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No C 283/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 21.10.87

## II

_(Preparatory Acts)_

# COMMISSION

Proposal for a Council Regulation concerning the European strategic programme for research
and development in information technologies (ESPRIT)

_COM(87) 313 final_

_(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 29 July 1987)_

(87/C 283/05)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES;

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular Article 130 Q
paragraph 2 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,

In cooperation with the European Parliament,

Whereas by Decision 84/130/EEC (') the first phase of
the European strategic programme for research and
development in information technologies (ESPRIT) was
adopted by the Council on 28 February 1984;

Whereas the framework programme of Community
activities in the field of research and technological
development (1987 to 1991) was adopted by Council
Decision 0000/000/EEC (');

Whereas the ESPRIT workprogrammes periodically
established in close consultation with the Information

Technology (IT) industry, industrial users and science
have proved to be an efficient means of programme
management;

Whereas the Commission set up an independent highlevel body, known as the ESPRIT Review Board, to
assess the progress of the Programme;

Whereas the ESPRIT Review Board concluded that the

Programme has been successfully established and is well
on its way to meeting its original objectives, is
progressing faster than initially expected, has initiated
trans-European cooperation at all levels especially where
small and medium-sized companies are concerned, has

enabled more ambitious research projects and has
accelerated the execution of these projects ( [2] );

Whereas the ESPRIT Review Board recommended that

for the future development of ESPRIT emphasis should
continue to be on precompetitive research and
development, the research areas be consolidated and
restructured and particular attention paid to technology
integration projects;

Whereas in a broad consultation process with a large
number of representatives from industry and science the
future technical scope of the programme has been
defined;

Whereas a continuous need exists to ensure systematic
coordination between ESPRIT and national programmes
in the information technology sector;

Whereas this programme meets the absolute need for the
constitution or consolidation of a specifically European
industrial potential in the technologies concerned;
whereas its primary participants must therefore be the
undertakings, universities and research centres in the
Community which are best suited to attain these
objectives;

Whereas small and medium-sized companies should be
encouraged to maintain a high level of participation in
the programme;

Whereas adequate dissemination of, and access to results
of projects of Community interest is essential to the
pursuit of the aims of the Community and in particular
to the needs of small and medium-sized companies;

Whereas there exists a need for periodic assessment of
the Programme;

Whereas it is necessary for the execution of the
Programme that the Commission be assisted by a
committee;

_C)_ OINo L67, 9. 3. 1984, p. 54. ( [2] ) COM(85) 616, Brussels, 19. 11. 1985.

21.10.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 283/5

Whereas it is in the Community's interest to consolidate
the scientific and financial basis of European research
by means of the involvement to a greater extent of
participants from the EFTA countries in certain Community programmes and, particularly, in programmes
involving cooperation in research and development of
information technology;

Whereas the implementation of actions in basic research
providing long term prospects as well as concerted
actions in the COST framework are essential elements to

complement industrially-oriented R & D projects;

Whereas the Council, in its resolution of 8 April
1986 ('), has re-emphasized its commitment to the
ESPRIT Programme and requested the Commission to
ensure, in its implementation of the programme that, in
scope and flexibility, the programme continues to
provide an effective response to the ever-increasing
challenge in the IT field;

Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research

Committee (CREST) has expressed its opinion,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

_Article 1_

1. A second phase of the ESPRIT Programme of
research and development for the European Economic
Community, hereinafter referred to as 'the programme',
is hereby adopted for a period ending on 31 December
1992. The technical scope of the programme is described
in Annex. I.

2. The programme shall comprise pre-competitive
research and development projects (hereinafter referred
to as 'the projects'), actions in basic research (hereinafter
referred to as 'the actions') and accompanying measures.

_Article 2_

1. The detailed objectives and the type of projects to
be undertaken as well as the corresponding financial
plans shall be set out in an annual work programme to
be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down
in Article 7. Any updates which may be required during
the year under consideration shall be adopted in
accordance with the same procedure.

