51994PC0068(05)

Proposal for a Council Decision adopting a specific research and technological development programme in the field of standards, measurement and testing (1994-1998) (94/C 228/05) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(94) 68 final - 94/0083 (CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 30 March 1994)

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,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Whereas, by Decision . . ./. . ./EC, the Council and the European Parliament adopted a Fourth Framework Programme for Community activities in the field of research, technological development and demonstration (RTD) for the period 1994-1998 specifying inter alia the activities to be carried out in the field of standards, measurement and testing; whereas this Decision takes account of the grounds set out in the preamble to that Decision;

Whereas Article 130I(3) of the Treaty specifies 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 resources deemed necessary;

Whereas this programme will be carried out mainly through shared-cost activities, concerted actions, preparatory, accompanying and supporting measures and specific measures;

Whereas, in accordance with Article 130I(3), an estimate should be made of the financial resources needed to carry out this Specific Programme; (whereas the final amounts will be decided upon by the budgetary authority in accordance with the relative priority assigned to the areas covered by this programme within the first activity under the Fourth Framework Programme);

Whereas this programme may make a significant contribution to growth, competitiveness and employment as indicated in the White Paper on growth, competitiveness and employment (1),

Whereas Decision . . ./. . ./EC (Fourth Framework Programme) lays down that the overall maximum amount of the Fourth Framework Programme will be re-examined by 30 June 1996 at the latest with a view to its being increased; whereas, as a consequence of this re-examination, the amount deemed necessary to carry out this programme could increase;

Whereas developments in the field of measurement and testing contribute to the growth of industrial competitivity by facilitating scientific research and technical innovation;

Whereas the operation and consolidation of the Single Market requires continuous development of harmonized measurement systems, test methods and written standards and the mutual recognition certificates of conformity;

Whereas the uniform application of the Community legislation in fields such as the common agricultural policy, health and safety, the environment, consumer protection and protection of the Community's external frontiers can only be achieved by using improved methods of measurement and testing;

Whereas the content of the Fourth Framework Programme for Community RTD activities was established in accordance with the subsidiarity principle; whereas this Specific Programme specifies the content of the activities to be carried out in accordance with this principle in the field of standards, measurement and testing;

Whereas Decision . . ./. . ./EC (Fourth Framework Programme) lays down that Community action is justified if inter alia the research helps to reinforce the economic and social cohesion of the Community and to encourage its harmonious development while at the same time meeting the objective of scientific and technical quality; whereas this programme is intended to help meet these objectives;

Whereas this programme and its implementation will help to strengthen synergy between the RTD activities carried out in the field of standards, measurement and testing by research centres, universities and enterprises, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, in the Member States and between in the latter and the corresponding Community RTD activities;

Whereas the rules for the participation of undertakings, research centres (including the JRC) and universities and the rules governing the dissemination of research results specified in the measures provided for in Article 130 J of the Treaty apply to this specific programme;

Whereas, in accordance with Article 130 M of the Treaty, it may be appropriate to engage in international cooperation activities with international organizations and third countries other than the countries covered by the European Economic Area Agreement (EEA), for the purpose of implementing this programme;

Whereas this programme also comprises activities for the dissemination and utilization of RTD results, in particular vis-à-vis small and medium-sized enterprises, and in particular those in Member States or regions which participate least in the programme, and activities to stimulate the mobility and training of researchers within this programme to the extent necessary for proper implementation of the programme;

Whereas provision should be made for measures to encourage the involvement of SMEs in this programme, in particular through technology promotion measures;

Whereas fundamental research in the field of measurements must be encouraged with the objective of promoting a European metrology infrastructure;

Whereas an assessment should be made of the economic and social impact and any technological risks associated with the activities carried out under this programme;

Whereas progress with this programme should be continuosly 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 within 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 compared with the objectives set out in this Decision;

Whereas the JRC may participate in the indirect activities covered by this programme;

Whereas the JRC will also contribute, through its own programme, to the attainment of the Community RTD objectives in the areas covered by this programme;

Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research Committee (CREST) has been consulted.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

A specific research and technological development programme in the field of standarfs, measurement and testing, as set out in Annex I, is hereby adopted for the period from (date of adoption of this programme) to 31 December 1998.

