CELEX: 51982PC0808
Language: en
Date: 1982-12-03
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION adopting an experimental community action to stimulate the efficacy of the European Economic Community's scientific and technical potential (presented by the Commission to the Council)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (82) 808
Vol. 1982/0244
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                              COM(82)808 final
                                              Brussels .      3 December 1982
                     PROPOSAL    FOR A COUNCIL DECISION
           adopting an experimental community action to stimulate
           the efficacy of the European Economic Community 's scien­
           tific and technical potential
                 ( presented by the Commission to the Council )
                                /TV Vii'J-l LLUir), «VX
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                          V -i.    n.                     *>/
     COM ( 82 ) 808 finalV;
                                                      : v
 ---pagebreak--- INTRODUCTION
       The Commission has demonstrated the need for and the value of a
community stimulation activity ( 1 ).    Whilst the Community possesses a
potential in Science and Technology , which is both considerable and
of high quality , the efficacy of R&D systems is rather limited .     In
particular the weakness of mobility factors , a distinct lack of jobs
for young graduates and , sometimes , the failure of structures to
adapt to changes in science and technology are some of the handicaps
which ought to be overcome .     The Council recognised that such an acti­
vity would be both useful and opportune , and invited the Commission
to place before it the fields of activity and the operational arran­
gements to be adopted for an experimental phase , which would make it
possible to try out the specific ways and means to be employed in such
an activity .
        In the light of the draft which was presented by the Commission ( 2 )
the Council ( 3 ) invited the Commission to submit to it a proposal for
a decision on an experimental stimulation action over two years .
        It is this which forms the subject of this communication .
( 1 ) C0M(81)574 final  : " Scientific and Technical research and the
      European Community : proposals for the 1980' s ( 12 October 1981 )
      COM ( 82)322 final : " Stimulating the Community 's scientific and
      technical potential " (8 June 1982 )
( 2 ) C0M(82)493 final " Stimulating the Community 's scientific and tech­
      nical potential - experimental phase 1983 " (4 August 1982 )
( 3 ) Conclusions of the 799th meeting of the Council ( 4.11.82 )
 ---pagebreak--- EXPERIMENTAL PHASE    19o3-1984
1 . Ob^ectives
    As the Commission made clear in a previous communication ( 1 ), these ,
    stimulation activities will call for appropriate procedures and in­
    tervention arrangements , which will need to be original by compari­
    son with the range of community approaches and resources which are
    available and which have been used for years to implement Community
    scientific and technical programmes .       It would be useful therefore ,
    as a first stage , to try out the procedures and operational arrange­
    ments specific to stimulation .
    The object of the experimental action is thus to test the methods
    of community stimulation , which are to be implemented and perfected
    on a reduced scale with illustrative interventions .
    In a certain number of fields , multi - or interdisciplinary activities
    carried out jointly at multinational level should make it possible
    not only to test the approaches and methods for stimulation , but
    also to stimulate the scientific competitiveness of the Community
    and to open up avenues of development which have a direct socio­
    economic value .
2 . Jhe_exgerjment a^_ st jmu^at2on_ a ct ion_and_t he_ F ramework_Prog ramme
    The stimulation action corresponds to one of the major goals of the
    Framework Programme .
    On the one hand it aims directly to reinforce the Community 's
    scientific competitiveness , and by the same token it has a fairly
    direct value so far as increasing economic competitiveness is con­
    cerned , or improving safety factors and the development of a dia­
    logue between the Community and Third World .
    ( 1 ) C0M(82)493 final " Stimulating the Community s scientific and
          technical potential - experimental phase 1983 " (4 August 1982 ).
 ---pagebreak--- On the other hand it provides an indispensable complementary factor
to programmed activities within the framework programme , allowing
the common strategy to preserve the flexibility , edge and speed of
action which is vital to it .