2. The evaluation of the projects and actions which
are submitted shall be undertaken by the Commission
having due regard to the general objectives of the
programme and of the annual work programme. With
regard to projects requiring R & D efforts exceeding 100
man-years, the eligibility of these projects shall be
decided in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 7. With regard to the other projects and the
actions, the results of their evaluation shall be brought to
the attention of the Committee referred to in Article 6.

(') OJNoC 102,29. 4. 1986, p. 1/

3. The projects shall be carried out by means of
contracts, to be concluded by the Commission with
companies, including small and medium-sized undertakings, universities and other bodies established in the
Community.

The proposals for projects shall as a rule be submitted by
the interested parties in reply to an open invitation
published in the _Official Journal_ _of the_ _European_
_Communities._ The projects must normally involve the
participation of at least two independent industrial
partners not established in the same Member State. Each
contractor will be expected to bring a significant contribution to the project. The contractors shall be expected
to bear a substantial proportion of the costs, 50 % of
which shall normally be borne by the Community.

4. The actions shall be carried out by means of
contracts to be concluded by the Commission with
universities, research institutions or undertakings
established within the Community. The proposals for
actions shall as a rule be submitted by the interested
parties in reply to an open invitation published in the
_Official Journal_ _of the European_ _Communities._ The
actions must, normally, involve the participation of at
least two universities or research institutions not

established in the same Member State.

The Community may bear up to 100 % of the costs of
the actions.

5. In exceptional cases where the call for proposals
has not resulted in a satisfactory response, or in cases of
urgency, or where a call for proposals is not the most
appropriate procedure on grounds of cost and efficiency,
it may be decided, in accordance with the procedure laid
down in Article 7, to depart from the general provisions
set out in paragraphs 3 and 4, viz.

— the public call for proposals,

— the participation in the projects of at least two
industrial partners not established in the same
Member State,

— the participation in the actions of at least two
universities or research institutes not established in

the same Member State.

6. Contracts for the execution of projects and actions
which conform to the rules laid down in paragraphs 3
and 4 may include companies, universities and other
bodies established in one of the non-Member States

referred to in Annex II. That Annex may be changed by
the Council, acting by qualified majority, on the basis of
a proposal submitted by the Commission.

7. The accompanying measures, in particular those
referred to in Annex I (C), aim specifically at providing
an adequate communications infrastructure, access to
project results and the coordination of research and
development activities carried out under the programmes
of the Community and of the Member States.

^oCh^BD Official journal of the European communities ^ . t o . ^

^. ^Phe commission may consult the committee on
any matter falling within the scope of this Regulation.

The Commission is hereby authorised to concluded in
accordance with Articlet^Ol^ of theTreaty^a^reements
with non^^iember states participating in European
cooperation in the field of scientific and technological
research ^CC^T^ with a ^iew to ensuring concerted
actionhetweenthe Community acti^itiesrelatin^ to the
collaboration in actions in basic research and

accompanyin^measuresreferredtoin Anneal and the
relevant programmes of such states.

The Community shall contribute to theperformance of
the programme within the limits of the appropriations
entered to this end in the budget of the European
Communities.

The overall amount of the appropriations estimated to be
necessary for the Community's contribution to the
projects^ actions and accompanyin^measures under the
programme shall be tDOO million ECaU. The amounts
include expenditure on staff^whose cost shall not exceed
^^Bo of the community contribution.

Up to a maximum of ^^Bo of the Community's total
contribution to new projects launched under this
programme may for the firstyear be allocated to new
proiects which fall below the threshold referred to in
A r t i c l e ^ ^ . If the call for proposals has not resulted in
a satisfactory response this percentage figure may be
chan^edinaccordance with the procedurelaiddownin
Articled.

The commission shall ensure that the programme is
properly performed and^ to this end^ shall establish the
appropriate measures and infrastructures^ without
prejudice to the powers provided for in Articles ^
^and^t.

^r^AA^^

P .Phe Commission shallbe assistedby acommittee^
consistin^of tworepresentati^esof each^iember^tate^
and chaired by a representative of the Commissions
hereinafter referred to as ^the committee'.

members of the committee may be assisted by experts or
advisers depending on the nature of the issue under
consideration.