Article 2

1. The amount deemed necessary for carrying out the programme is ECU 167 million, including 10,9 % for staff and administrative expenditure.

2. An indicative breakdown of this amount is given in Annex II.

3. The amount deemed necessary for carrying out the programme, as indicated above, could increase as a result of and in accordance with the Decision referred to in Article 1(3) of Decision . . ./ . . ./EC (Fourth Framework Programme).

4. The budgetary authority shall determine the appropriations available for each financial year in accordance with the scientific and technological priorities set in the Fourth Framework Programme.

Article 3

Detailed rules for implementing this programme, in addition to those referred to in Article 5, are set out in Annex III.

Article 4

1. The Commission shall continually and systematically monitor, with appropriate assistance from independent, external experts, the progress within this programme in relation to the objectives set out in Annex I. It shall in particular assess whether the objectives, priorities and financial resources are still appropriate. Where appropriate, it shall submit proposals to adapt or supplement this programme depending on the results of this monitoring process.

2. In order to contribute to the global evaluation of Community activities foreseen by Article 4(2) of the Decision adopting the Fourth Framework Programme, the Commission shall, in due course, instruct independent experts to carry out an evaluation of the activities in the fields directly covered by the present programme and of their management during the five years prior to the evaluation.

3. At the end of this programme, the Commission shall instruct independent experts to conduct a final evaluation 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 Council, the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee.

Article 5

1. A work programme shall be drawn up by the Commission in accordance with the objectives set out in Annex I and shall be updated where appropriate. It shall set out in detail the scientific and technological objectives and specifies the stages in the implementation of the programme as well as the proposed financial arrangements.

The work programme may also provide for participation in certain activities within the Eureka framework.

2. The Commission shall issue calls for proposals for projects on the basis of the work programme.

Article 6

1. The Commission shall be responsible for the implementation of the programme.

2. In the cases provided for in Article 7(1), the Commission shall be assisted by an advisory committee consisting of representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission.

The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a proposal for the measures to be taken. The committee shall give its advice on the proposals, within the timescale set by the president in view of the urgency of the matter concerned, if necessary proceeding to a vote.

The advice shall be written in the minutes; in addition, each Member State has the right to ask that its position is recorded in the minutes.

The Commission shall take into account to the greatest extent possible the advice given by the committee. It shall inform the committee of the manner in which it has taken account of this advice.

Article 7

1. The procedure laid down in Article 6(2) shall apply to:

- the establishment and implementation of the programme of work foreseen in Article 5(1),

- the evaluation of RTD projects proposed for a financial contribution of the Community when the estimated amount of the contribution to a project is greater than 0,25 million Ecu;

- the measures to be undertaken to evaluate the programme;

- all adjustment of the indicative breakdown shown in Annex II, not having been made the object of a budgetary decision.

2. The Commission shall inform the Committee, at each of its meeting, of the progress with the implementation of the programme as a whole.

Article 8

The Commission is authorized to negotiate, in accordance with Article 228(1), international agreements with European third countries with a view to involving them in all or part of the programme.

Article 9

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

(1) COM(93) 700 final, 5. 12. 1993.

ANNEX I

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES AND CONTENT

1. GENERAL

This specific programme fully reflects the broad lines of the Fourth Framework Programme, and applies the selection criteria and spells out the scientific and technical objectives set out in that programme.

Paragraph 2.d of Annex III (first activity) of the Framework Programme is an integral part of this programme.

2. SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH PROGRAMME IN THE FIELD OF STANDARDS, MEASUREMENTS AND TESTING

Sound, reliable measurements, be they physical, chemical or biological in nature, are essential to the functioning of modern society. Without them, industries, particularly high technology ones, cannot operate, trade is impaired by disputes, health care becomes empirical and legislation, ranging from environmental and worker protection to the operation of the common agricultural policy and the Single Market, cannot be successfully implemented. For these reasons advanced industrial nations spend up to 6 % of their gross national product on measurements and measurement-related operations. Community action directed towards the establishment of harmonized systems of measurements, reference materials and written standards is thus fully in line with the principles of subsidiarity and cohesion and supports the aims of the Commission's White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment.

