CELEX: 51987PC0618
Language: en
Date: 1987-11-24
Title: REVISED PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION ON A COMMUNITY PROGRAMME IN THE FIELD OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES RACE ( R AND D IN ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS-TECHNOLOGIES IN EUROPE )

8. 2. 88                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 34/1
                                                              II
                                                      (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
             Amended proposal for a Council Decision on a Community programme in the field of
              telecommunications technologies — R & D in advanced communications technologies in Europe
                                                     (RACE programme)
                                                     COM(87) 618 final
              (Submitted by the Commission to the Council pursuant to the third subparagraph of Article 149 (2) of
                                              the Treaty on 26 November 1987)
                                                        (88/C 34/01)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                          the key role of telecommunications for the future political,
                                                                  social and economic development of the Community;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular Article 130Q (2)            Whereas on 17 December 1984 the Council agreed on the
thereof,                                                          main elements of a Community telecommunication policy in
                                                                  the field of advanced telecommunication services and
                                                                  networks involving actions at the Community level;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ( x ),
                                                                  Whereas, with the emergence of new services and the
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
                                                                  progressive convergence of telecommunications, data
Committee ( 2 ),
                                                                  processing and wider public services, the trend is towards a
                                                                  Europe-wide integrated broadband network (integrated
In cooperation with the European Parliament,                      broadband communication, IBC) capable of supporting a
                                                                  wide range of customers and service providers;
Whereas the Community has as its task, by establishing a
common market and progressively approximating the                 Whereas developments in telecommunications will benefit
economic policies of Member States, to promote throughout         the international competitiveness of the European economies
the Community a harmonious development of economic                in general and of the telecommunications industries in
activity and closer relations between the States belonging        particular;
to it;
                                                                  Whereas       the    option      selected     for    advanced
Whereas the Heads of State and Government, meeting in             telecommunications technologies must be such that it does
Stuttgart, Athens, Fontainebleau and Brussels, emphasized         not increase regional disparities in the Community; whereas
the importance of telecommunications as a major source for        the development of common specifications for equipment
economic growth and social development;                           and services is necessary but not sufficient to prevent further
                                                                  divergences in the regional development;
Whereas the European Parliament, in its assessment of the
situation and development of telecommunications, stressed         Whereas the development of the IBC offers a wide range of
                                                                  opportunities for small and medium sized companies in the
(>) OJ No C 304, 28. 11. 1986, p 2.                               manufacture of equipment and in the provision of specialized
(2) OJ No C 68, 16. 3. 1987, p. 22.                               services within the Community;
 ---pagebreak---  No C 34/2                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                      8. 2. 88
 Whereas, in response to the requirement of using fully the         and particularly in programmes involving cooperation
 economic and market potential of telecommunications, the           in research and development of telecommunications
 Commission has submitted a programme of action which has           technology;
 been recognized by the Council as a basis for further
 work;
                                                                    Whereas close coordination with Esprit is essential, since
                                                                    both programmes benefit from each other;
 Whereas cooperation in R & D and the development of
 standards can make a major contribution, notably by                Whereas good coordination with Eureka and /or other
 facilitating the evolution towards future IBC in terms of          European transnational cooperation projects and national
 transnational connections and also at regional and local           actions is essential to prevent duplication of effort;
 levels;
                                                                    Whereas during the RACE main phase, numerous decisions
Whereas the 'Single European Act' provides a new political          will have to be taken which are extremely relevant to
 and legal base for the development of a scientific and             consumers, whether private individuals or businesses, such
technological strategy with particular importance being             as those concerning the desired level of confidentiality and
given to the goal of promoting industrial competitiveness;          privacy of data transfer;
                                                                    Whereas one fundamental concern which has emerged from
Whereas the Research Council on 4 June 1985 recognized the
                                                                    the RACE definition phase is the lack of attention to the
importance of the rapid establishment of a definition phase
for the RACE programme, in order to prepare a general               consumer-oriented aspects of future telecommunications
                                                                    services; whereas quality requirements and costs are
European framework for the development of advanced
                                                                    associated problems in respect of which ongoing decisions
systems of communications for the future and to promote
