REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the European Research Council's operations and realisation of the objectives set out in the Specific Programme &quot;Ideas&quot; in 2011
Date: 2012-06-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, EU office or agency, EU programme, education grant, research programme, scientific research

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 19.6.2012  
COM(2012) 297 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

on the European Research Council's operations and realisation of the objectives set out 
in the Specific Programme "Ideas" in 2011 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION AND LEGAL BASE 

The European Research Council (ERC), established by Commission Decision 2007/134/EC1, 
has  as  its  essential  task  the  implementation  of  the  Specific  Programme  "Ideas",  with  an 
overall budget of € 7.51 billion. 

The  ERC  consists  of  an  independent  Scientific  Council  supported  by  a  dedicated 
implementation  structure,  which  took  the  form  of  the  ERC  Executive  Agency  (ERCEA)2 
created under the general regime of executive agencies. Responsibility for implementing the 
"Ideas" programme and supporting the Scientific Council was delegated to the Agency by the 
Commission in 2008 and autonomy was granted to the Agency in July 2009.  

In  conformity  with  Article  4.4  and  Annex  I  of  the  Council  Decision  on  the  Specific 
Programme  "Ideas",  this  Annual  Report  of  the  Commission,  drawn  up  in  co-operation  with 
the  ERC  Scientific  Council  and  the  ERC  Executive  Agency,  presents  the  Commission's 
assessment of the ERC's operations and the achievement of its objectives in 2011. This report 
is complemented by a report from the Scientific Council on the scientific implementation and 
achievements of the programme during the year 20113. 

2. 

STRATEGY MATTERS 

The  Scientific  Council  is  responsible  for  setting  the  ERC's  scientific  strategy,  including 
establishing  the  ERC's  most  important  strategy  document,  the  annual  "Ideas"  Work 
Programme. 

2.1. 

Funding schemes 

Two grant schemes form the core of the 'Ideas' Work Programme:  

Starting  Grants,  supporting  researchers  at  the  early  stage  of  their  careers,  with  the  aim  of 
providing working conditions that enable them to become independent research leaders.  

Advanced  Grants,  designed  to  support  outstanding  and  established  research  leaders  by 
providing  resources  necessary  to  enable  them  to  continue  the  work  of  their  teams,  seeking 
new breakthroughs in their line of research. 

In order to strengthen the ERC’s role in the innovation chain from frontier research to socio-economic 
benefits, the Scientific Council developed and launched in 2011 a new granting opportunity – 
the  Proof  of  Concept  –  which  is  offered  to  ERC  grant  holders  to  establish  the  innovation 
potential  of  ideas  arising  from  their  ERC-funded  projects.  The  scheme  aims  to  cover  a 
funding gap in the earliest stage of an innovation.  

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OJ L 57, 24.02.2007, p.14. 
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 (OJ L9, 12.01.2008, p.15). 
http://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/erc_annual_report_2011.pdf 

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2.2. 

2011 Work Programme for the Specific Programme "Ideas" 

The  2011  Work  Programme  for  the  Specific  Programme  "Ideas"  was  established  by  the 
Scientific Council on 14 April 2010 and subsequently adopted by the Commission on 19 July 
20104. The Work Programme was revised to include the new granting opportunity, the Proof 
of Concept. The revised version, established by the Scientific Council on 29 November 2010, 
was adopted by the Commission on 24 March 20115. 

Apart  from  the  introduction  of  the  Proof  of  Concept  Grants,  few  adjustments  were  made  in 
the scientific strategy: The eligibility window for the Starting Grant was further expanded; it 
now  stands  from  2  -  12  years  from  PhD  award  (2  -  7  for  "starters"  and  7-12  for 
"consolidators").  The  restriction  on  reapplication  was  also  relaxed;  applicants  can  now 
reapply  to  the  following  call  if  their  proposal  was  evaluated  as  above  the  quality  threshold. 
The interdisciplinary domain has been renamed as the "fourth domain" with a 10% indicative 
budget. 

2.3. 

