CELEX: 51989PC0557
Language: en
Date: 1989-11-21
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION ADOPTING A SPECIFIC RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IN THE FIELD OF TRANSPORT ( EURET ) 1990 - 1993

20. 12. 89                            Official Journal of the European Communities                            No C 318/5
              Proposal for a Council Decision adopting a specific research and technological development
                                programme in the field of transport (EURET) 1990-1993
                                              COM(89) 557 final — SYN 226
                           (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 28 November 1989)
                                                       (89/C 318/05)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                        Whereas small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
                                                                 should be involved as far as possible in developing new
                                                                 transport technology; whereas account should be taken
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
                                                                 of their particular needs without prejudice to the
Economic Community, and in particular Article 130q (2)           scientific and technical quality of the programme;
thereof;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
                                                                 Whereas the transnational nature of the programme
                                                                 should be emphasized by selecting research projects
In cooperation with the European Parliament,                     involving at least two partners from two different
                                                                 Member States;
Having regard to the opininon of the Economic and
Social Committee,
                                                                 Whereas Community transport technology may be
Whereas Article 130k of the Treaty provides that the             enhanced by the participation — under appropriate
framework programme shall be implemented through                 conditions — of organizations and undertakings from
specific programmes developed within each activity;              non-member countries in Europe which have concluded
                                                                 cooperation agreements with the Community relating to
                                                                 scientific and technical research and development;
Whereas by its Decision 87/516/Euratom, EEC ('), the
Council has adopted a framework programme of
Community research and technological development
(1987-1991), providing, inter alia, for activities in the        Whereas an estimate must be made of the total
field of transport;                                              Community financing required for this programme;
                                                                 whereas this amount appears in the financial perspective
Whereas, for the selection of Community actions, the             set out in the Annex to the Interinstitutional Agreement
framework programme sets out criteria among which is             of 29 June 1988 (2); whereas the funds actually available
that of contributing to the strengthening of the economic        will be determined in the budgetary procedure in
and social cohesion of the Community, consistent with            accordance with that Agreement;
the pursuit of scientific and technical quality;
Whereas completion of the internal market will require           Whereas the Scientific and Technical             Research
the transport system as a whole to meet the increased            Committee (CREST), has been consulted,
demand for the carriage of goods and persons, and to do
so as efficiently, economically and with as little damage
to the environment as possible and in a manner bene-
fiting the least favoured regions;
                                                                 HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Whereas technological innovation can make an
important contribution to the efficiency and competi-
tiveness of the various modes of transport and can                                         Article 1
improve their safety and reduce their negative environ-
mental impact;                                                   A specific research and technological development
                                                                 programme for the European Economic Community in
Whereas cooperation in research enables progress to be           the field of transport, as defined in the Annex, is hereby
made towards the standardization, compatibility and, in          adopted for a period of four years, from 1 March 1990.
some cases, unification of transport networks;
(!) OJ No L 302, 24. 10. 1987, p. 1.                             (2) OJ No L 185, 15. 7. 1988, p. 33.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 318/6                           Official Journal of the European Communities                               20. 12. 89
                         Article 2                             The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a
                                                               different decision within the time limit referred to in the
 1.   The total Community expenditure considered               previous paragraph.
necessary for the implementation of the programme is
ECU 25 million, including expenditure for a staff of six
persons.                                                                                 Article 7
                                                               The procedure laid down in Article 6 shall apply:
2.    The budget authority shall determine the funds
available for each year.                                       — to the evaluation of the proposed projects and of the
                                                                    estimated amount of the Community's financial
                         Article 3                                  contribution;
Detailed rules for the implementation of the programme         — to the definition of appropriate procedures for the
and the rate of the Community's financial participation             exchange of information proveded for in Article 9;
are set out in the Annex.
                                                               — to the participation in any project or scheme by
                         Article 4                                  European organizations and undertakings under the
                                                                    conditions provided for in Article 10.
 1.   In the third year of the implementation of the
programme, the Commission shall undertake a review of                                    Article 8
the programme and it shall report to the Council and the
European Parliament on the results thereof, together, if       The contracts enterd into by the Commission shall
necessary, with any proposals for modification or              regulate the rights and obligations of each party,
prolongation.                                                  including the methods of disseminating, protecting and
                                                               exploiting the research results.
2.    An evaluation of the results achieved shall be
conducted by the Commission, which shall report                                          Article 9
thereon to the Council and the European Parliament.