The stimulation activity has , by its very nature , a special place
in the framework programme .   In fact , since it aims to reinforce
the efficacy of R&D within the Community , stimulation is more based
upon the support of teams and upon " styles " of R&D ( multidi scip linary
and multinational ) than upon the development of research and develop­
ment activities .   Because of this it constitutes a non programmable
group of activities .
To end the isolation of mono-disciplinary research , to open it up
to the multinational , community dimension and to cross fertilisation ,
as well as exploiting promising new discoveries or responding to unfo­
reseen needs , all require a capacity to react to the new situations
which ccme up , as soon as they come up .
At the same time as an outline plan for stimulation , to form part of
Framework Programme for Community R&D activities is being prepared ,
ready for submission to the Council shortly , the proposed experimental
phase will lay the foundations for the sustained action which needs
to be adopted as one of the bases of the common strategy .
The content of the experimental phase has been defined according to
the basic goals of the future Framework Programme .
£isi^s_of_act i^jt^_and_ogerat2ona_l_ arrangements
Over 60 studies ( 36 of them in the context of the work of FAST ),
twenty conferences , seminers , meetings of groups of experts
( within or under the auspices of CERD ), national or Community level
reports ( PE or CES for example ), consultations at national or inter­
national level ( ESF , the Solvay Physics and Chemistry Institute ,
NATO ) and the national R&D policy confrontation exercice ( C0P0L )
have between them :
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        4.
- highlighted those factors which Limit the effectiveness of Euro­
  pean R&D systems and the extent to which they match up to today 's
  needs ,
- brought about an evaluation of the limits of national , interna­
  tional and Community action to boost this effectiveness and im­
  prove appropriateness ,
- established a wide range of multi sectoral and mult idi s cip linary
  areas where an international dimension is called for if they are
  to experience better scientific and technological development .
With this basis the Commission was able to think out , define and
propose a Community stimulation activity answering to the need for
greater scientific and technical progress within the Community .
The purpose of the experimental action is to test and refine the
specific operational methods which stimulation activities call for
by their very nature .  For , in this instance , the exemplary character
of the chosen field is just as important as its scientific interest
or the expected outcome of the stimulation activities which seem
appropriate to it .  From the large number of fields which might be
envisaged and which have been highlighted by the studies in prece­
ding years the Commission has thus selected seven ( see annexe ) which :
- are of unquestioned scientific value ( at a mult i sectora I , multidisci­
  plinary or Community level ) and where progress is hindered by
   constraints of the sort which it is hoped we can overcome ,
- make it possible to test and refine methods of stimulation intei–
  vention which seem appropriate for Community activity ,
- can be of interest to each of the ten national R&D systems ,
 ---pagebreak--- - are such that the significant methodological tests which are needed
     can be undertaken without too heavy a financial commitment , either
    in volume terms or over time ,
- are , finally , sectors in which , with the intervention methods which
    will be experimentally applied to them , it is reasonable   to look
    for notable scientific and technological results , which might even
    have direct implications in terms of valuable socio-economic develop­
    ments .
Of course if propositions are put forward which are even better from
the point of view of their exemplary qualities , and which have even
greater potential scientific and technical value , the Commission will
take them into account so far as resources permit it to do so .
The operational arrangements which have been adopted ( see annexe ) were
presented to the Council in detail on 4 August 19o2 ( 1 ).    They consist
of arrangements whose effectiveness has already been proved at national
and international     level .
CONCLUSION
The Commission requests the Council to adopt , on the basis of the
common orientation which was arrived at on 4 November 1982 , the atta­
 ched proposal for a decision so that the experimental action to test
the ways and means for community stimulation may be undertaken in
 1983 and 1984 .