Peer review methodology 

The ERC employs a structure of high-level peer review panels whose members are selected 
by the Scientific Council and include scientists, engineers and scholars from both within the 
EU and beyond. These panels cover all research disciplines and are organised in a framework 
of three main research domains: Physical Sciences and Engineering, Life Sciences, and Social 
Sciences  and  Humanities.  Consistent  with  previous  calls,  the  number  of  panels  was  25  for 
both Starting and Advanced Grant schemes. Proof of Concept proposals were evaluated by a 
specific set of peer reviewers working remotely. 

3. 

PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION 

In the implementation of the Programme in 2011, commitment credits of € 1.3 billion (global 
commitment) and payments of € 725 million were  fully executed, representing 100% of the 
operational credits of the Ideas Specific Programme for 2011. Around 2.2% of the operational 
budget was spent on administration. 

3.1. 

Grants 

Since the 2008 Work Programme, ERC calls involve a one-stage application process, where 
applicants are required to submit their full proposal, and a two-step evaluation. 

Grants are offered to the best proposals depending on the budget available. The offer is made 
on  the  basis  of  the  proposal  itself  and  the  funding  recommended  by  the  peer  review 
evaluation.  

3.1.1.  ERC Starting Grants 

The  2011  ERC  Starting  Grant  call  was  published  in  July  2010  with  an  indicative  budget  of 
€661 million. In total 4080 proposals were recei ved distributed by domain as follows: 1690 
proposals  in  Physical  Sciences  and  Engineering,  1440  in  Life  Sciences  and  950  in  Social 
Sciences and Humanities. A total of 485 proposals were selected for funding with a total of 

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C(2010)4898 of 19.07.10, not published 
C(2011)1848 of 24.03.11, not published 

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more  than  €  670  million  awarded  and  an  ov erall  average  awarded  grant  of  around  €1.4 
million.  

The 2012 Starting Grant call was published in July 2011 with an  indicative budget of €730 
million. A total of 4741 proposals were submitted in response: 2058 for Physical Sciences and 
Engineering,  1653  for  Life  Sciences  and  1030  for  Social  Sciences  and  Humanities, 
representing respectively 43%, 35% and 22%, a split similar to the 2011 Starting Grant call, 
and the 2010 Starting Grant call. 

3.1.2.  ERC Advanced Grants 

The  2011  ERC  Advanced  Grant  call  was  published  in  November  2010  with  an  indicative 
budget  of  €661  million.  A  total  of  2284  proposals  were  received  distributed  by  domain  as 
follows:  917  proposals  in  Physical  Sciences  and  Engineering  (40%),  789  (35%)  in  Life 
Sciences and 578 in Social Sciences and Humanities (25%). The evaluation process resulted 
in a total of 294 proposals retained for funding with a total of about € 700 million awarded 
and an overall average awarded grant of around €2.4 million.  

The  2012  ERC  Advanced  Grant  call  was  published  in  November  2011  with  deadlines 
between February and April 2012 and an indicative budget of € 680 million. 

3.1.3.  ERC Proof of Concept  

The first Proof of Concept call was published in March 2011 with an indicative budget of €10 
million, approximately half of which for each of the two evaluation rounds following the two 
deadlines  for  submission  set  in  June  and  in  November  2011  respectively.  Only  researchers 
already  holding  an  ERC  Starting  or  Advanced  Grant  were  eligible  to  apply  for  Proof  of 
Concept funding. A total of 78 proposals were received at the first deadline and 73 of them 
were  considered  eligible  for  evaluation,  with  the  following  distribution  per  domain  of  the 
original ERC grant held by the applicant: 58% in Physical Sciences and Engineering, 34% in 
Life  Sciences  and  8%  in  Social  Sciences  and  Humanities.  The  evaluation  resulted  in  30 
proposals retained for funding.  

At the second deadline, a total of 73 proposals were received and 67 of them were considered 
eligible for evaluation, with the following distribution per domain of the original ERC grant 
held by the applicant: 61% in Physical Sciences and Engineering, 34% in Life Sciences and 
5% in Social Sciences and Humanities. 

3.2. 

Programme Committee 

The  Programme  Committee  of  the  Specific  Programme  "Ideas"  serves,  in  addition  to  its 
formal duties, as an important communication network between the Member States and FP7 
Associated  Countries,  the  Scientific  Council,  the  ERC  Secretary  General  and  the 
Commission. In 2011 meetings of this committee were held on 5 April and 24 October. 