The proceedings of the committee shall be confidential.

.Phe committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

secretarial services for the committee shall be provided
by the Commission.

^here theprocedure laid down in this Article is to be
followed^ the representative of the Commission shall
refer to the committee a draft of the measures to be

adopted. .Phe committee shall deliver an opinion withina
time limit set by the chairman in relationto the urgency
of the matter. .Phe opinion shall be delivered by the
majority specified in Article i ^ ^ of the Treaty for
decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a
proposal from the commissions the ^otes of the rep^
resentati^es of the member states bein^ weighted as
indicated in that Article. The chairman shall not ^ote.

The Commission shall adopt the proposed measures if
they are in accordance with the committee's opinion. If
the proposed measures are not in accordance with the
committee's opinions or if no opinion is deli^ered^ the
Commission shall without delay submit to the C^ouncila
proposal concerning the measures to be taken, fhe
Council shall act byaqualified majority.

If the council has not acted within a period of one
month of the proposal bein^ submitted to it^ the
proposed provisions shall be adopted by the Commission.

.Phe commission shall address a report to the council
and to the European parliament at the latest either in
t ^ O or as soon as DO^Bo of the appropriations judged
necessary ha^e been committed^ in order to assess the
interim results achieved as comparedwiththe objectives
of thepro^ramme.Thisreportshallbeaccompaniedby
suggestions for changes which maybe necessary in the
li^ht of these results.

^ i t h regard to the activities provided for in A r t i c l e t ^
the member states and the community shall e^chan^e
all appropriate information to which they ha^e access
and which they are free to disclose concerning the areas
cohered by this Regulations whether or notplanned or
carried out under their authority.

The information shall be e^chan^ed in accordance witha

procedure to be defined by the commission after
consulting the C^ommittee^ and will be treated as
confidential at the supplier'srequest.

fhis Regulation shall enter into force on t Mecember

fhis Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
directly applicable in all member states.

21.10.87 Official Journal of the European Communities N o C 283/7

_ANNEX_ _I_

ESPRIT

The programme contains research and development projects, actions in basic research and accompanying

measures.

A. Research and development projects

Research and development projects will be carried out in the following three sectors:

1. Microelectronics and peripheral technologies

2. Information processing systems

3. It application technologies

1. MICROELECTRONICS AND PERIPHERAL TECHNOLOGIES

Work in this sector will have to be addressed primarily at improving the competitiveness of the
Community microelectronics industrial sector so as to enable it to provide the IT industry with full
system capability through access to up to date functional components and subsystems based in
particular on state of the art semiconductor technology. To this end and in support of the
developments of application systems, it will encompass the provision of the technological capability
to design, manufacture and test application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) in a 'system on a chip'
concept. Such circuits to range from high complexity random logic including several million
elementary devices to very high speed lower complexity circuits capable of operating at up to
5 GHz.

The R & D activities to be pursued include:

—
_High density integrated circuits:_

The goal is to provide random logic-integrated circuits (ICs), including up to four million gates
for use in particular where a high degree of parallel processing is possible as, for instance, in
processor arrays or systolic arrays. To this end it will be necessary:

— to develop user friendly CAD systems, including automatic layout and design verification
tools (advanced silicon compilers),

— to develop low power high density processes, including the optimization of an automated
flexible manufacturing line for high yield production.

—
_High speed integrated circuits:_

The aim is to fabricate devices for use where processing of large quantities of information in real
time cannot be assured by parallelism due to high serial bit rate. They are potentially valuable in
supercomputers or front end processors for telecommunications systems. The target performance
will be:

— operation between five and 10 GHz clock frequency or gate delays less than 50 ps,

— complexity greater than 10 000 gates.

The main activities towards this goal are:

— development of a very fast silicon bipolar process,

— GaAs FET technologies will also be considered, as appropriate,

— special CAD tools to optimize circuit speed,

— special packaging techniques for GHz operation.