With access to accurate measurements, and their associated uncertainty statements, industry, particularly in high technology fields, gains the tools it needs to develop new products and process effectively or to implement the in-process controls and quality assurance procedures necessary for them to be competitive. As few products are assembled from components manufactured within a single company, the existence of a common measurement and testing infrastructure, backed by mutual recognition of results and technically sound written standards, is a pre-requisite for a growing industrial base.

Recognizing that disputes over measurement results, or their interpretation, affect trade, some Directives are concerned with the harmonization of measurements within the Community. They specify in great detail both the technique and procedures to be used in demonstrating conformance. The limitations of this approach, including unnecessary complexity, tend to stifle innovation. Directives used to establish the Single Market are therefore of the New Approach type. These specify the essential requirements to be met and allow compliance to be demonstrated in a number of different ways, the most direct of which is by the use of written European standards. In support of this policy, short- and medium-term pre-normative Community research is required to develop the thousands of written standards to be prepared by CEN/Cenelec/ETSI under Commission mandates before the end of the decade. The urgency for such technical support and that to be given to accreditation bodies is highlighted by the 1993 survey on the operation of the Single Market, carried out by the Euro Info Centre (EIC) network. Of the EIC's who responded, 81 % had identified enterprise who found it necessary, for practical or marketing reasons, to have their goods certified in other Member States, whilst 47 % had encountered problems with recognition of national written standards and tests in other Member States.

The development of the Single Market and the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty have also highlighted the need for harmonizations of measurement and testing methods used by regulatory authorities themselves. For example, those used by customs laboratories in the protection of the external frontiers of the Community against the importation of illegal substances, sub-standard goods and counterfeits or fraudulently labelled materials. Similar actions are also required in support of the operation of the common agricultural policy.

Accurate measurements are, however, not only needed in manufacturing industries or for the purposes of trade. They are also vital in ensuring health care and the application of legislation on environmental and worker protection. Frequently such measurements require chemical or biological analyses whose traceability is far inferior to that developed over the last 100 years for the physical measurement field. Often, differences between the results of nominally identical analyses performed in different laboratories far exceed their estimated uncertainties, if indeed such estimates even exist. The consequences for human or animal health which could result, for example, from errors in bio-assays or the contamination of food by residues of toxic substances are self-evident. The development of measurements of known uncertainty must be backed up by a recognized reference system traceable to the basic measurement units defined by the Metre Convention. The importance of this activity to both the quality of life and the application of Community policies justifies coordinated action at the European level.

The objectives of the programme are, for all fields of measurement and testing:

- to improve the competitive position of all sectors of European industry (including in particular SMEs) by promoting better measurements at the research and development levels, better definition and control of the quality of products, more efficient in-process measurements and technical assistance to the mutual recognition of certificates in accordance with the global approach to conformity assessment;

- to promote research and other technical support necessary for the development and implementation of other Community policies (Single Market, environment agriculture, health, transport and protection of the Community's external frontiers);

- to promote research in support of the activities of CEN, Cenelec, ETSI and other European bodies which seek to maintain or establish quality standards via either new and existing written standards or codes of practice;

- to support the further development of the European measurement infrastructure by facilitating the coordination of national activities, the development of measurement standards, of advanced methods and systems and the mutual recognition of results and accreditation systems;

- to promote the dissemination and application of good measurement practice throughout Europe, particularly in the less favoured regions (for example, by the organization of training courses and by the establishment of networks).

When attempting to meet the above objectives, the Standardization, Measurement and Testing programme will carry out its activities in close collaboration with other specific programmes (for example, Industrial and Materials Technologies, Environment and Climate, Marine Sciences and Technologies, Biotechnology, Biomedicine and Health, Agriculture and Food Technologies, Socio-Economic Research). Similarly, activities aimed at strengthening the metrological infrastructure at the European level will be carried out in consultation with existing networks of national laboratories, such as Euromet, Eurachem, Eurolab, WECC and WELAC. In view of the increased emphasis placed upon the resolution of unpredictable or short- to medium-term difficulties which arise during the development or implementation of a wide range of Community policies, it is also necessary to establish additional thematic networks of excellence.