3.3. 

Ethical review 

Overall,  in  2011  the  ethical  Review  involved  55  external  experts  and  covered  100%  of 
proposals, out of which only 3 were flagged as dealing with Human Embryonic Stem Cells. 
These proposals will be transferred to the Commission for the finalisation of the process.  

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3.4. 

Redress 

In 2011, 234 requests for redress were received, representing 3.6% of the proposals submitted, 
a  significant  decrease  compared  to  4.6%  in  2010.  The  two  successful  redress  requests 
originated in errors on an individual assessment in the first step of the evaluation process. In 
both cases a complete re-evaluation took place, which concluded that both proposals should 
have  been  shortlisted  for  funding;  as  a  consequence,  the  two  proposals  were  selected  for 
granting. 

3.5. 

Communication  

During  the  course  of  2011  the  ERC  intensified  its  awareness  raising  activities  on  funding 
opportunities,  both  in  Europe  and  beyond,  ensuring  its  presence  and  involvement  in  major 
international  research  conferences  and  exhibitions,  as  well  as  career  fairs  and  workshops, 
while  the  visibility  of  ERC's  funded  projects  was  raised  among  the  general  public  and  the 
media. 

In  Europe,  the  ERC  took  part  in  the  annual  meetings  of  the  European  Molecular  Biology 
Organisation  in  Vienna  and  of  the  European  Sociological  Association  in  Geneva,  the 
Congress of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies in Torino, Nature Jobs Career 
Fair  in  London,  the  meeting  of  the  European  Universities  Public  Relations  and  Information 
Officers  in  Prague,  the  Falling  Walls  Conference  in  Berlin,  as  well  as  the  EU  Innovation 
Convention held in Brussels.  

Special efforts were deployed in countries with low participation in ERC schemes. In June, at 
the  occasion  of  the  Hungarian  Presidency  of  the  European  Union,  the  ERC  organised  in 
Budapest,  jointly  with  the  Hungarian  Academy  of  Sciences,  a  major  conference  on 
“Promoting Excellence in Research in Europe”. The spotlight was on top researchers who had 
been successful in obtaining highly competitive ERC grants. A selection of ERC grant holders 
gave  their  testimonials,  including  2010  Nobel  Prize  winner  Konstantin  Novoselov.  In  Riga 
(Latvia),  a  public  presentation  on  the  ERC  was  organised  in  cooperation  with  the  national 
Academy of Sciences. In Poland, a series of awareness raising workshops were organised by 
the Polish National and Regional Contact Points. 

On  25  May  2011,  the  ERC  was  invited  for  an  exchange  of  views  with  the  European 
Parliament’s  Committee  on  Industry,  Research  and  Energy  (ITRE).  An  exchange  of  views 
took place also at the Competitiveness Council of 30 September 2011 with the Commissioner 
for research, innovation and science and the ERC President.  

Outside Europe, the ERC has again been present in a few priority countries, namely the US 
(MIT-European  Career,  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  Annual 
meeting  of  the  Society  for  Neuroscience,  American  Association  for  Cancer  Research,  Bio 
International  Conference,  American  Geophysical  Union  Meeting),  China  (visit  to  research 
organisations  and  universities  in  Beijing),  India  (Indian  Science  Congress  in  Chennai  and 
participation in an EU campaign organised by the EU Delegation throughout the country) and 
Brazil  (Sao  Paulo  and  Brasilia),  on  the  occasion  of  the  60th  anniversary  of  the  Research 
Foundation Agency of Brazil. 

Scientific  Council  members  and  Executive  Agency  staff  have  contributed  to  many  of  these 
outreach  activities  and  have  attended  other  scientific  congresses  held  in  the  EU  and  other 
parts of the world (such as the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in 

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Denver, US, the American Anthropological Association Annual Conference in Montréal and 
the Material Research Society Fall meeting in Warsaw). 