—
_Multifunction Integrated Circuits:_

The goal is to build a complete system on a chip with digital and analog functions, operating
over a wide range of speeds. Complexity up to one million transistors, minimum achievable gate
delay of 50 ps, power control and non-volatile memory capability will have to be implemented to
meet the requirements of peripherals (display and LAN control, memory management),
telecommunications equipments (voice and image processing), factory and office automation
(intelligent sensors and actuators).

N o C 283/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 21.10. 87

In order to enhance the performances of very large information systems, optoelectronic ICs will
be developed and used to optically interconnect distributed processors for instance.

The main activities to be pursued are:

— tuning of manufacturing processes for dedicated application,

— adaptation of CAD tools to mixed functions, such as analog-digital device design.

Throughout the execution of the programme, a special emphasis will be given to definition of
standards both on the software side (data exchange, tool portability between CAD system and
manufacturing equipment) and on the mechanical side to meet requirements for higher degree of
automation and flexibility.

—
_Peripheral Technologies:_

This area of the programme is aimed at ensuring that Europe develops the specific technologies
necessary to play a sustainable role in future peripheral systems developments. Topics requiring
action are, in particular, those of magneto-optic and optical mass storage and retrieval systems,
non-impact printers, displays, devices incorporating logic elements in conjunction with sensors,
transducers, and actuators.

2. INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEMS

The main objective of this sector is to bring together tools and technologies from the hardware and
software domains in order to enable the design and development of the information processing
systems of the 1990s. Particular attention will be paid to new approaches to systems design which
will enable high quality complex systems to be developed efficiently. To develop the methods and
tools needed, it is imperative that all aspects of the system (e.g. architecture, interfaces) are
considered while at the same time new technologies like knowledge engineering are integrated.

As a consequence, work in this sector will provide the capability of producing systems (of similar
complexity to those produced now) with a significant increase in designer productivity. For example,
the methods and tools developed will provide the mechanism by which the development costs of
selected system components (e.g. microprocessors, real-time software modules) will be reduced to
10 °/o of the current development costs.

The R & D activities to be pursued fall into four complementary areas:

—
_Systems design:_

This area addresses the process from the definition of the requirements of an IT system, through
to its manufacture, distribution and maintenance.

Activities include:

— evaluation of methods and tools, guidance in method introduction and product evaluation
metrics,

— integration and rationalization of integrated programming system environment interfaces,
project support environments and knowledge-based techniques,

— reusable system components, automated generation of high quality programs for real-time
systems, formal techniques and methods.

—
_Knowledge engineering:_

This area includes the development of systems which help reasoning and decision making under
conditions of uncertainty and incomplete information.

Activites include:

— knowledge acquisition, learning and adaptive systems, knowledge representation, knowledge
manipulation and validation of knowledge-based system,

— natural communication processing and user interaction mechanisms,

— integration of knowledge engineering techniques into systems design.

21.10. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities N o C 283/9

—
_Advanced systems architectures:_

This area includes, notably, parallel archicectures aimed at overcoming system limitations and at
supporting modular construction.

Activities include:

— parallel architecture and interconnection of cooperating processors, programming and
verification techniques,

— distributed systems of semi-autonomous components,

— specialized architectures for signal processing and knowledge based information subsystems.

—
_Signal processing:_

This area addresses the need to cope with the complexity of processing signals of varied physical
nature (e.g. temperature, pressure, image, natural voice).

Activities include:

— formal description of information flow, symbolic manipulation,

— preprocessing, feature identification, classification, error correcting methods,

— system components for signal processing, real-time-systems,

— advanced technologies for multi-sensor signal processing systems.

3. IT APPLICATION TECHNOLOGIES

The main objective of this sector is to enhance European capabilities in the integration of IT into
systems able to be used in a broad range of applications and to validate the results in selected,
realistic environments.

The R & D activities to be pursued in IT application technologies fall into three complementary

areas:

—
_Computer integrated manufacturing:_

The objective is to provide the technology base which is necessary for system vendors in order to
successfully meet the competitive requirements of the world market. At the same time, it is
expected that the rapid uptake of these IT-based technologies will induce a completion of the
modernization process in a wide range of manufacturing industries.

The scope of work will include the application of IT not only in discrete part production but to a
wide range of industries up to and including continuous process.