                                                               In respect of the activities provided for in Article 1, the
3.    The reports referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall      Member States and the Community shall exchange all
be established having regard to the objectives set out in      relevant information available to them and which may be
the Annex hereto and in conformity with the provisions         divulged, in the fields covered by this Decision, whether
of Article 2 (2) of Decision 87/516/Euratom, EEC.              or not the activities in question are planned or carried
                                                               out under their authority.
                         Article 5
                                                               The information shall be exchanged in accordance with
The Commission shall be assisted by a committee
                                                               the procedure laid down in Article 6; at the request of
composed of the representatives of the Member States
                                                               the interested party such information shall be deemed
and chaired by the representative of the Commission.
                                                               confidential.
                         Article 6
                                                                                        Article 10
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The              1.    The Commission is authorised to negotiate, in
committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a      accordance with Article 130n of the Treaty, agreements
time limit which the chairman may lay down according           with international organizations, those non-member
to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be             countries participating in European cooperation in the
delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of      field of Scientific and Technological Research (COST)
the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is       and those European countries which have concluded
required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission.           framework agreements for scientific and technical
The votes of the representatives of the Member States          cooperation with the Community, with a view to asso-
within the committee shall be weighted in the manner set       ciating them wholly or partly with the programme.
out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.
                                                               2.     Where framework agreements for scientific and
The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply          technical cooperation between non-member countries in
immediately. However, if these measures are not in             Europe      and    the   European      Communities     have
accordance with the opinion of the committee, they shall       been concluded, organizations and undertakings estab-
be communicated by the Commission to the Council               lished in those countries may participate in a project
forthwith. In that event:                                      undertaken within this programme.
The Commission may defer application of the measures                                    Article 11
which it has decided for a period of not more than one
month from the date of such communication;                     This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- ^0 1^ ^                                            CO^c^l]ourn^lo^rii^Euro^^nCornrriLin^n^                                                        ^oC31^B7
                                                                                A ^ ^ ^ L
                                                                             t    ODJe^ves
        Completion of the internal market is inconceivable without a Community transport system capable of
        responding to the resulting increase in demand, in volume and qualitative terms, for all types of transport
        TheCommissionemphasizedthis point i n i t s c o m m u m c a t i o n t o t h e C o u n c i l o n m a k i n g a s u c c e s s o f the
        Single European Act ^CCO^t^) 100),pointing out t h a t ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ c ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ r ^ c ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
        ^ut policies and legislation will not be enough without technical progress to follow them up or if
        n o n E u r o p e a n c o u n t r i e s g a m most f r o m t h e e ^ t r a boost totechnicalmnovation
        Against thisbackground,researchwith a n a d d e d C o m m u m t y d i m e n s i o n , contributing towards thestan
        dardizationof equipment and systemsanddirectedtowardscommonob^ectivesis vital
        tn this content, E O ^ E T has three main objectives
        — optimum network exploitation
        — logistics
        — reduction of harmful externalities
            Until the early t^^Os financial resources were the only limit to infrastructure building Things have
            changed since then Although demand will keep growing steadily for the foreseeable future, the limit to
            expansion of the infrastructure network has been reached besides even greater financial difficulties than
            in the past, saturation point is steadily being reached as it becomes harder and harder tofmd room for
            new infrastructure and the resistance to the damage wrought on the environment intensifies
            tt is therefore essential to make full use of the infrastructure already in place
            Considerable research is being done in this field,eg the t0^.1VE programme based on the idea that,via
            modern dataprocessing and telecommunications systems, vehicle drivers can receive advice, warnings,
            information about road conditions and the best route to take, etc Some of the work being done under
            the EO^oE^A programme is ofasimilar kind Existing and future technology makes this idea perfectly
            feasible
            r^owever,the same arguments apply equally strongly to other modes where there is^ust as much need
            a n d c h a n c e o f progress and w h e r e C o m m u m t y r e s e a r c h m u s t b e b r o u g h t t o b e a r i n the same way to
            keep to the Commumty^sconstant objective of e^ual treatment for all modes of transport
            E o r t h i s r e a s o n , a n d m v i e w o f t h e l a c k o f funds currentlyavailable,theprogrammeconcentrates on
            priority research only
            l u s t a s t h e h m i t s t o e ^ p a n s i o n o f themfrastructurecallforoptimumnetworke^ploitanon, changesin
            production processes and trade in turn call for new methods of managing the vehicle fleet, or transport
            logistics^
            These new services will affect first the duality demanded and second the vehicles deployed to satisfy this
            demand C^ualityof serviceembracesspeed,punctuahty,safety and, now, information, particularyon
            the location of goods Concerning the position of vehicles different techi^ues are under examination in
            t h e f r a m e w o r k o f the tO^tVEprogramme Transport is becoming an integral part of the production
            process, w i t h c a r n e r s e ^ p e c t e d t o p r o v i d e acomple^ wider rangmgservice, mcludinghandhng, stock
             management and order processing
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 318/8                              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                20. 12. 89
               Hauliers now play a greater role in organizing deliveries from a freight services centre with the aid of a
               network of consignors and consignees. The traditional modal split is giving way to a broader, more
               complex approach including every mode and looking beyond more physical movement of goods.
