CELEX: 51987PC0667
Language: en
Date: 1987-12-18
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION TO ADOPT A FIRST MULTIANNUAL PROGRAMME ( 1988-1993 ) FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY-BASED AGRO-INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT " ECLAIR "

5. 3. 88                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                    No C 62/7
                                                               II
                                                       (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Decision to adopt a first multiannual programme (1988 to 1993) for
                 biotechnology-based agro-industrial research and technological development — 'Eclair'
                          (European collaborative linkage of agriculture and industry through research)
                                                      COM(87) 667 final
                           (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 22 December 1987)
                                                         (88/C 62/08)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                            Whereas such activities would constitute a logical
                                                                    complement to the Community research programmes in
Having regard to the Treaty setting up the European                 the areas of biotechnology and of agriculture, promoting
Economic Community, and in particular to Article                    the application of their results to the social and economic
130Q(2) thereof,                                                    objectives of the Community;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                  Whereas development activities at the interfaces between
                                                                    agriculture and industry could contribute to the solution
In cooperation with the European Parliament,                        of some of the problems which agriculture is currently
                                                                    facing within the Community;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,                                                   Whereas it is necessary to involve small- and medium-
                                                                    sized enterprises to the maximum extent possible in the
Whereas Article 130K of the Treaty stipulates that the              biotechnology-based agro-industrial technological devel-
framework programme shall be implemented through                    opment programme;
specific programmes developed within each of its
activities;                                                         Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research
                                                                    Committee (CREST) has expressed its opinion on the
Whereas by its Decision of 28 September 1987 the                     Commission's proposal,
Council has adopted a framework programme for
Community activities in the field of research and techno-
logical development (1987 to 1991) ('), providing for               HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
activities to be implemented to ensure the exploitation
and optimum use of biological resources;
                                                                                               Article 1
Whereas the specialized skills and capabilities relevant to         A research and development programme of the
agro-industrial development are numerous, and Europe's               European Economic Community in the field of biotech-
most internationally competitive capabilities are located            nology-based agro-industrial development is hereby
in diverse Member States, mutual benefit shall be derived            adopted in the form set out in Annex I for a five-year
from collaboration in a Community programme;                         period starting on 1 July 1988.
Whereas the European Parliament, in its assessment of                The programme shall consist of work carried out as
the potential for biotechnology in the European farming              contract-research and as coordination actions and by
industry (2), has emphasized that it must be used to                 training/mobility grants. Participants may be industrial
promote an agricultural policy geared to quality, with               and agricultural enterprises, research institutions, univer-
high added value, and that the Community should                      sities or combinations of them, established in the
support biotechnological research aimed at improving                 Community.
alternative forms of production and/or finding new
ones;                                                                Normally, research institutes and universities should
                                                                     participate in a group together with one or more
                                                                     industrial organizations. Research institutes which are
(») OJ No L 302, 24. 10. 1987.                                       funded principally or exclusively by industrial organi-
O OJ No C 76, 23. 3. 1987, p. 22.                                    zations shall be considered as industrial participants.
 ---pagebreak---  No C 62/8                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                     5. 3. 88
 Projects must be carried out by participants from more                                              Article 4
 than one Member State.
                                                                         The Commission shall be responsible for the execution
As a general rule, the Community contribution will not                   of the programme and will be assisted in its implemen-
 exceed 50 %, the remainder to be provided predomi-                      tation by a Management and Coordination Advisory
nantly from industrial sources.                                          Committee (CGC), created in accordance with Council
                                                                         Decision No 84/338/Euratom, ECSC, EEC of 29 June
                           Article 2                                      1984 (»).
The funds necessary for the execution of the programme
are estimated at 80 million ECU, including expenditure
on a staff of 13.                                                                                    Article 5
                           Article 3                                     This Decision shall apply from 1 July 1988 until 30 June
                                                                         1993.
In the third year of the programme implementation, the
Commission shall undertake a review. An evaluation will
be conducted before the end of the programme and in
the light of the objectives set out in Annex II.                         (') OJ No L 177, 4. 7. 1984, p. 25.
                                                                ANNEX I
                                                             PROGRAMME
             for the first multiannual action programme for biotechnology-based agro-industrial research and
                                                technological development (1988 to 1993)
             Aims
             The objective of the programme here proposed is to promote in Europe the useful application of recent
             developments in the life sciences and biotechnology. This shall be achieved by a programme of
             pre-competitive research and technical development projects and coordination activities, based on close
             collaboration between agriculture and industrial activities, and supported by training/mobility grants. The
             programme will contribute in the medium and longer terms to enhancing Europe's competitiveness in the
             economic activities which will be based on these developments.
             Conservation, enhancement of nature and environmental protection issues will be systematically taken into
             consideration in the execution of the programme.
             Content
             The programme shall consist of the following sectors:
             1. PRODUCTION AND EVALUATION TRIALS OF CANDIDATE SPECIES OR ORGANISMS
             2. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
             3. INTEGRATED APPROACHES
                1. PRODUCTION AND EVALUATION TRIALS OF CANDIDATE SPECIES OR ORGANISMS
                   shall consist of test trials at appropriate scale and under various conditions of novel or modified
                   species or organisms (plants, livestock, other) in order to test performance, pest resistance, input
                   requirements, and aspects relevant to suitability for industrial processing, animal nutrition and market
                   acceptability of the organism, its constituents, and the products derived from them with special
                   emphasis on the use of new biotechnological methods in the identification, characterization,
                   selection, modification, propagation, cultivation or other aspect of developing and appraising the
                   candidate organisms.
