonomy criteria, they were also granted 
administrative and operational autonomy from the Commission.  

One  of  the  main  tasks  of  the  Joint  Undertakings  in  2010  was  to  develop  their  internal 
systems and processes, backing up the successful implementation of their research activities. 
Clean Sky's processes have been analysed and mapped, which resulted in the production of a 
quality manual and a manual for financial procedures. A review of the IMI JU's organisational 
structure  was  carried  out  to  better  respond  to  the  expectations  of  the  stakeholders.  Similar 
revision and upgrading activities were undertaken in the other JTIs as well.  

An  important  issue  in  this  context  was  the  development  of  key  performance  indicators. 
Among  the  five  JTI  JUs,  by  the  end  of  2010  only  FCH  and  ENIAC  had  implemented 
quantitative  indicators.  Clean  Sky,  IMI  and  ARTEMIS  designed  their  indicators,  but  the 
completion was expected during the next year. Furthermore, as autonomous bodies, the Joint 
Undertakings  had  to  decide  on  their  internal  audit  processes.  Clean  Sky,  IMI  and  FCH 
established their own internal audit capability and appointed internal auditors. ARTEMIS and 
ENIAC chose this activity to be exercised by the Internal Audit Service (IAS) of the European 
Commission.  

For  most  of  the  JTIs,  key  staff  had  already  taken  up  their  positions  before  2010  and  the 
recruitment of the remaining posts was in its final stages. In 2010, the entities recruited staff 
in compliance with their Staff Policy Plans. It is important to note that in the end of year the 
JTI  JUs,  in  close  collaboration  with  the  European  Commission,  concluded  the  joint 
procurement procedure for their new office location. In January 2011 they moved to their new 
premises in the White Atrium building in Brussels.  

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Regarding their communication activities, Clean Sky and ENIAC adopted a Communication 
and  Dissemination  Strategy,  which  has  been  included  in  the  agenda  of  the  other  Joint 
Undertakings  as  a  priority  for  2011.  Overall,  during  the  year,  the  JTI  JUs  were  focused  on 
promoting  their  activities  among  interested  parties  and  maintaining  the  relations  with 
stakeholders  through  various  events  –  information  days,  workshops,  meetings  and 
conferences.  The  relations  with  media  have  been  maintained;  various  press  releases  on  key 
research topics were published. The JTIs worked also on improving their visual identity and 
re-designing  their  websites,  which  were  used  as  a  tool  to  announce  calls  for  proposals, 
exchange  of  information  and  provision  of  information  on  the  latest  developments  in  the 
respective industry.  

The cooperation with third parties was of a great importance for recognising the JTI JUs as 
players on the world scene. FCH, for instance, developed good international cooperation with 
the USA, Japan and the Republic of Korea. Clean Sky maintained close links with the SESAR 
Joint Undertaking which investigates the air traffic management technologies in line with the 
Single Sky initiative of the European Commission. ARTEMIS increased its collaboration with 
the ARTEMIS-IA Working Group and the EUREKA cluster programme ITEA-2.  

4. 

PERSPECTIVES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE 

The first interim evaluations of the Joint Undertakings were carried out as planned by the end 
of 2010 (in April 2011 for the FCH JU) covering the quality and efficiency of their work and 
assessing  the  progress  towards  the  set  objectives.  The  overall  result  of  the  evaluations  is 
positive, affirming good prospects for achievement of the JTI JU's goals. 

As the Joint Undertakings are only now fully autonomous, there needs to be a period of some 
years of consolidation before the real benefits can be assessed. Nevertheless, the importance 
of cross-sectoral co-operation in key strategy setting is considered extremely important. In the 
case  of  the  FCH  JU,  for  example,  where  there  are  very  specific  market  entry  barriers,  the 
industrial  partners  have  been  very  effective  in  organising  objective  assessment  of  market 
potential in relation to other competing technologies. The stable allocation of funds has also 
underpinned the industry commitment – especially SMEs – at a time when the FP funds could 
easily have been diverted to competing technologies. 

