CELEX: 31988D0419
Language: en
Date: 1988-06-29 00:00:00
Title: 88/419/EEC: Council Decision of 29 June 1988 on a programme plan to stimulate the international cooperation and interchange needed by European research scientists (1988 to 1992) (Science)

No L 206 / 34                                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                         30 . 7 , 88
                                                            COUNCIL DECISION
                                                                of 29 June 1988
                        on a programme plan to stimulate the international cooperation and interchange needed by
                                             European research scientists ( 1988 to 1992) (Science)
                                                                 ( 88 / 419 / EEC )
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                                      Whereas the stimulation of cooperation and exchange
                                                                               between European research laboratories in universities and
                                                                               in public and industrial institutions contributes to the
                                                                               achievement of a researchers' Europe while aiming to
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                          reduce the gap on the scientific and technical level between
Economic Community , and in particular Article 130Q (2)                        the various Member States of the European Community
thereof,                                                                       and being consistent with the pursuit of scientific and
                                                                               technical quality ;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (*),
                                                                               Whereas it is necessary to put existing scientific potential to
In cooperation with the European Parliament (2 ),                              good use at both the human level and that of institutions;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social                        Whereas       it   is  important     to   improve    access     to
                                                                               communication networks and scientific and technical
Committee ( 3 ),
                                                                               information ;
Whereas by Decision 85 / 197 / EEC (4 ), the Council                           Whereas there exists a need to maintain close links with
adopted a first plan to stimulate European scientific and
technical cooperation and interchange ;                                         complementary activities undertaken by the European
                                                                                Science Foundation and the Council of Europe ;
Whereas Article 130K of the Treaty provides for the
                                                                                Whereas it is in the Community's interest to involve third
 implementation of the framework programme to be carried                        countries and international organizations in certain
 out by means of specific programmes developed within                           Community programmes and particularly those
 each activity ;
                                                                                programmes contributing to the overall European scientific
                                                                                infrastructure ;
 Whereas Article 130G (d) provides for the stimulation of
 the training and mobility of researchers in the                                Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research Committee
 Community ;
                                                                                ( Crest) has been consulted on the following measures ,
 Whereas the Community framework programme should
 play its part in contributing to strengthening the scientific
 and technological infrastructure and potential in all                          HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION :
 Member States of the Community ;
 Whereas Council Decision 87 / 516 / Euratom / EEC of                                                       Article 1
 28 September 1987 concerning the framework programme
 for Community activities in the field of research and                          A programme plan to stimulate the international
 technological development ( 1987 to 1991 ) ( 5 ) includes the                  cooperation and interchange needed by European research
  stimulation , enhancement and use of human resources                          scientists , hereinafter referred to as the 'Stimulation plan' is
  amongst the activities it provides for;                                       hereby adopted for a five-year period commencing on
                                                                                 1 January 1988 .
  (') OJ No C 14, 19 . 1 . 1988 , p. 5 .                                                                     Article 2
  ( 2 ) OJ No C 68 , 14 . 3 . 1988 , p. 52 and OJ No C 187 ,
        18 . 7 . 1988 .
  ( 3 ) OJ No C 35 , 5 . 2 . 1988 , p. 5 .
                                                                                 The summary of the stimulation plan and its objectives
  («) OJ No L 83 , 25 . 3 . 1985 , p. 13 .                                       together with the operational arrangements for
  ( 5 ) OI No L 302 , 24 . 10 . 1987 , p. 1 .                                    implementing the plan are set out in the Annex.
 ---pagebreak---    30 . 7 . 88                           Official Journal of the European Communities                               No L 206 / 35
                            Article 3                                2. These agreements, which are founded on the criterion
                                                                    of mutual advantage, shall be concluded by the Council,
   The funds estimated as necessary for the execution of the        deciding by qualified majority, in cooperation with the
   stimulation plan amount to 167 million ECU , including           European Parliament .
   expenditure on a staff of 18 .
  The Community financial support awarded to stimulation                                      Article 6
  activities shall constitute 100 % of the cost of these
  scientific and technical cooperation and interchange              The Commission shall address a report to the Council and
  actions .                                                         to the European Parliament after 30 months on the basis of
                                                                    an evaluation of the results so far achieved. This report
                                                                    shall be accompanied by suggestions for changes which
                                                                   may be necessary in the light of these results .
                           Article 4
  1 • The Commission shall undertake the implementation            After the completion of the plan , the Commission shall
  of the stimulation plan by means of research bursaries,          send to Member States and the European Parliament a
  research grants, grants for high-level courses, contracts        report on the performance and results of the plan.
 encouraging the twinning of laboratories and operations
 contracts including equipment and accompanying measures
 where appropriate. It shall be assisted by the Committee          The abovementioned reports will be carried out in relation
 for the European Development of Science and Technology            to the precise objectives set out in Annex II to this Decision
 (Codest), set up pursuant to Decision 82 / 835 / EEC H ,          and in accordance with Article 2 (2) of the framework
 and by consultants .                                              programme set out in Decision 87 / 516 / Euratom / EEC .
 2 . The contracts drawn up by the Commission shall show
                                                                                             Article 7
 the rights and obligations of each party, particularly the
 methods of disseminating, protecting and exploiting the
 research results and of making any reimbursement that             This Decision shall apply with effect from 1 January
                                                                   1988 .
 may be necessary of the funding given .
                                                                                             Article 8
                           Article 5
                                                                   This Decision is addressed to the Member States .