In the domains which are within its competence, complementary actions will be performed by the JRC, in close collaboration with national laboratories, especially on standardization for the construction sector and the setting-up of new measurements and reference material (1). The distribution of the reference materials produced by the Standardization, Measurement and Testing programme will be assured by the JRC (IRMM).

3. SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL CONTENT

Activities under the programme can be classified under three objective based themes, namely:

Theme I: Measurements for quality European products

Theme II: Research related to written standards and technical support to trade

Theme III: Measurements related to the needs of society.

In view of the diversity of the needs to be met, flexibility is essential and some topics may be dealt with under several headings. Technology stimulation measures based on experience with CRAFT activities and feasibility awards will be carried out to encourage and facilitate participation by SMEs and the less advanced regions.

Theme I - Measurements for quality European products

Background

When considering the conditions governing growth and competitiveness, the White Paper emphasized the importance of promoting the emergence of new generations of products by exploiting to the full all the technologies available and of encouraging the incorporation of innovation in manufacturing processes and products. The competitive position of industry depends upon its ability to undertake research, to develop the fruits of that research into products and to produce those products at the right time and price with the required quality. To discharge each of these functions requires the use of measurement and/or testing techniques with a known and appropriate resolution, repeatability and reproducibility combined with effective quality assurance procedures. The characteristics of the measuring and quality assurance systems to be employed at any stage of the research, design, development and production cycle depends upon the nature of the industry involved.

The proposed RTD activities are:

- the development of measurement methods and instrumentation required by researchers to investigate and utilize the physical, chemical and biological phenomena at the macro- and microscopic levels from which future products could be developed. Coordinated at the European level this activity would also include the production of the high quality reference data required to develop and validate scientific theories and model systems. Utilizing networks of laboratories with national responsibilities, improvements would be made in the realization and traceabilitiy of the measurement scales used throughout research laboratories, test houses, trade and industry. Research would also be undertaken to improve the analysis and utilization of data, including the development of expert systems for decision making;

- the development of generic measurement and test methods, reference materials and instrumentation required in the course of product development. Such measurements are needed in order to optimize the design and testing of products in respect of their functional, ergonomic, environmental, safety and other characteristics. By better characterization of raw materials, components and finished products, the waste associated with failure and poor design could be reduced. Similarly, improved measurements will contribute to a reduction of the environmental impact of industrial processes and product use or disposal (recycling, degradability). By giving technical support to the development of generic products, procedures or standards, the efficiency and hence competitive position of European industry will be enhanced.

- the development of generic measurement methods, standards and instrumentation required in production to improve product quality/production cost ratios. Emphasis will be placed upon the application of advanced methods of calibration, traceability, process control, quality assurance, etc. Activities will include measurements related to sensing, diagnostic monitoring, automated manufacturing and non-destructive testing under production conditions. Special efforts will be made to enable SMEs to adopt new measurement technologies and to establish quality assurance procedures appropriate to their needs. When necessary prenormative research will be undertaken to enable industry to comply with Community legislation, particularly in terms of consumer safety and waste management for the protection of the environment.

Theme II - Research related to written standards and technical support to trade

Background

The White Paper states that it is essential to make the most of the benefits deriving from the Single Market. It also mentions that the Community should be an open and reliable partner, and recommends the establishment of more harmonious and stricter rules in the world economy. To this end, research and other technical activities in the field of measurements are necessary for the development and application of the common system of Directives, Regulations and written standards which, via the mutual recognition of results and certificates, form the basis of the trade in goods, products and services in the Single Market whilst at the same time affording protection to both consumers and the environment.

The proposed RTD activities are:

- Support to legislation: research on measurement methods and instrumentation is required for legislative purposes when establishing the essential requirements of draft Directives. In the case of 'New Approach' directives, pre-normative research will be necessary when no adequate scientific or technical base exists for the development of written standards. Support will also be needed to resolve problems which arise in the implementation and revision of Directives or existing written standards, because current methods are either not sufficiently accurate or lead to conflicting results. Included in this category are measurements and standards necessary to detect fraud related to the application of Community policies, particularly in the agricultural sector, and prenormative research to enable industry to comply with Community legislation.

