CELEX: 51989PC0090
Language: en
Date: 1989-02-24
Title: RE-EXAMINED PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION TO ADOPT A FIRST PLAN TO SUPPORT AND FACILITATE ACCESS TO LARGE-SCALE SCIENTIFIC FACILITIES OF EUROPEAN INTEREST

25. 7. 89                             Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 188/11
                                                                II
                                                       (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
              Re-examined proposal for a Council Decision to adopt a first plan to support and facilitate
                                access to large-scale scientific facilities of European interest
                                               (COM(89)    90 final — SYN 93)
               (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (2) (d) of the EEC Treaty on 23 February
                                                              1989)
                                                        (89/C 188/14)
                                                            PARTI
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                            Having regard to the opinion of the Scientific and
                                                                    Technical Research Committee (CREST) on the
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European               Commission proposal,
Economic Community, and in particular to Article 130q
 (2),
                                                                    HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
In cooperation with the European Parliament,                                                  Article 1
                                                                    An experimental Community plan to support and
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                    facilitate access to scientific and technical facilities and
Social Committee,                                                   installations situated in the Community hereinafter
                                                                    referred to as the 'plan' — as defined in the Annex — is
Whereas the terms of Article 130 k of the Treaty provide            hereby adopted for a four-year period commencing on
that implementation of the framework programme be                    1 January 1989.
carried out by means of specific programmes developed
within each of the action lines;
                                                                                              Article 2
Whereas Council Decision 87/516/Euratom/EEC of 28                   1.     The plan consists of temporary financial support
September 1987 (') adopting the multiannual framework               measures designed to facilitate access to and thereby
programme 1987 to 1991 includes the use of major                    develop the exploitation of large-scale scientific facilities
installations amongst the activities it provides for;               situated in the European Community.
Whereas one of the objectives of the Community R&D
efforts for 1987 to 1991 is to promote better use of human          2.     To achieve this objective, the Community will
resources in the Community as a whole and to improve the            provide financial support for operations chosen on the
utilization of large-scale scientific and technical instal-         basis of their scientific and technical quality. Such ope-
lations through the addition of a European dimension;               rations, which will be selected in conformity with the
                                                                    procedure laid down in Article 3 of the present Decision,
                                                                    must be based on joint proposals from the institutions or
Whereas the present plan whilst being consistent with the           bodies responsible for the facilities and from the
pursuit of scientific excellence will help to improve the           scientists or research workers wishing to acquire access
Community's competitiveness in the field of research and            to them.
at the same time strengthen economic and social
cohesion in the Community;
                                                                    3.     Community financial support for the operations
Whereas the Commission will ensure that the research                will be used to contribute as necessary to:
carried out under this plan falls solely within the scope
of the EEC Treaty, even in cases where the facility or
installation used may not be wholly or partially covered
by that Treaty;                                                     (l) OJ No L 302, 24. 10. 1987.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 188/12                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                      25. 7. 89
— the operating costs of the facilities and, if necessary,                within a time limit which the chairman may lay down
    the cost of adaptations and/or special features to                    according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by
    meet the objectives set out in paragraph 1,                           taking a vote.
— incidental expenditure arising from the operations,                     The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in
                                                                          addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask
— expenditure incurred by the scientists or research                      to have its position recorded in the minutes.
    workers including expenditure on mobility and travel.
                                                                          The Commission shall take the utmost account of the
4.    The scientists or research workers acquiring access                 opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform the
to a facility as a result of Community financial support                  committee of the manner in which its opinion has been
under this plan shall be nationals of a Member State of                   taken into account.
the European Community. Financial support under this
plan shall only be granted to provide access to a
                                                                                                   Article 4
scientific facility for scientists or research workers not
normally enjoying access to the facility in questions.                    The funds estimated as necessary for the execution of
                                                                          the plan amount to ECU 30 million including expen-
5.    The Commission shall notify the Council and the                     diture on a staff of three.
Parliament, within a maximum period of three months
from their selection, of the list of beneficiaries (scientific                                     Article 5
installations and researchers) of the plan.
                                                                          The Commission shall address a report to the Council
6.    The precise objectives of the plan, together with its               and to the European Parliament after 30 months on the
detailed modalities for implementation, are set out in                    basis of an evaluation of the results so far achieved. This
Annex I.                                                                  report shall be accompanied by suggestions for changes
                                                                          which may be necessary in the light of these results.
                             Article 3
                                                                          After completion of the plan, the Commission shall send
1.    The Commission             shall   be    responsible      for       to the Council and the European Parliament a report on
implementing the plan.                                                    the performance and results of the plan.
2.    The Commission shall be assisted by a committee                     The abovementioned reports should be prepared in
of an advisory nature composed of the representatives of                  relation to the precise objectives set out in Annex I to
the Member States and chaired by the representative of                    this Decision and in conformity with the provisions of
the Commission.                                                           Article 2 (2) of the framework programme.
3.    The representative of the Commission shall submit                                            Article 6
to the committee a draft of the measures to be taken.
The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft,                     This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
                                                                  ANNEX
                                       OBJECTIVES AND IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES
              The plan takes the form of a number of temporary financial support measures, aimed at encouraging access
              to large-scale scientific and technical installations within the Community. It is of potential benefit to all
              researchers in the physical biological sciences who are nationals of one of the Community Member States.
              1. Objectives
                  The precise objectives of the plan take the following form:
                  — to encourage access by researchers who are nationals of Community Member States to major
                     scientific and technical installations within the Community to which they would not normally enjoy
                     access,
 ---pagebreak--- 25. 7. 89                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                      No C 188/13
             — to increase training opportunities available to European researchers so as to enable them to make
                 better use of major scientific and technical installations,
             — to develop the use of large-scale scientific and technical facilities within the Community, where
                 necessary by adaptation and/or the addition of special features.