                                                                    will have to be made during the RACE main phase; whereas,
technological and industrial cooperation;
                                                                    therefore, Parliament must be kept constantly informed of
                                                                    developments so that, where appropriate, it may
Whereas the Council adopted, by Decision 85/372/EEC( 1 ),           intervene;
the RACE definition phase of 18 months on which to base the
decision for the main programme by the end of 1986;                 Whereas the implementation of concerted acctions in the
                                                                    COST framework is an essential element to complement
                                                                    industrially-oriented R & D projects;
Whereas, by its Decision of 28 September 1987, the Council
has adopted a framework programme of Community
activities in the field of research and technological              Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research Committee
development (1987 to 1991) providing for research to be             (Crest) has expressed its opinion;
undertaken leading towards a large market and an
information and communications society, including
                                                                   Whereas, on the basis of results achieved, the programme
telecommunications;
                                                                    may be extended for a second period of five years, following a
                                                                   proposal from the Commission,
Whereas the constitution or consolidation of a specifically
European industrial potential in the technologies concerned
is an urgent necessity; whereas its beneficiaries must be
network operators, research establishments, undertakings,          HAS ADOPTED THE DECISION:
including small and medium-sized enterprises and other
bodies established in the Community which are best suited to
attain these objectives;
                                                                                               Article 1
Whereas the RACE definition phase has produced the
requisite conclusions;
                                                                    1.    A Community programme in the field of
                                                                   telecommunication technologies (RACE), is hereby adopted
Whereas the RACE Management Committee has carried out              for an initial period of five years commencing 1 June
an assessment and called for the necessary decisions to be          1987.
taken in time to ensure the follow-up of the work;
                                                                   2.     The programme is designed, in concertation with
                                                                   public and private actions in the field of telecommunications
Whereas it is in the Community's interest to consolidate the       technologies undertaken at national and international level,
scientific and financial basis of European research by means       to promote the competitiveness of the Community's
of the involvement to a greater extent of participants from        telecommunications industry, operators and service
European third countries in certain Community programmes           providers in order to make available to the final users, at
                                                                   minimum cost and with minimum delay, the services which
H OJ No L 210, 7. 8. 1985, p. 24.                                  will sustain the competitiveness of the European
 ---pagebreak--- 8. 2. 88                                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                   No C 34/3
economy over the coming decades and contribute to                      not all established in the same Member State. The invitation
maintaining and creating employment in the Community.                  to tender shall be published in the Official Journal of the
                                                                       European Communities.
                                                                       3.      In exceptional cases concerning projects indispensable
                             Article 2                                 for implementing key requirements of the workplan:
1.     The programme summary and objectives, as set out in             — where a proposal would involve:
more detail in Annex II, shall consist of three parts:                       (i) unreasonable burden on the participants,
                                                                                  particularly small and medium sized enterprises and
                                                                                  research establishments,
                                                                            (ii) only one independent industrial partner,
                              PARTI
                                                                           (iii) more than one independent industrial partner
IBC Development and implementation strategies shall                               established in the same Member State, or
comprise work required for the development of functional
                                                                       — where an open tendering procedure would be unjustified
specifications, systems and operations research towards the
definition of proposals for Open Systems-conforming(])                     on grounds of cost or efficiency, or
standards, concepts and conventions and analytical work                — where the amount of Community's contribution to the
serving the objective of establishing inter-operability for                cost does not exceed one million ECU,
IBC (2) equipment and services. This work is to be carried out
by appropriate organizations, groups and other bodies
including, where required, contract work.                              it may be decided, in accordance with the procedures laid
                                                                       down in Article 8, to depart from the general provisions set
                                                                       out in Article 3 (1) and (2).
                             PART II                                   4.      The contracts for all parts of the action programme
                                                                       shall be concluded with network operators, research
                                                                       establishments, undertakings, including small and
IBC technologies shall comprise R & D cooperation in IBC
                                                                       medium-sized enterprises, and other bodies established in the
technologies at the pre-competitive stage.
                                                                       Community.