            3. Reduction of harmful externalities
               Transport has many adverse side-effects which must be reduced.
               The scale and severity of the accidents reported bear witness to the importance of safety and working
               conditions in the transport sector. Other modes of transport are just as dangerous. Rail accidents are,
               fortunately, much rarer, but the recent spate serves as a reminder to remain on the alert and never to
               become complacent.
               Air transport has achieved a level of safety which makes flying one of the safest methods of travel; yet it
               still presents considerable risks. Air crashes happen rarely but, when they do, they leave no escape for
               large numbers of passengers. Jumbo jet crashes claim hundreds of victims. It is worth mentioning that,
               between 1984 and 1988, an average of 940 persons per year died in aircraft accidents — and this figure
               does not include deaths caused by terrorist attacks, hijackings, etc. The numbers involved are very small
               compared to the total number of passengers carried, but they could be reduced even further.
               Shipping, too, has its share of accidents — and these can also be very serious, particularly in terms of the
               damage they cause to the environment.
               Finally, transport is one of the chief sources of pollution. Car exhausts are to blame for almost half the
               gaseous pollution in towns and cities. Although much is known about their carbon dioxide and
               monoxide content, very little has been discovered about the oxides of nitrogen. Every mode of transport
               is noisy. Road traffic may be the most all-pervading, but railways too are very noisy, not to mention
               airports. All the developed countries, particularly in the Community, spend heavily on pollution
               abatement. It is important to use these sums more efficiently.
               Some of the research directed at optimum network exploitation and logistics is helping to tackle these
               problems. Improved air and shipping traffic management also helps, and the main aim of the DRIVE
               programme is to improve road safety.
               However, more specific research is required. Most work needs to be done and many projects deserve
               support. Only those having the highest priority are included in the EURET programme.
                                                               2. Priority themes
           EURET covers eleven research topics, grouped into three subprogrammes which correspond to the
           programme's three objectives.
           1. Optimum network       exploitation
               — Cost-benefit and multi-criteria analysis for new road construction;
               — European rail traffic management conception;
               — Design and assessment of a vessel traffic management system;
               — Trials in automated air/ground data exchange for air traffic management systems in Europe;
               — Study on the controller working position in air traffic management systems in Europe.
           2. Logistics
               — Economic scenario and demand projections for freight transport of the Community;
               — Economic and technical research of the transfer of goods. Design and evaluation of rapid transfer;
 ---pagebreak--- 20. 12. 89                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                   No C 318/9
              — Optimization of manpower in maritime transport;
              — Taking human factors into consideration in man/ship system.
           3. Reduction of harmful externalities
              — Improved methods for evaluating the road safety of car and trailer trains;
              — Assessment of the driving safety of possible truck and trailer combinations.
                                                          3. Implementation
           The programme shall be implemented by means of: shared-cost research contracts, concerted actions and
           assessments.
           The programmes are open to universities, research organizations and industrial companies, including small
           and medium-sized enterprises, individuals, or any combination thereof established in the Community. As a
           rule projects must be transnational.
           The association and involvement of non-member countries, international and national organizations will be
           founded on the criterion of mutual advantage. In the case of European non-member countries, their asso-
           ciation and involvement will be made possible through the COST system and through the bilateral
           framework agreements with EFTA countries.
           For shared-cost contracts, the Community participation will generally be 50 % of the total expenditure, but
           this percentage may be varied according to the nature and the stage of development of the research. In
           respect of universities and research institutes carrying out projects, the Community may bear up to 100 %
           of the additional expenditure involved.