 ( 1 ) C0M(82)493 final
 ---pagebreak---   PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION
          Adopting an experimental community action to stimulate the
          efficacy    of the European Economic Community 's
          scientific and technical potential
The Council of the European Communities ,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community , and in particular Article 235 thereof
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament ,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee ,
Whereas A rti cle 2 of the Treaty assigns to the Community the task,
inter-aliapf promoting throughout the Community a harmonious develop­
ment of economic activities , a continuous and balanced expansion and
an accelerated raising of the standard of living ; the activity
to be       performed to this end by the Community is set out in
Article 3 of the Treaty ;
Whereas , by its resolution of 14 January 1974 dealing with the coordina­
tion of national policies and the definition of activities with Commu­
nity interest in the field of science and technology , the Council en­
trusted the Commission with the task of defining activities of Community
interest and selecting the approaches and methods appropriate to the
implementation of these activities ;
 ---pagebreak---                                                                          û
Whereas the overa lL commum ty strategy derives from the conception and
implementation of a general Framework Programme for common scientific
and technical activities ;
Whereas amongst the fundamental goals proposed by the Commission for
the Framework Programme and favorably received by the Council of Ministers
on 8 March 1982 ,    that of " improving the Community 's scientific and
technical efficacy" calls for special modes of intervention ;
Whereas on 30 June 1982 the Council recognised the value of a
Community stimulation action to supplement existing national and
international activity ;
Whereas, accordi ng ly, it is appropriate to adont an experimental stimulation
action at this stage which will make it possible to define explicitly the
approaches for subsequent action , to be defined in a general Framework
Programme for common scientific and technical activities ;
w hereas the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community does not
provide the necessary powers for these purposes ;
 Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research Committee ( CREST ) has given
 an opinion on this matter ,
 HAS DECIDED AS  FOLLOWS
 ---pagebreak--- Arti c Le 1 .
            An experimental action to stimulate the efficacy of the European
            Economic Community 's scientific and technical potential , as set
            out in the Annex ,   is hereby adopted for a two-year period
           commencing on 1 January 1983 .
            The experimental action shall consist of activities with the pur­
            pose of testing approaches to and methods of stimulation in the
            Community , basically within the seven fields defined in the Annex-
Arti eie 2 .
            The amount            required to carry out the experimental activi­
            ties is estimated       7 million ECU ,    including expenditure on a
            staff of three .
Article 3 .
            The Commission shall be responsible for the implementation of the
            action , by means of research allocations , grants to help laboratory
            twinning , development contracts , grants to assist research teams ,
            seminars and courses .    It shall be assisted in this task by an
            advisory committee ( CODEST : Committee for the
            European Development of Science and Technology ) which it snail set
            up for the purpose , made up of eminent personalities in the field
            of science and technology , of recognised standing , active    "> n
            national research and development systems and aware of national
            policies , as well as by a group of ' consultants .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                              10 .
Arti ele 4 .
          The Commission shall undertake a methodological evaluation at the
           end of the first year of the experimental activity .   The report
                       on   this evaluation shall be transmitted to the Council
           and to the European Parliament .
Article 5 .
          The results of implementation of the action
          shall be disseminated pursuant to Regulation ( EEC )
          No 2380 / 74 of 17 September 1974 adopting provisions for the disse­
          mination of information relating to research programmes for the
           European Economic Community .
          ( 1 ) 0J No L 255,    20.9.1974 , p. 1
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        η ..
ANNEXE TO THE PROPOSAL FOR A DECISION .
Experimental action dealing with the stimulation of the Community 's
scientific and technical potential
The experimental action will relate to activities of a multi or
interdiscip linary nature for which joint working at multinational
level is necessary or preferable .
The programme of action is set out as follows :
1 . Three kinds of activity are to be given priority support :
    - activities for which the joining up ( whether mono or interdis­
        ciplinary ) of research teams is beneficial or indispensable .
      Union within a discipline would be an attempt to bring together
      teams working within the same discipline but in different coun­
      tries .  Such collaboration should , in certain cases , make it
      possible to attain the critical mass which is needed in order for
      the creativity of each team to take off .   Interdisciplinary
      union would seek to link teams working within different disciplines ,
      often located in different countries .   Both methods aim to exploit
      the richness of methods and results now dispersed throughout
      Europe ,
    - activities enabling the promotion of high quality teams which
      because of the novel nature of their work , do not yet benefit
      from the support which their worth , and the potential value of
      their work , would seem to justify ,
    - activities leading to a strengthening of the communication and
      diffusion of information within the scientific and technical
      system .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        12 .