                             PART III                                                              Article 4
Pre-normative functional          integration shall comprise
                                                                       Where framework agreements for scientific and technical
pre-normative and pre-competitive R & D relating to
                                                                       cooperation between non-Community European countries
cooperation in the realization of an 'open verification
                                                                       and the European Communities have been concluded,
environment' designed to assess functions, operational
                                                                       organizations and enterprises in these countries may, in
concepts and experimental equipment with respect to
                                                                       accordance with the procedure laid down in Articles 3 and 8 $
functional specifications and standardization proposals
                                                                       become partners to a project undertaken within the
arising from the work in Part I.
                                                                       programme.
                             Article 3                                                             Article 5
1.      Projects relating to the programme shall be executed,           1.     The funds estimated necessary for the Community's
where required, by means of shared cost contracts.                     contribution to the implementation of the programme
Contractors shall be expected to bear a substantial                    amounts to 550 million ECU over five years, including
proportion of the costs, which should normally be at least             expenditure on a staff whose costs shall not exceed 4,5 % of
50 % of the total expenditure.                                         the Community's contribution.
2.      The proposals for projects shall, as a rule, be submitted      2.      The internal and indicative allocation of these funds is
in reply to an open invitation to tender and involve the               set out in Annex I.
participation of at least two independent industrial partners
(') Open systems-conformity stands for an international
    standardization effort to make equipment and services from                                     Article 6
    different   suppliers, operators and service providers
    inter-operable.
(2) IBC = integrated broadband communication, which stands              1.     The Commission shall ensure that the programme
    for advanced telecommunication services relying on high             is properly performed and establish the appropriate
    performance infrastructures.                                       implementation measures.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 34/4                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                        8. 2. 88
2.      The Commission shall ensure close coordination with          The proceedings of the Committee shall be confidential. The
the Esprit programme, Eureka projects and/or other                   Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure. The
European transnational cooperation projects and national             secretarial services shall be provided by the Commission.
actions and the setting up of procedures to allow for
 appropriate cooperation with COST activities related to the
areas of research covered by the programme, by ensuring
regular exchanges of information between the Committee                                           Article 8
referred to in Article 7 and the relevant COST Management
Committees.                                                          1.     Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be
                                                                     followed, the chairman shall refer the matter to the
3.      The Commission shall establish for each year and             Committee, either on his own initiative or at the request of
update as required a draft workplan defining the detailed            one of its members.
objectives, the type of projects and actions to be undertaken
and the corresponding financial plans. The Commission                2.     Under this procedure, the representative of the
shall keep the Parliament informed of the progress of the            Commission, who acts as chairman, shall refer the draft of
draft workplans.                                                     the measures to be adopted to the Committee. The
                                                                     Committee shall deliver an opinion within a time limit which
4.      The procedure laid down in Article 8 shall apply to:         shall normally be one month and shall in no case exceed two
                                                                     months. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority
— the establishment and updating of the annual workplan              specified in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty for decisions which
     referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article,                     the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the
                                                                     Commission, the votes of the representatives of the Member
— any departure from the general conditions laid down in             States being weighted as indicated in that Article. The
     Article 3 (1) and (2),                                          chairman shall not vote.
— the evaluation of work undertaken in respect of each part
     of the programme by appropriate organizations, groups           3.     The Commission shall adopt the proposed measures
     and other bodies,                                               if they are in accordance with the opinion of the
                                                                     Committee.
— the assessment of the proposed projects for the
     implementation of Parts I and HI and the Community              If the proposed measures are not in accordance with the
     financial contribution for a project when this                  opinion of the Committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the
     contribution is in excess of 2,5 million ECU,                   Commission shall submit to the Council without delay a
                                                                     proposal. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.
— the assessment of the proposed projects for the
     implementation of Part II and the Community financial
     contribution for a project when this contribution is in         If the Council has not acted within a period which shall in no
     excess of five million ECU,                                     case exceed two months from the date on which the matter
                                                                     was referred to it, the proposed measure shall be adopted by
— the participation in any project by European                       the Commission for matters falling under Article 6 (4).
     organizations and enterprises not established in the
     Community.
