Document ID: 31994D0918

COUNCIL DECISION of 15 December 1994 adopting a specific programme for research and technological development, including demonstration, to be carried out for the European Community, on the one hand,. by the JRC and, on the other, by means of activities within the framework of a competitive approach and intended for scientific and technical support to Community policies (1995 to 1998) (94/918/EC
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130i (4) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas, by Decision No 1110/94/EC (4), the European Parliament and the Council adopted a fourth framework programme of Community activities in the field of research, technological development and demonstration (RTD) for the period 1994 to 1998, specifying inter alia the activities to be carried out by means of direct action, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, by means of activities within the framework of a competitive approach and intended for scientific and technical support to Community policies; whereas this Decision takes account of the grounds set out in the preamble to that Decision;
Whereas Article 130i (3) of the Treaty stipulates that the framework programme shall be implemented through specific programmes developed within each activity under the framework programme and that each specific programme shall define the detailed rules for its implementation, fix its duration and provide for the means deemed necessary.
Whereas the RTD activities carried out by means of direct action are conducted by the Joint Research Centre (JRC); whereas these activities consist of institutional research activities for which the JRC has expertise and special, if not unique, facilities in the Community and institutional, scientific and technical support activities which necessitate the neutrality of the JRC;
Whereas other scientific and technical support activities necessary for the formulation and implementation of Community policies and which do not necessitate the neutrality of the JRC will be implemented by the Commission within the framework of a competitive approach and in the context of a customer/contractor relationship;
Whereas the amount deemed necessary for carrying out the direct action is ECU 600 million and the amount deemed necessary for the scientific and technical support activities within the framework of a competitive approach is ECU 128 million; whereas the appropriations for each financial year shall be laid down by the budgetary authority, subject to the availability of resources within the financial perspectives and the conditions set out in Article 1 (3) of Decision No 1110/94/EC;
Whereas the content of the fourth framework programme for Community RTD activities was established in accordance with the subsidiarity principle; whereas the specific programme specifies the content of the activities to be carried out in accordance with this principle by way of direct actions and of activities within the framework of a competitive approach and intended for scientific and technical support to Community policies;
Whereas Decision No 1110/94/EC lays down that a Community action is justified if, inter alia, research contributes to the strengthening of the economic and social cohesion of the Community and to the promotion of its overall harmonious development, while being consistent with the pursuit of scientific and technical quality; whereas this programme is intended to help meet these objectives;
Whereas this programme may make a significant contribution to the stimulation of growth, to the strengthening of competitiveness and to the development of employment in the Community, as indicated in the White Paper on Growth, competitiveness and employment; whereas it is therefore necessary to promote the prenormative research activities considered to be necessary under other Community policies;
Whereas, as part of the direct action, the scientific and technical activities to support Community policies should remain consistent with the requirements of these policies for the duration of the implementation of this programme;
Whereas the JRC may also take part in the indirect action carried out under the other specific programmes in the same way as third parties situated in a Member State or an associated State;
Whereas the Commission must ensure that research activities carried out as part of the direct and the indirect actions respectively are complementary;
Whereas the JRC may also take part, on a competitive basis, in any other activity implemented by the Community and carry out research on behalf of third parties;
Whereas exploratory research should be encouraged;
Whereas the JRC may contribute to the implementation of Community activities, in particular in the fields of information technologies, industrial and materials technologies, standards, measurement and testing, agriculture and fisheries, environment and climate, non-nuclear energy, targeted socio-economic research, the dissemination and utilization of the results of the research activities, and technology transfer;
Whereas the JRC, with its laboratories and installation, can make an effective contribution to the training and mobility of researchers, and whereas, to this end, cooperation should be encouraged in all the Member States between laboratories and public and private scientific institutes;
Whereas the JRC may contribute to other European research activities, including Eureka; whereas the JRC should be better integrated into networks or consortia with partners in all the Member States, in both its institutional and its competitive activities; whereas it should, in particular, be a driving force in improving links between research laboratories and institutes in all regions of the Community;
Whereas account should be taken of the fact that the EFTA Member States which are parties to the EEA Agreement may participate fully in this specific programme;
Whereas it may be appropriate to engage in international cooperation activities with international organizations and third countries for the purpose of implementing this programme;
Whereas an analysis should be made of possible socio-economic consequences and technological risks associated with the programme;
Whereas progress with this programme should be continuously and systematically monitored with a view to adapting it, where appropriate, to scientific and technological developments in this area; whereas in due course there should be an independent evaluation of progress with the programme so as to provide all the background information needed in order to determine the objectives of the fifth RTD framework programme; whereas at the end of this programme there should be a final evaluation of the results obtained with the objectives set out in this Decision; and whereas the conclusions of these evaluations should be submitted to the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee;
Whereas the Board of Governors of the JRC plays an important role in the operation of the Centre and in the implementation of its activities;
Whereas the objective of the competitive support activities is to meet requirements which arise during the implementation of Community policies; whereas, therefore, to ensure maximum flexibility, the Commission must be able to take the action needed to adapt these activities;
Whereas the Commission will determine the responsibilities, in particular as regards the grant of the financial resources provided for in these activities, according to the field of activity concerned; whereas the resources will be granted on a competitive basis;
Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research Committee (Crest) has been consulted,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
A specific programme of research and technological development activities to be carried out:
- on the one hand by the JRC, mainly through direct action, and
- on the other, by means of activities suited to a competitive approach and intended for scientific and technical support to Community policies
is hereby adopted for the period from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 1998.
Section I: Direct action (JRC)
Article 2
1. The direct action consists of institutional research activities and institutional scientific and technical support activities.