    These activities would involve in the main the following seven
    areas   :
    - pharmacobiology : application of new developments in cellular
      and molecular biology ,
    - solid state physics : structure phenomena and processes of fabri­
      cating composite materials ,
    - optics : application of modern techniques of mathematical ana­
       lysis to various problems in the field of optics ,
    - combustion : approach to ignition phenomena ( behaviour of mate­
      rial under combustion conditions ),
    - photometry / photoacousti cs : application to the field of non
      destructive analysis ,
    - interface phenomena ,
    - climatology : transitory phenomena .
2.  In these fields different kinds of    illustrative stimulation acti­
    vities are to be tried out : research allocations , laboratory
    twinning , seminars or workshops , subsidies for research teams .
    On the other hand a specific project of a mult idi scip I inary nature
    will be started up , to enable joint working by teams in different
    countries to bring it to successful conclusion .
5 . The choice of stimulation activities and the scientific and tech­
    nical teams involved will be made as follows     :
        the Commission will inform the national scientific and technical
        communities of opportunities for Community intervention in the
        selected fields ,  and in the expectation of receiving tenders ,
 ---pagebreak---                                                                     13 .
      T lie selection of tenders will be made by the Commission
      which , with the assistance of the Committee for the European
      Development of Science and Technology ( LODEST ), will make use
      of a " peer review" system to judge the scientific and technical
      merit of the activities proposed and the quality of the teams
      putting them forward .   The interventions chosen will possess a
      multinational character ( mobility of researchers from one coun­
      try to another , teams made up of researchers from various
      countries of the Community , projects carried out jointly by
      various teams in various countries of the Community , etc     )
      and will involve activities of the type set out in para . 1 of
      this annex .
      These activities will be complementary to and cbherent with
      Community scientific and technical activities carried out
      elsewhere .
4 . A group of studies , consultations , surveys , seminars etc ..,
    carried out in collaboration with the scientific and technical
    community will make it possible to analyse and evaluate the
    scientific and technical needs and opportunities with a view to
    specifying the content of the annual stimulation plans incorpo­
    rated in the Framework Programme .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                        H.
FINANCIAL    RECORD
1.    Budget line : 7'5'o2
1 . 1 . Title of t he a ct l on :
        Stimulating the efficacy of the European Communiti 's scientific
        and technical potential .
2.    Legal Basis : article 235 of EEC Treaty
                     Council decision dated
3.    Description of the action
      The stimulation action consists of carrying out various activities
      of an incentive nature
      - research allocations      :
        payment of an allowance to cover travel , lodging and research
        expenses of scientists who , during a stay at a foreign laboratory
        ( within the EEC ) are to make use of new knowledge to carry out
        research into a complex problem ; or the provision of complementary
        support to a sub-critical team ,
     - workshops , seminars :
        contribution to the dissemination of the best available knowledge
        and the development of contacts between researchers ,
     - twinning of laboratories in different countries :
        making it possible for researchers in various countries oi the
        Community who are working in parallel in an advanced field to get
        together and thus reach " critical " numbers; in order to do this
        it will be necessary to grant subsidies making it possible for
        researchers to meet , carry out joint experiments and exchange results ,
 ---pagebreak--- - the development of multich scip linary and multinational operations :
    to make it possible , via development contracts , to bring together
   the best available skilled persons in various countries and various
   disciplines in order to achieve a pre-determined objective .
The experimental action 1984-1987 will be a test and pilot experiment
phase for these new activities .     Its objective will be :
- set up the structures and procedures for defining and selecting
   activities and interventions ;
- set up and calibrate the intervention mechanisms , making use of
    specific examples by developing some limited scale experiments .