5.      The Commission may consult the Committee referred                                        Article 9
to in Article 7, and shall consult it at the request of the
representatives of at least four Member States on any matter         1.     The programme shall be reviewed after 30 months on
falling within the scope of this Decision.                           the basis of an evaluation of the results achieved in relation to
                                                                     the precise objectives set out in Annex II to this Decision. The
                                                                     Commission shall inform the Council and European
                                                                     Parliament of the results of this review.
                            Article 7
                                                                     2.     If the Commission wishes to extend the programme it
The Commission shall be assisted in the performance of its           shall, after consulting the Committee, send a report on the
tasks by a Management Committee, hereinafter referred to as          operation and results of the programme to the Member States
'the Committee'. The Committee, consisting of two                    and to the European Parliament in good time. If no extension
representatives of each Member State, shall be set up by the         is required, this report shall be submitted at the end of the
Commission on the basis of nominations by the Member                 period under review.
States.
Members of the Committee may be assisted by experts or
advisors depending on the nature of the issues under                                             Article 10
consideration.
                                                                     With regard to the coordination activities provided for in
The Committee shall be chaired by a Commission                       Article 1 (2), the Member States and the Commission shall
representative.                                                      exchange all appropriate information to which they have
 ---pagebreak--- 8. 2. 88                                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                   No C 34/5
 access and which they are free to disclose concerning                                            Article 11
activities in the areas covered by this Decision, whether or
not planned or carried out under their authority.                     This Decision shall apply from 1 June 1987.
Information shall be exchanged according to a procedure to
be defined by the Commission after consulting the                                                 Article 12
Committee, and shall be treated as confidential at the
 suppliers' request.                                                  This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
               Amended proposal for a Council Decision relating to a research and development programme in the
                                 field of science and technology for development (1987 to 1991)
                                                         COM(87) 634 final
               (Submitted by the Commission to the Council pursuant to Article 149 (2) of the EEC Treaty on
                                                         27 November 1987)
                                                            (88/C 34/02)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                              Whereas the Intergovernmental Committee for Science and
                                                                      Technology for Development (ICSTD) during its eighth
                                                                      session, from 2 to 6 June 1986, adopted a resolution which
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                 invited industrialized countries to increase their research and
Economic Community, and in particular Article 130Q (2)                development efforts in the sector of agriculture and related
thereof,                                                              fields, including joint projects with developing countries;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ( ! ),
                                                                      Whereas developing countries have become aware of the
                                                                      place of science and technology in the process of economic
In cooperation with the European Parliament,                          and social development; whereas it is consequently
                                                                      important to facilitate the introduction of a scientific and
                                                                      technical dimension into the development activities of the
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social               Community;
Committee ( 2 ),
                                                                      Whereas the research and development measures covered by
Whereas, under Article 2 of the Treaty, the Community has
                                                                      this Decision relate to two particularly grave and urgent
in particular the task of promoting a harmonious
                                                                      problems, food and health, which are bound up with the
development of economic activities and continuous balanced
                                                                      fundamental needs of the developing countries;
expansion throughout the Community; whereas Article 3 of
the Treaty provides inter alia that, for the purposes set out in
Article 2, the activities of the Community shall include
                                                                      Whereas it is necessary to establish greater cooperation
increased trade and the joint promotion of economic and
                                                                      among scientists in the various Member States and the
social development in the developing countries;
                                                                      developing countries with a view to facilitating the
                                                                      complementarity of research and methodologies and
Whereas the resolution adopted by the Council on 18                   ensuring easier access to the different networks of scientific
November 1980 underlines the importance of the                        relationships established by the Member States with their
development of research capacities oriented particularly              third world partners;
towards food agriculture in the developing countries and of
complementarity between the activities of the research
centres established in the Community and the efforts                  Whereas the Council adopted on 14 January 1974 a
undertaken in this field by the developing countries;                 resolution on an initial outline programme of the European
                                                                      Communities in the field of science and technology ( 3 );
(») OJ No C 24, 31. 1. 1987, p. 9.
(2) OJ No C 150, 9. 6. 1987, p. 13.                                   (3) O J N o C 7 , 29. 1. 1974, p. 6.