In 2011, the five Joint Undertakings had to follow up on the implementation of the ongoing 
activities and kick off the next waves of projects, as well as on the preparation and launch of 
the  future  calls.  Calls  topics  needed  to  be  defined  on  the  grounds  of  the  revised  research 
agendas,  considering  the  market  forces  and  the  quick  pace  of  technology  development  in 
their industries.  

As  recommended  by  the  European  Court  of  Auditors  and  the  experts  in  the  first  interim 
evaluation  reports,  the  entities  which  experienced  initial  delays  in  starting  their  operations, 
such  as  Clean  Sky,  should  have  promptly  recovered  in  order  to  achieve  their  objectives 
within the set timeframe. This would have also contributed to shorten the time for payments 
to  beneficiaries  and  improve  the  implementation  of  the  budget,  which  had  been  perceived 
overall as being low among all JTI JUs in 2010. 

The  JTI  JUs  had  to  further  encourage  the  wide  participation  of  industrial  and  academic 
partners,  and  particularly  of  SMEs,  in  their  research  activities.  They  needed  to  remove  the 
obstacles for SMEs, where such existed. IMI had put on its agenda to develop a methodology 

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for  in-kind  contribution  and  calculation  of  indirect  costs,  and  FCH  already  initiated  the 
process to adopt an increase in the funding rates, which were considerably lower than those in 
FP7. Clean Sky, ARTEMIS and ENIAC were challenged to keep the high interest of SMEs in 
the calls for proposals they were launching. 

From  an  administrative  perspective,  after  the  initial  start-up  and  preparatory  phase  before 
autonomy,  the  JTI  JUs  had  to  then  work  on  their  consolidation  as  a  pre-requisite  for 
sustainability and a factor for success. Although the establishment of the five public-private 
partnerships  was  a  considerable  achievement  on  its  own,  the  Joint  Undertakings  needed  to 
further  develop  their  internal  control  frameworks,  and  introduce,  if  necessary,  additional 
control  mechanisms.  This  was  also  pointed  out  in  the  reports  of  the  European  Court  of 
Auditors  which  found  out  that  by  the  end  of  2010  none  of  the  entities  had  completely 
implemented their internal controls and financial information systems and/or had yet validated 
their underlying business processes as required by the Joint Undertakings' financial rules. 

Moreover,  implementation  of  key  performance  indicators  in  2011  by  all  JTI  JUs  had  to 
avoid making the output of the initiatives scattered and diffuse. Their task would be not only 
to  assess  and  periodically  monitor  quality  in  order  to  maximise  impact  across  research 
programmes,  but  also  to  be  tracked  by  a  sound  monitoring  and  evaluation  system.  An 
important step towards this in 2011 had to be the implementation or adoption, where not done 
yet,  of  comprehensive  internal  audit  plans  and  the  performance  of  regular  ex-ante 
verifications and ex-post audits. Moreover, as expressed by the European Court of Auditors, 
the JTI JUs had to clearly define the role of the Commission's IAS in their financial rules. 

Concerning the IT and logistics matters, all Joint Undertakings needed to further consider the 
establishment of formal IT policies and procedures to ensure the proper functioning of the 
IT planning and monitoring cycle and provide for reliable risk management tools. Also, a host 
agreement  had  to  be  concluded  with  the  Belgian  authorities  concerning  the  office 
accommodation,  privileges  and  immunities,  and  other  support  provided  by  the  State.  Both 
comments were taken into consideration by the JTI JUs and actions are already underway. 

Among the objectives of the Joint Undertakings in 2011 should have been the enhancement of 
their  communication  activities  using  a  more  proactive  and  target-oriented  approach, 
especially within SMEs and the research community to increase their level of participation in 
the research projects. As recommended in the interim evaluation reports, the JTI JUs should 
develop  and  implement  clear  communication  and  dissemination  plans,  obtain  a  separate 
identity  and  work  more  on  the  synergy  with  national  programmes  and  international 
cooperation with non-EU stakeholders.  

Taking into consideration that the present report is looking at the JTI JUs' development in the 
first  year  of  their  autonomous  operations,  and  at  a  point  where  none  of  their  projects  are 
completed, the prospects for the future remain to be considered. The results achieved by the 
five JTI JUs so far sets them as ambitious European initiatives with the potential to become a 
new affirmed model of a public-private partnership.  

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