Justification for the action
The Council resolutions of 14 January 1974 , clarified at the Council
meeting of 20 December 1079 assigned precise tasks to the Commission
so far as the common scientific and technical policy was concerned .
In its response to the mandate of 30 May 1980 the Commission under­
 lined its desire to develop the Community 's scientific research and
technology in order to improve the contribution they can make to res­
ponding to the major socio-economic challenges of the day .
In its proposals for the 1980 's ( C0M(81)574 final ) the Commission
considered that it was important to round off and strengthen its
RD programme policy by means of an activity " to stimulate scientific
efficacy and develop specific projects of common interest ".
The Council then , on 9 November 1981 , requested the Commission to put
forward specific proposals for stimulating the efficacy of the Euro­
pean Research system and for promoting mobility among researchers .
The European Council of 26 and 27 November 1981 confirmed these re­
quests .
 ---pagebreak---      The Council of 30 June 1982 invited the Commission to put forward
     to it the fields of activity and the operational arrangements to
     be selected for an experimental phase which would make it possible
     to test the ways and means specific to such an action .
     The Council of 4 November 1932 adopted a common orientation with a
     view to taking a decision relating to an experimental phase lasting
     two years ( 1933-1984 ) for which the amount of funds required has
     been estimated to be 7 Mioecu .
5.   Financial implications
5. 1 .  Mature of the expenditure
         . Studies , seminars , workshops , conferences
         . Research allocations
         . Laboratory " twinning "
         . a development contract for a multidi scip linary and multina­
           tional project the outcome of which is intended to be a pre­
           viously specified result .
5. 2.   Total cost
         . 7 Mioecu , financed 100% from the Communities budget
5. 3.   Method of   calculation
        a ) staff expenditure
            The staff proposed for this action comprises three officials
            ( 2A + 1C ); the annual staff cost would be 180,000 ecus ( inclu­
            ding reserve ) or 360,000 ecus for 1983 and 1984 .
 ---pagebreak--- b ) operating costs of CODEST and the network of consultants .
    Methodological evaluation of the system .
    These costs are assessed at 170,000 ecus per year , or
    340,000 ecus for 1933-1984 , made up principally of expenses for
    organising meetings and administrative support .
c ) Expenditure on contracts :
    The expenditure anticipated is 6,300 ,0000ecus to be spent on
    the activities carried out ( cf . item 3 ) according to the follo­
    wing table :
      research allocations                            1,900,000 ecus
      laboratory    twinning . support for joint
      working                                          1 ,900,000 ecus
      the pooling by specialists in various
      countries of bodies of available know­
      ledge in several fields , the bringing
      together of which is needed to solve a
      given problem ( workshops , studies ,
      conferences )                                       500,000 ecus
    . implementation of a scientific and
      technical project with a predetermined
      objective and for which an overall body
      of multidisciplinary and multinational
      work is required                                2,000,000 ecus
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                             1o -
1) .      1 . Multiannual expenchture timetable :
                                  Commitment appropriations ( ecus )
                 Type of expenditure                     1983                        1984
                  Staff                                 180.000                    180.000
                  Admini st rat i on                    170.000                    1 70 . 000
                  Contracts                         4 . 650 . 000              1 . 650.000
                                   Payment appropriations
                  Type of
                                              1983                     1934               1985
                  expendi ture
                  btaf f                    180.000                    180.000
                  Admini strat ion          170.000                  . 170.000
                  Cont ra et s            2.650.000               1 . 650.000     2.000.000
     5 . 4 . Financing of expenditure
              Appropriations to be entered under the budgets for the years 1983 -
              1 9<iA - 1985 .
     6.  Control
         a ) Financial control : to be undertaken by the relevant commission
              services , particularly by the DG for financial control , to ensure
              that the expenditure has been incurred in a regular and correct
              manner .
         b ) Scientific control : to be undertaken by the relevant Commission
              services , the scientific consultative committee ( CODEST ) and
              according to general evaluation procedures for community R&D acti­
              vities .