The establishment of open system concepts to support multi-vendor operation is an important
means of achieving the objective of the area.

Activities include:

— design and analysis systems allowing flexible product development so that time, materials and
other resources for production are minimized,

— factory management, planning and production control so that availability and usage of
equipment are increased, man-machine interactions for production planning and control
systems optimized, real-time applications implemented and just-in-time production supported,

— robotics systems,

— integration of material handling systems (including robots) in the production and assembly
process. Issues to be addressed are e.g. tool change, monitoring, washing, waste disposal,
assembling and other tasks associated with production. Particular emphasis will be put on
solutions for smaller batches,

— computer integrated control in process industries to create more efficient plant operation,

— architecture and methods for integration, including the development of methods and tools for
installing, operating, and monitoring computer integrated manufacturing systems and the
demonstration of early implementations addressing different manufacturing requirements.

N o C 283/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 10. 87

—
_Integrated Information Systems:_

This area addresses systems integration R & D for selected applications. Application domains
include office environment and the domestic environment.

Activities include:

— user environment analysis and support in order to evaluate requirements, constraints, human
factors, reduce introduction periods and increase productivity through improvement of usersystem interaction. Particular emphasis will be put on the requirements of less skilled users
and flexibility aspects,

— systems engineering comprising systems integration and validation tools, reliability, availability and security of systems,

— generic communication technologies and integrated office systems comprising multimedia
handling on the basis of open system architectures, generation, routing, monitoring of office
information, remote activities support and selected special functions,

— distributed systems with particular emphasis on integration of knowledge based systems and
advanced distributed storage systems,

— data collection and monitoring systems in non-factory environments (e.g. home, laboratory)
comprising telecontrol and networking of autonomous equipment, management of data
acquisition systems.

—
_IT application support systems:_

This area addresses the integration of basic IT components into subsystems. The major goal is to
provide low cost technologies and large scale applicability. Particular emphasis will be put on
modularity and fail-safe aspects.

Activities include:

— workstations for multiple application purposes,

— storage and processing subsystems for stand-alone and distributed systems,

— local network systems and related basic services,

— user interfacing subsystems (e.g. visual, vocal, manual),

— subsystems interfacing the physical environment (e.g. vision and environment understanding,
laboratory data acquisition, monitoring and control).

Throughout these three sectors (microelectronics and peripheral technologies, information processing
systems and IT application technologies) a limited number of technology integration projects will
be undertaken. These projects will aim at meeting ambitious, well-defined industrial targets, will be
preplanned at an appropriate level of detail in the work programme, and normally require large-scale
industrial efforts of a Community dimension.

B. Actions in basic research

The envisaged actions in basic research aim at complementing the proposed precompetitive IT R & D
efforts by providing a Community dimension to fundamental research work in selected areas of long
lead-time. They include promotion of high level professional training in areas of particular concern to
the Community. The actions shall, in particular, encourage highly qualified research institutes in IT to
become international in their orientation.

The work areas include:

— molecular electronics,

— artificial intelligence and cognitive science,

— applications of solid state physics to IT,

— advanced System Design,

and other areas of basic research which may be identified during the course of the programme.

21.10.87 Official Journal of the European Communities N o C 2 8 3 / l l

C. Accompanying measures

The main objective of the accompanying measures is to provide the framework necessary to make
optimum use of the R & D activities undertaken in the ESPRIT Programme and related activities.

The accompanying measures include in particular:

— coordination of Community and Member States research and development programmes and with
programmes at international level, acquisition of information, both within the ESPRIT programme
and from the world at large, and its appropriate dissemination,

— coordination and documentation of standards within the ESPRIT programme and their relationship
with national and international standards,

— provision of means to ensure ease of communication, to serve the good technical execution of
research and development projects as well as their management, and the appropriate dissemination
of and access to their results, including an Information Exchange System (IES).

_ANNEX_ _II_

The non-member States referred to in Article 2 (6) are:

— Republic of Austria,

— Republic of Finland,

— Kingdom of Norway,

— Kingdom of Sweden,

— Swiss Confederation.