The  ERC  caught  the  attention  of  the  media  both  in  Europe  and  worldwide  throughout  the 
year,  both  as  an  organisation  and  through  its  funded  projects  and  its  grant  holders.  Press 
activities resulted in a good number of articles in both the scientific and more general press 
(over  1900  mentions)  and  in  many  press  releases  and  updates  disseminated  to  the  media. 
Numerous  interviews  with  the  ERC  President,  Secretary  General  or  Scientific  Council 
members have been published, also in major daily newspapers. Three "Special Features" were 
published  to  follow  the  news  on  the  occasion  of  Alzheimer's  day,  the  Breast  Cancer 
Awareness Month and the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban.  

The  National  Contact  Points  (NCPs),  based  all  over  Europe  and  serving  as  information 
multipliers to potential applicants, were continuously kept informed of the ERC developments 
and of its calls. 

Finally,  a  completely  new  website  was  launched  in  September,  with  a  new  look-and-feel,  a 
new layout, clearer and more user-friendly navigation, added functionalities and with a more 
dynamic  approach.  A  quarterly  electronic  newsletter  called  "ideas"  was  first  published  in 
March, to offer more in-depth information and presentations of ERC achievements, projects, 
grantees and partners. 

3.6.  Monitoring,  Assessment  and  Evaluation  (MAE)  of  the  Specific  Programme 

"Ideas" 

An evaluation of the ERC main results was prepared in conjunction with the ex-ante impact 
assessment of the Commission's proposal on Horizon 2020, the next Framework Programme 
for Research and Innovation6. Findings from this evaluation include the following: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

By the end of 2011 more than 2000 frontier-research projects were up and running in 
around 470 prestigious research institutions in Europe. 

As of 2011, thirty-six ERC grantees have received prestigious international scientific 
prizes and awards, among which 4 Nobel Prizes and 3 Fields Medals.  

The  number  of  articles  acknowledging  ERC  funding  published  in  peer-reviewed 
journals  increased  from  over  1200  in  2010  to  above  1750  in  2011,  totalising  more 
than  3400  since  2008.  This  is  a  combination  of  rising  number  of  projects  and 
maturing projects producing more results. 

Focusing  on  articles  in  the  two  of  the  most-cited  scientific  journals  (Nature  and 
Science) it can be  seen  that the ERC footprint is rapidly increasing. In 2011, every 
week  at  least  one  ERC-funded  project  published  its  findings  in  either  Nature  or 
Science. This corresponded to every two weeks and every seven weeks in 2010 and 
2009 respectively.  

In  2010,  the  Commission,  the  ERCEA  and  the  Scientific  Council  took  action  on  the 
recommendations of the ERC Review of structures and mechanisms7. In a Decision amending 

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COM(2011) 809 final of 30.11.2011 

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the Decision establishing the ERC8, the Commission confirmed the arrangements for the local 
support  to  the  Chair  and  Vice-Chairs  of  the  Scientific  Council  at  their  places  of  work  and 
introduced  an  honorarium  for  attendance  at  the  Scientific  Council  plenary  meetings,  in 
recognition of the personal commitment of the members of the Scientific Council and the time 
they  have  to  devote  to  ERC  tasks.  The  same  decision  introduced  the  concept  of  a  Standing 
Identification  Committee  for  the  identification  of  future  Scientific  Council  members.  These 
measures were made operational and were provided with a budget in the revision of the Ideas 
Work programme in March 20119. 

On  ERC  governance,  and  in  close  contact  with  the  Scientific  Council,  the  Commission 
undertook  a  further  reflection  on  a  sustainable  and  forward-looking  solution,  in  view  of 
Horizon  2020.  This  reflection  was  entrusted  to  a  Task  Force,  set  up  in  December  2010  and 
which  included  representatives  of  the  Scientific  Council,  the  ERC  Review  Panel  and  the 
Commission10. The report of the ERC Task Force was published on 12 July 201111 and was 
transmitted  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament.  Its  major  conclusion  is  that  in  the 
timescale of Horizon 2020, the future of the ERC is better assured within the structure of an 
Executive Agency. The report is very much in line with the conclusions of the ERC Review 
of 2009. It acknowledges the ERC's remarkable success so far and proposes measures for the 
improvement  of  its  operations.  One  of  the  recommended  innovations  is  the  provision  for  a 
quasi full-time, Brussels-based ERC President, a provision that would dispense with the need 
for  an  ERC  Secretary  General.  The  recommendations  of  the  Task  Force  have  been 
incorporated  in  the  Commission's  proposals  for  the  specific  programme  implementing 
Horizon 202012.  