 ---pagebreak--- 5. 3. 88                                Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s                         No C 62/9
             2. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES shall consist of:
                2.1. more precise and effective inputs to agriculture through research and development work, based on
                     the use of life sciences and biotechnology, aiming at the creation of products and services for
                     use in agriculture, offering advantages in terms of precision, cost-effectiveness, enhanced plant
                     or animal performance, suitability for subsequent product processing and/or marketing, and
                     avoiding possible undesirable side effects; and
                2.2. more precise and effective extraction, transformation and production processes through research and
                     development work on methods to increase the use and value of agricultural produce, by
                     extraction, transformation or other processes, in industry or elsewhere, which by biotechno-
                     logical or other means make greater or more valuable use of the intrinsic properties of these
                     materials.
             3. INTEGRATED APPROACHES shall consist of:
                3.1. whole-crop harvesting, preservation and separation systems through trial systems to develop whole
                     plant harvesting and its fractionation into constituents appropriate for subsequent applications,
                     such system(s) to be of adequate scale to provide a basis for economic appraisals, and the
                     significant participation of industrial and agricultural interests. Priority to be given to projects
                     using new biotechnology; and
                3.2. studies and development projects for the integrated use of new technologies shall focus on the joint
                     exploitation of progress in biological knowledge and techniques in conjunction with new-tech-
                     nology-based agricultural systems.
         Implementation
         Implementation of the projects shall be through cost-shared research and development actions and coordi-
         nation activities. Training/mobility grants shall be included to facilitate the assembly of relevant skills at
         appropriate locations for the work of the projects, and to promote effective diffusion of the knowledge
         resulting from them. The programme shall also include the organization of meetings, consultation of
         experts, and diffusion of information on the progress and results of the projects.
                                                                 ANNEX      II
                                                     EVALUATION CRITERIA
         for the first multiannual action programme for biotechnology-based                            agro-industrial research and
                                             technological development (1988 to 1993)
         The Commission's communication to the Council concerning a Community plan of action relating to the
         evaluation of Community research and development activities for the years 1987 to 1991 (COM(86) 660
         final) states that the objectives and milestones of each research programme have to be set out in a testable
         form. The objectives and milestones of the above programme are set out below.
          1. The long-term objective of this programme is to contribute to the competitiveness of Europe's agri-
             culture and industries by improving the links between these two fundamental sectors of our economy.
             The Commission proposes to achieve this objective by launching this programme of pre-competitive
             development projects. The projects seek to promote the close collaboration between agricultural and
             industrial activities, by their participation in the research and technological development of the recent
             progress in the life sciences and biotechnology.
         2. The primary short term objective is that the programme should succeed in eliciting proposals, with
             commitments to co-finance from industry, for development projects on a scale commensurate with the
             Community resources proposed. This objective shall be testable in 1991 and 1992.
             At this time, the programme should also demonstrate its promotion and encouragement of inter-sectoral
             collaboration, across the Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 62/10                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                       5. 3. 88
           3. Particular objectives to be attained within three years of the programme implementation are as follows:
              3.1. that tests of new or modified species or organisms have been conducted, and have given grounds to
                   expect that these organisms, or the processes used to produce or modify them, represent progress
                   and could find applications;
              3.2. that tests have been conducted of new or modified products, techniques or services for use in
                   agriculture; that advantages in terms of precision, effectiveness, or the avoidance of possible
                   adverse side-effects have been indicated; and that as a result of the tests the products, techniques or
                   services have practical applications;
              3.3. that tests have been conducted of more precise and effective extraction, transformation and
                   production processes, applying biotechnological and/or other methods to an agricultural output;
                   and that as a result of the tests, the processes are useful;
              3.4. that through the programme, arrangements shall be organized between farming and
                   industrial/processing interests, and facilities or equipment created, modified or made available, to
                   test on one or more crops the technical feasibility of 'whole-crop harvesting', and that corre-
                   sponding measures of performance have been or are in the course of being defined, to provide a
                   basis for further system improvements, and a basis for decision on the replication and diffusion of
                   similar larger scale activities; and
              3.5. that studies have been financed and completed, and development projects supported, involving the
                   use in agriculture of new technologies (e.g. involving sophisticated detection/measurement/
                   recording techniques, information processing, automation of equipment and facilities), in
                   conjunction with the application of biotechnology; and that as a result of such studies and projects
                   new applications have been found.
           4. In addition, the programme should ensure that the following general criteria are met:
              4.1. that the potential increase in market opportunities, in medium or long-term, as a result of the
                   improvements or benefits demonstrated, is of a size to justify the Community expenditures
                   committed;
              4.2. taking account of the final reports on the biotechnology action programme which ends in
                   December 1989, and of the biomolecular engineering programme (1982 to 1986), and of the
                   evaluation report(s) on these programmes, consideration should be given to whether this
                   programme is in fact effectively promoting the transfer towards application of the results of the
                   earlier biotechnology (or biomolecular engineering) research programmes;
              4.3. that throughout the execution of the programme the projects should have taken into consideration
                   adequately the conservation, enhancement of nature and environmental issues;
              4.4. taking account of the results of Community, national or private sector research activities in biotech-
                   nology, the evaluation panel shall consider whether the 'Eclair' programme has contributed to the
                   application of the results of the said research activities in regions of the Community other than
                   those in which the research was conducted, and has produced added value attributable to the
                   Community character of the programme (i.e. not readily obtainable via Member State actions
                   alone).