- Support to industry: although not covered by Community legislation, a particular sector of European industry, in consultation with CEN, Cenelec and ETSI, may express the need to develop harmonized written standards to encourage innovation, integration, trade or the adoption of advanced manufacturing practices or materials. In view of the dynamic nature of the international standardization scene, new priorities will continually emerge and therefore the situation will be reviewed periodically.

- Promotion of a European measurements infrastructure: the full benefit of the Single Market can only be realized by the development of an efficient and reliable European measurement infrastructure based upon traceability to agreed physical, chemical and biological standards. This requires a coordinated approach to research and development of fundamental and derived measurements standards, reference materials and traceability in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort within the Member States. The creation of a structured system for metrology in chemistry via a coordinated European action, in association with Eurachem and Euromet, would enable such measurements to be traceable to internationally recognized standards, as is currently the case for physical measurements. The promotion of traceability between laboratories in Member States will be of particular benefit to the smaller ones whilst the provision of training in less favoured regions will promote cohesion. Wider international collaboration, with bodies such as BIPM, WHO and NIST, could be undertaken where this would support European interests.

- Technical support to mutual recognition and accreditation: technical support is required for the operation of the European calibration, testing and accreditation systems and networks (e.g. WECC, WELAC and EOTC) which provide certification, conformity and proficiency testing and industrial quality assurance.

- Measurements required by customs laboratories: the protection of the external frontiers of the Community against the importation of illegal substances, sub-standard goods, counterfeits or fraudulently labelled materials requires the development of new and improved harmonized methods of sampling and measurement. In addition, measurement are required to determine duties to be levied or refunded.

Theme III - Measurements related to the needs of society

Background

The results of measurements and tests, other than for the purposes of trade and industry, have far reaching effects on society. They are used to determine if substances, structures and situations are potentially hazardous or to follow subtle and dramatic changes in the environment. When tests are performed for medical diagnostic or criminal detection purposes errors can have profound consequences for the individual. There is a need both to improve the methods and instrumentation and to determine the uncertainties associated with the results via intercomparison between laboratories.

The proposed RTD activities are:

- Health and safety: the implementation of Community legislation requires the measurement of the exposure of workers to certain physical, chemical and biological agents, together with the assessment of the associated hazards and the efficiency of measures taken to reduce them. Similarly improvements are required in measurements and tests used to assess public and animal health, food hygiene, the safety of products and the safety of workers in the working place. When necessary, new or improved measurement methods and/or standards will be developed for the application of such legislation.

- Monitoring of the environment: the implementation of environmental legislation and support to the activities of the European Environmental Agency require the development of new and improved measurement techniques for the determination of the quality of the environment (ambient air, fresh and sea water, soil and waste management, toxicity and microbiological action, etc.).

- Justice system: coordinated activities are needed to develop and harmonize the specialist measurements used in forensic science and narcotics control in support of the newly established cooperation in field of justice. Whilst relatively few laboratories are involved, the advanced nature of the measurements and the consequences of the results warrant coordinated action.

- Support of Europe's cultural heritage: the preservation of Europe's cultural heritage depends upon the ability to quantitatively evaluate the conditions of physical objects and the efficacy of the methods proposed to protect them against environmental pollution and the ravages of time.

Where necessary, all the above activities would include the development of new reference materials and support to the establishment of laboratory networks.

(1) A more detailed description of the JRC's research activities, which are defined in a proposal for a separate Council Decision, is given in Annex IV for information in order to ensure the transparency in relation to their complementarity with corresponding indirect actions.

ANNEX II

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ANNEX III

DETAILED RULES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAMME

1. The detailed rules for the Community's financial contribution are laid down in Annex IV to the Decision on the Fourth Framework Programme.

The detailed rules for the participation of undertakings, research centres and universities, and for the dissemination of results will be laid down in the measures provided for by Article 130 j of the Treaty.

However, for the purposes of implementing this programme, the following exceptions shall apply:

1.1. Participation in this programme is open, with financial support from the Community:

(a) to all legal entities, established and regularly carrying out RTD activities

- in the Community,or

- in a third country associated, wholly or in part, with the implementation of the relevant programme through an agreement concluded between the Community and the said third country

(b) to the Joint Research Centre.