4. 

STRUCTURE OF THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL 

4.1. 

The Scientific Council 

The renewal of one third of the members of the Scientific Council took effect in January 2011 
and  was  presented  in  last  year's  annual  report13.  The  standing  Identification  Committee 
continues its search for future members and in December 2011 announced the consultation of 
the scientific community14 for the next identification exercise, due in October 2012.  

Following  the  renewal  of  the  Scientific  Council,  Professors  Pavel  Exner  and  Carl-Henrik 
Heldin, both founding members of the Scientific Council, were elected as Vice-chairs15.  

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to 

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and 

July 

Council’s 

Structures 

Mechanisms 

the  Council 

and  Parliament  C(2009)  552 

Review Panel Report: Towards a world class Frontier Research Organisation: Review of the European 
Research 
2009). 
http://erc.europa.eu/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.display&topicID=158  Response  of  the  Commission: 
Communication 
final  of  22.10.2009 
http://ec.europa.eu/research/evaluations/pdf/archive/other_reports_studies_and_documents/commission
_communication_on_the_erc_review_-_22_october_2009.pdf  
Decision 2011/12/EU of 12.1.2011, OJ L 9, 13.1.2011, p.5 
C(2011) 1848 of 24.03.11, not published  
Press release IP/10/1759 
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/10/1759&format=HTML&aged=0&langua
ge=EN&guiLanguage=fr  
http://erc.europa.eu/about-erc/reviews-and-development-erc 
COM(2011) 811 final of 30.11.2011 
COM(2011) 497 of 17.8.2011 
http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=newsalert&lg=en&year=2011&na=na-121211 
http://erc.europa.eu/pdf/ERC_Press_release_Vice-Presidents.pdf 

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In  2011  the  Scientific  Council  selected  Prof.  Donald  Bruce  Dingwell,  Professor  in 
Experimental  Volcanology  at  the  Ludwig-Maximilian-University  of  Munich,  as  its  third 
Secretary  General  following  Ernst-Ludwig  Winnacker  and  Andreu  Mas-Colell.  Prof. 
Dingwell took office on 1 September 201116. 

The  Scientific  Council  held  5  plenary  meetings  in  2011,  two  of  which  were  held  outside 
Brussels: in Budapest (Hungary) in June and in Riga (Latvia) in October. The summary of the 
plenary meetings is published on the ERC website17. 

In addition to plenary sessions, members of the Scientific Council meet in Working Groups 
addressing  specific  issues.  In  2011,  various  meetings  of  the  ERC  Working  Groups  on 
“Innovation and Relations with Industry”, “Open Access”, “Internationalisation” and “Gender 
Balance” were organised by the Executive Agency. The Working Groups carry out analysis 
and contribute to the ERC scientific strategy through proposals to be adopted by the Scientific 
Council  in  plenary  in  the  areas  covered  by  their  mandates:  examine  the  ERC’s  relationship 
with  the  industrial/business  sector  and  the  impact  of  ERC-funded  research  on  innovation; 
develop  an  ERC  position  on  open  access;  explore  suitable  mechanisms  to  boost  the 
participation of non-European researchers, particularly from Brazil, Russia, India and China 
(the  BRIC  countries),  in  the  ERC  schemes;  ensure  that  the  ERC  is  at  the  forefront  of  best 
practice regarding the gender balance of grantees. 

The Scientific Council has two Standing Committees, one on peer review and one on conflict 
of interest and scientific misconduct. A series of working documents containing analysis and 
key messages on the specific issues dealt with by the Working Groups and by the Standing 
Committees  were  prepared  by  the  Executive  Agency,  in  conjunction  with  members  of  the 
groups. 