1 . The Commission is authorized to negotiate in
accordance with Article 130N of the EEC Treaty,
agreements with international organizations, with those
countries participating in European cooperation in the field       Done at Luxembourg, 29 June 1988 .
of scientific and technological research (COST) and with
those European countries having concluded framework                                                     For the Council
agreements in scientific and technological cooperation with
the Community with a view to associating them wholly or                                                  The President
partly with the programme.                                                                             H. RIESENHUBER
 ---pagebreak--- No L 206 / 36                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                         30 . 7 . 88
                                                                   ANNEX
                                               Objectives and summary of the stimulation plan
             1 . The stimulation plan consists of a range of activities selected on the basis of their scientific and technical
                 quality , which have as their aim the establishment of a network of scientific and technical cooperation and
                 interchange at European level which will gradually be extended. The overall objective is to improve the
                 efficacy of scientific and technological research in all the Member States and to contribute thereby to the
                 reduction of scientific and technical development disparities between the different Member States of the
                 European Community. It covers all fields of science and technology (the exact and natural sciences).
                 Whilst the stimulation plan therefore aims to improve the overall scientific and technical quality of research
                 and development in all Member States of the Community , its specific objectives are to:
                 — promote training through research and, by means of cooperation , the better use of high level researchers
                      in the Community ,
                 — improve the mobility of research scientists of the Member States of the Community ,
                 — develop and support intra-European scientific and technical cooperation on high-quality projects ,
                 — promote the setting-up of intra-European cooperation and interchange networks with a view to
                      reinforcing the overall scientific and technical competitivity of the Community and thereby
                      strengthening its economic and social cohesion .
             2 . The objectives set out above will be achieved by means of support measures for research scientists , teams of
                 research and development organizations to ensure the harmonious scientific and technical development of
                 the Community. These will take the following forms:
                 — Research bursaries
                      Financial support granted to scientists to enable them to acquire additional training by participating in a
                      research project in a laboratory in a Community country other than their own for a period of at least
                      one year and at most two years .
                 — Research grants
                      These cover the cost to the laboratories concerned of the transfer or secondment of a research scientist
                      from one Community country to another , either to allow a scientist to be taken on in a team in a
                      country other than his own or to enable a science graduate to specialize before joining a university or
                      industrial research laboratory .
                      Depending on the type of scientist and the purpose of the research allocation , it may take different
                      forms :
                      — funding to enable a research scientist to make short stays ( from 15 days to two months) in a foreign
                          country within the Community to carry out specific experiments in a particular scientific or technical
                          facility not available in his own country ,
                      — funding to cover the costs associated with mobility (travel , subsistence , insurance , removal , etc.),
                          the research work and possibly the salary of a scientist seconded to or incorporated in a research
                          team in a country (in the Community) other than his own , for a period of at least six months and at
                          most three years ,
                      — funding to cover the costs associated with the mobility and research work of a scientist taken on in
                          industry , who goes to follow a lengthy training course (from one to three years) in a public sector
                          laboratory in a foreign country (within the Community),
                      — subsidies for high-level training courses: financial support granted to a body offering a specialized
                          high-level course held within a Member State so that it can accept scientists from different
                           Community Member States to give them additional training or enable them to retrain for other
                           functions .
 ---pagebreak--- 30 . 7 . 88
                                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                      No L 206 / 37
                          Twinning of laboratories in different countries
                          This enables researchers who are working in isolation in an advanced field in several Community
                         countries to bring their efforts together, without coming into one laboratory, and thus encouraging the
                         formation of a research team exceeding the necessary 'critical size'. Funding is granted to allow the
                         researchers to meet, to carry out joint experiments, to exchange results, to add to their equipment or to
                         strengthen their teams by temporarily taking on other scientists, preferably from a different country.
                    — Development of multidisciplinary, multinational operations
                         This would, by virtue of the financial resources made available, enable the associated research teams to
                         have enough resources (including equipment) and be able to bring together the best expertise available
                        in different countries and disciplines, in order to achieve a predetermined objective or to undertake
                        jointly a predetermined scientific task in the framework of an S/T cooperation 'network'.
                        In addition, the plan will be complemented by sectoral incentive measures: research bursaries, research
                        grants and subsidies financed in the framework of each of the Community research and development
                        programmes following the agreement of the appropriate Management and Coordination Committee
                        ( LCJL).
              3 . Measures to stimulate interchange and cooperation apply to all fields relevant to the exact and natural
                   sciences , such as:
                   — mathematics ,
                   — physics,
                   — chemistry,
                   — life science,
                   — earth sciences and ocean sciences,
                   — scientific instrumentation,
                   — engineering sciences.
             4. In the fields in which support will be granted, multinational projects to benefit from the Community
                  support measures will be chosen essentially on the basis of their quality, the extent to which they are
                  multidisciplinary in content, their innovative aspects and their value in terms of breaking down barriers
                  between different forms of research and development in all parts of the Community. Where scientific and
                  technical quality is comparable, particular attention will be given to projects likely to reduce scientific and
                  technical development disparities between Member States and thereby to contribute to economic and social
                  cohesion within the European Community.
            5. The choice of stimulation incentive measures and the teams concerned will be made by the Commission
                  which, with the help of the Committee for the European Development of Science and Technology (Codest)
                  will make use of a peer review system. The Commission will see to it that there is consistency between the
                  Stimulation activity and programmed Community R&D activities.
            6. The Commission will at the same time undertake a series of consultations, surveys and seminars with the
                 cooperation of Community scientific and technical circles in order to analyse and evaluate scientific and
                 technical needs and opportunities, with the aim of providing more detail to the content of the stimulation
                 plan .
                 The Commission will cooperate closely with the national authorities to ensure consistency between these
                 activities and national policies on research stimulation .
            7. In order to evaluate the scientific and/or technical quality of requests for support, as well as to analyse
                 scientific and technical opportunities and needs or to assess projects which have been financed or the
                 activity itself, the Commission may call upon expertise from outside its own staff