2. The institutional research activities, as described in Annex IA, are those for which the JRC has expertise and special, if not unique, facilities in the Community which contribute to the implementation of the RTD policy of the Community. They shall be carried out in such a way as to ensure their complementarity with the corresponding indirect action contained in the other specific programmes of the fourth framework programme.
3. The institutional scientific and technical support activities, as described in Annex IB, are the activities necessary for the formulation and implementation of Community policies and the tasks assigned to the Commission under the Treaty which necessitate the neutrality of the JRC.
Article 3
1. The JRC shall participate in the implementation of Community action on research, technological development and demonstration in the fields of information technologies, industrial and materials technologies; standards, measurement and testing; environment and climate; agriculture and fisheries, non-nuclear energy; and targeted socio-economic research and through its exploratory research activities.
2. It shall also participate in the implementation of Community action on the dissemination and optimization of the results of Community research, technological development and demonstration activities.
Article 4
1. The operational budget of the JRC under this programme is ECU 600 million.
2. An initiative breakdown of this amount is given in Annex II.
3. The budgetary authority shall lay down the appropriations for each financial year, subject to the availability of resources within the financial perspectives and in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 1 (3) of Decision No 1110/94/EC, taking into account the principles of sound management referred to in Article 2 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities.
If additional funding is approved in accordance with Article 1 (3) of the decision on the framework programme, the JRC will receive a share proportional to its share of the present overall amount for the fourth framework programme, provided that, after evaluation, the European Parliament and the Council consider that the JRC is making satisfactory progress towards increased openness to competition.
Article 5
1. The general rules for the Community's financial contribution are laid down in Annex IV to Decision No 1110/94/EC.
2. Annex III sets out the specific rules for implementing this programme, supplementary to those referred to in paragraph 1.
Article 6
The Commission shall be responsible for the implementation of the direct action and, to this end, shall call upon the services of the JRC. The Commission shall be assisted by the Board of Governors of the JRC (hereinafter referred to as the Board of Governors) in this task.
Article 7
1. In order to help ensure, inter alia, the cost effective implementation of the activities, the Commission, assisted by the Board of Governors, shall continually and systematically monitor progress on the implementation of the direct action in relation to the objectives set out in Annex I. It shall assess in particular whether the objectives, priorities and financial resources are still appropriate to the changing situation. It shall, if necessary in the light of results of the monitoring process, submit proposals to Council to adapt or supplement the institutional research activities. With regard to the institutional scientific and technical support activities, the Commission will, if necessary, make adaptations to ensure that they are consistent with the requirements of the relevant Community policies.
2. The Commission shall each year before 15 April submit to the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee a report on the implementation of the activities of the JRC. This report shall be accompanied by the comments of the Board of Governors as contained in its annual report. The latter may also submit, through the Commission, to the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee a separate report on any aspect of the implementation of the JRC's activities.
3. In order to contribute towards the evaluation of Community activities, as required by Article 4 (2) of Decision No 1110/94/EC and in compliance with the timetable laid down in that paragraph, the Commission, after consulting the Board of Governors, shall have an external assessment conducted by independent experts of the activities carried out by the JRC within the areas covered by this programme and their management during the five years preceding this assessment. The results of this assessment shall be submitted to the Council, the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee.
4. At the end of this programme, the Commission, after consulting the Board of Governors, shall have an independent final evaluation carried out of the results achieved compared with the objectives set out in Annex III to the fourth framework programme and Annex I to this Decision. The final evaluation report shall be forwarded to the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee.
Article 8
In order to ensure effective coordination between the JRC's institutional research activities and the other activities provided for in the fourth framework programme, systematic exchanges of views will be held between the JRC, including the Board of Governors, and the committees for the specific programmes with due regard to their respective responsibilities.
Article 9
The Commission, assisted by the Board of Governors, may, on the basis of the criterion of mutual benefit, request the JRC to execute projects with legal entities established in third countries where this contributes effectively to the implementation of the JRC's institutional activities. Participation of legal entities from third countries shall not benefit from Community financing under this programme.
Section II: Activities within the framework of a competitive approach and intended for scientific and technical support to Community policies
Article 10
The scientific and technical support activities necessary for the formulation and implementation of Community policies and which do not necessitate the neutrality of the JRC will be implemented by the Commission within the framework of a competitive approach and in the context of a customer/contractor relationship. These activities are described in Annex IV.
Article 11
1. The amount deemed necessary for the implementation of the activities covered by this section is ECU 128 million.
2. An indicative breakdown of this amount is given at Annex V.
3. The budgetary authority shall lay down the appropriations for each financial year, subject to the availability of resources within the financial perspectives and in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 1 (3) of Decision No 1110/94/EC, taking into account the principles of sound management referred to in Article 2 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities.
Article 12
1. The general rules for the Community's financial contribution are laid down in Annex IV to Decision No 1110/94/EC.
2. The rules for the participation of undertakings, research centres and universities, and for the dissemination of results are specified in the measures envisaged in Article 130j of the Treaty.
3. Annex VI sets out the specific rules for implementing this programme, supplementary to those referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.
Article 13
1. The Commission shall continuously and systematically monitor progress with this section of the programme in relation to the requirements of Community policies. It shall in particular assess whether the objectives, priorities and financial resources are still appropriate. It shall, where appropriate, take action to adapt these activities depending on the results of this monitoring process.
2. At the beginning of each year the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council with information on the activities carried out during the previous year, and the work programme for the current year.
Article 14
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 15 December 1994.

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