To  further  assure  its  liaison  with  the  European  Commission  and  the  Executive  Agency,  the 
Chair and vice Chairs of the Scientific Council, the ERC Secretary General and the Director 
of  the  Agency  meet  regularly  as  the  ERC  Board.  These  meetings  are  also  attended  by  the 
senior management of the Agency. The Board met in Brussels 10 times in 2011, in particular 
to prepare or to follow up the meetings of the Scientific Council. 

The  Scientific  Council's  plenary  meetings  and  the  meetings  of  its  members  with  ERC 
stakeholders are prepared with the organisational and administrative support of the Executive 
Agency. The Agency also provides advice and analysis to facilitate the Scientific Council to 
fulfil its tasks as described in Annex 1 of the Ideas Specific Programme, as well as support to 
the operational activities of its Working Groups and permanent committees. 

4.2. 

The ERC Executive Agency 

Since  July  2009  the  Agency  has  been  responsible  for  all  aspects  of  administrative 
implementation and programme execution as provided for in the Work Programme.  

The  operations  of  the  Agency  are  supervised  by  a  Steering  Committee,  appointed  by  the 
Commission.  In  line  with  the  conclusions  of  the  ERC  Task  Force,  the  membership  of  the 
Steering  Committee  was  modified  to  include  as  external  members  two  members  of  the 
Scientific Council, Profs Sierd Cloetingh and Tomasz Dietl. The Committee is chaired by the 

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http://erc.europa.eu/pdf/ERC_Press_release_New_Secretary_General.pdf 
http://erc.europa.eu/about-erc/organisation 

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Director-General  of  DG  Research  and  Innovation  and  the  ERC  Secretary-General  is  an 
observer. In 2011, the Steering Committee held four meetings and adopted decisions related 
to the Agency's Annual Work Programme, budget and accounts. At each of its meetings, the 
Steering Committee received a detailed progress report from the Director of the Agency. 

4.2.1.  Agency Staff 

The 2011 operating budget provided for an establishment plan of 100 temporary agents and a 
budget  for  253  contract  staff  and  7  seconded  national  experts,  adding  up  to  a  total  of  360 
agents.  

At  the  end  of  December  2011,  the  Agency  employed  a  total  of  350  agents:  97  temporary 
agents, 245 contract agents and 8 seconded national experts. 

Statistics of December 2011 show that the Agency employs approximately 36% men and 64% 
women.  As  regards  the  gender  balance  of  highly  specialised  staff  (temporary  agents  and 
contract agents in Function Group IV), 54% of the posts are occupied by women. At the end 
of 2011 the ERC Executive Agency employed nationals from 24 Member States. Pablo Amor 
succeeded Jack  Metthey as  Director  ad interim of the ERC Executive Agency on 1 January 
2011.  

5. 

CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK FOR 2012 

The ERC grants have been well received by the research community. Since its start in 2007 
the  ERC  has  completed  eight  calls  for  proposals  for  the  Starting  and  Advanced  Grant 
schemes.  The  competitions  yielded  a  total  of  over  26000  proposals  out  of  which  more  than 
2500 have been selected for funding through a rigorous peer review. 

In 2012, the Scientific Council will introduce the Synergy Grants to enable small groups of 
researchers  to  bring  together  complementary  skills,  knowledge  and  resources,  in  order  to 
jointly  address  research  problems  at  the  frontier  of  knowledge,  going  beyond  what  the 
individual researchers could achieve alone. The Synergy grants are introduced on a pilot basis 
and with a budget of €150 million 18. 

The year 2012 will also see the discussions at the European Parliament and the Council on the 
Commission's proposals for Horizon 2020. One major ambition of Horizon 2020 is to support 
the  EU’s  position  as  a  world  leader  in  science  with  a  dedicated  budget  of  €24.6  billion, 
including an increase in funding of 77% for ERC. Boosting the ERC budget will allow more 
top  rate  researchers  and  their  pioneering  ideas  to  be  supported,  and  especially  younger 
researchers to be provided with a long-term perspective.  

Finally,  in  2012,  the  ERC  Executive  Agency  will  have  completed  3  years  of  autonomous 
existence and will undergo an external evaluation, which will include a cost-benefit analysis. 
The  evaluation  report  will  be  transmitted  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the 
Court of Auditors.  

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http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp7/pdf/wp2012/wp2012_ideas_en.pdf 

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