          2. Potential beneficiaries
             Community financial support may be made available to:
             — any organization within the Community which possesses major scientific and technical equipment or
                 an installation of interest to the physical and biological sciences,
             — any researcher or engineer who is a national of one of the Community Member States and is
                 currently working in a public or private sector laboratory in one of the Member States. All fields of
                 the physical and biological sciences are eligible.
          3. Procedural arrangements
             3.1. Call for proposals and selection procedure
                  (a) The Commission will publish a call for preliminary proposals from organizations or groups of
                      organizations within the Community having one or more major scientific and technical instal-
                       lations with experimental and/or test facilities which could be made available to scientists or
                      research workers who have hitherto been unable to use them.
                      The Commission will also ensure that scientists and research workers who could potentially
                      benefit under the plan from access to the facilities in question are informed of the possibilities
                      likely to become available.
                      The preliminary proposals received from those responsible for the large-scale facilities should
                      be accompanied by a written statement of interest expressed by potential new users.
                      All information related to the call for proposals and selection procedures will be published simulta-
                       neously in all Community languages, with the aim of ensuring conditions of equal participitation in
                      all the countries of the European Community.
                  (b) The Commission will draw up a draft preselection list of preliminary proposals to be retained.
                      The committee referred to in Article 3 will be informed of the proposals received and will give
                      an opinion on the draft preselection list according to the procedure set out in Article 3 (3). The
                      Commission will then establish a preselection list of facilities which will be published in the
                       Official Journal of the European Communities.
                  (c) On the basis of the preselection list, the Commission will ask for joint proposals from the
                      installations and potential users concerned. The Commission may, if necessary, assist in the
                      organization of meetings between those responsible for the installations and potential users
                      (financing of joint meetings, etc.).
                  (d) The Commission will submit the list of joint proposals received to the committee, which shall,
                      in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 3 (3), give an opinion on the operations
                      with a view to financial support from the plan. The Commission will then proceed to the final
                      selection of the operations to benefit from Community support.
             3.2. Choice of installations to receive Community support
                  Criteria of selection
                  The assessment of the value of Community support will be based upon an evaluation of the
                  proposal put forward, on the basis of the following criteria:
                  (a) Quality of the facility:
                      — specific characteristics,
                      — originality or uniqueness,
                      — up-to-dateness,
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 188/14                            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                25. 7. 89
                       — range of experiments or tests possible,
                       — backup and technical support available;
                  (b) Interest shown by potential users:
                       — priority will be given to researchers from Member States other than that in which the major
                           installation is situated.
                  (c) Cost/benefit ratio of Community support:
                       — the number and quality of opportunities made available at the facility in return for
                           Community support;
                  (d) Value to the Community:
                       — importance of the facility in respect of the Community's overall scientific and technical
                           potential,
                       — value of the experimental opportunities made available in terms of achieving the
                           Community's scientific and technical objectives (potential links with sectoral R&D
                           objectives),
                       — value of the facility in terms of strengthening the scientific and technical potential of certain
                           countries or regions of the Community.
             3.3. Mechanisms for giving Community support to selected installations
                  The Commission will conclude an agreement with the recipient organization or institution which
                  will set out:
                  — the level of Community funding,
                  — the uses to which it may be put, including a quantification of the opportunities for access to
                      visiting scientists,
                  — the obligations imposed upon the recipient organization.
                  The obligations imposed on the recipient organization include, inter alia:
                  — enabling the use of the equipment and installations forming the subject of the agreement at no
                      extra charge by researchers not belonging to the recipient organization or institution, this being
                      for a fixed period of time over the year,
                  — ensuring access by visiting scientists to the scientific and technical back-up services on site.
                  The contracts will also specify:
                  — the payment from Community funds to visiting scientists and research workers of all eligible
                      expenditure covered by the plan,
                  — the methods by which the results arising from research carried out under the agreement are to
                      be protected, disseminated and exploited.
                  Finally, the Commission will, in cooperation with the installations concerned, take all appropriate
                  measures to ensure the best possible implementation of the operations selected (programming, avai-
                  lability of machine time, etc.).
 ---pagebreak--- 25. 7. 89                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                   No C 188/15
             3.4. Implementation report
                   At the end of each year of Community support, the beneficiary organization or institute will make
                   a report to the Commission upon the use to which the funds awarded to them were put, and the
                   results arising from the use which outside researchers made of the facilities made available to them
                   in the context of the agreement signed with the Commission.
                                                             PART II
          Comment of the Commission on the amendment of Parliament which is not accepted by the
                                                           Commission
          1.     During its meeting of 15 February 1989, the European Parliament, in its second reading
          of the common position on the plan to support and facilitate access to large-scale scientific
          facilities of European interest, adopted the attached amendment.
          2.     The Commission can not accept this amendment because of the following reasons:
          The amendment refers to the annual budgetary procedures and has been tabled repeatedly. The
          Commission believes that this amendment is not necessary as Article 130, of the EEC Treaty
          already covers this issue.
                                                             ANNEX
                                Amendment of Parliament which is not accepted by the Commission
          Amendment No 7
                                                             Article 4
          The funds estimated as necessary for the execution of the plan amount to ECU 30 000 including
          expenditure on a staff of three.
          Each year, as part of the annual budgetary procedure, the Commission shall propose to the Budgetary
          Authority that these funds be allocated to the title covering the programme in accordance with the real
          needs for the financial year in question and the financial estimates contained in the Interinstitutional
          Agreement.