1.2. Participation in this programme is open, without financial support from the Community, and on condition that their participation is in the interests of Community policies:

(a) to legal entities established in a country which has concluded a scientific and technical cooperation agreement with the Community relating to activities covered by the programme, provided the participation accords with the terms of the agreement,

(b) to legal entities established in a European country,

(c) to international research organizations.

1.3. The participation of European international organizations may be financed on the same basis as that for Community organizations in duly specified cases.

2. This programme will be carried out in the form of indirect actions, in which the Community makes a financial contribution to RTD activities carried out by third parties or by JRC institutes in association with third parties:

2.1. Shared-cost activities, according to the following rules:

- RTD projects carried out by undertakings, research centres and universities, including consortia for integrated projects with a common objective;

- technology stimulation to encourage and facilitate participation by SMEs by granting an award covering the exploratory phase of an RTD activity, including the finding of partners, and the cooperative research. The award will be granted following the selection of outline proposals which may be submitted at any time;

- support for financing the infrastructure or installations necessary for the realization of a coordinated action (reinforced coordinated activities).

2.2. Concerted actions, which consist of coordinating, particularly with the aid of concertation networks, RTD projects already funded by public authorities or private bodies. Concerted actions can also include the requisite coordination of thematic networks which, through RTD cost shared actions (cf. 2.1 first paragraph) bring together manufacturers, users, universities and research centres around the same technological or industrial objective.

2.3. Specific measures necessary to supply short- to medium-term scientific and technical research for the development or application of Community policies including actions to be undertaken in collaboration with standardization organizations such as CEN/Cenelec/ETSI. These will include the establishment of thematic networks of excellence in the various fields covered by the Community's policies and a call for proposals open throughout the programme. To ensure a rapid response to the needs demonstrated in the call for proposals, as far as possible the participants in the shared-cost activities will be selected from the thematic networks on the basis of their expertise and of their availability at the time required. The Community's contribution covers 100 % of coordinating expenditure and up to 100 % of the expenditure on the shared-cost activities.

2.4. Preparatory, accompanying and support measures according to the following rules:

- studies in support of this programme and in preparation for future activties;

- conferences, seminars, workshops or other scientific or technical meetings, including intersectoral or multidisciplinary coordination meetings;

- use of external expertise, including access to scientific databases;

- scientific publications, including the dissemination, promotion and utilization of the results;

- in liaison with the programme 'Socio-Economic-Research', studies to assess the socio-economic consequences as well as any eventual technological risks associated with all the projects under this programme;

- training activities related to research covered by this programme;

- measures in support of the operation of networks to provide information and decentralized assistance to SMEs in coordination with the Euromanagement auditing activity of RTD;

- independent evaluation (including studies) of programme administration and of the implementation of the activities of the programme;

- distribution of reference materials by a third party.

These measures will be carried out in addition to and in conjunction with the corresponding activities under the third area of activity of the framework programme for Community research and technological development.

The partners in RTD projects constitute privileged networks for the dissemination and utilization of results. They will be reinforced via publications, conferences, promotion of results, studies of technical and economic potential, etc. In order to ensure optimum exploitation, factors liable to encourage the subsequent utilization of results must be taken into account from the outset and throughout the RTD projects.

ANNEX IV

DESCRIPTION OF THE JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE'S (JRC) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES CORRESPONDING TO THE AREAS COVERED BY THIS SPECIFIC PROGRAMME AND THE SUBJECT OF THE PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION FOR THE JRC PROGRAMME (COM(94) 68 FINAL - 94/0095 (CNS))

The contribution of the JRC to this sector is aimed at improving the competitiveness of European industry, conducted in close coordination with the corresponding shared cost action programmes. It will focus on prenormative research which, save exceptions, will be undertaken within the framework of networks of European bodies with interests and capabilities in this type of research and in association with standards organizations, in particular the European Committee for Standardization (CEN). This will guarantee that the overall requirements of industry are taken into account from the start.

These activities are directly related to standardization and include:

(a) Prenormative research on reference materials and prenormative and normative research on reference measurements, in particular in the following sectors:

- preparation, characterization and certification of high-quality reference materials. International intercomparison exercises will be used to ensure adequate quality assurance and to facilitate harmonization;

- establishment of a common scientific basis for the chemical reference measurements;

- measurements and evaluation of basic data, improvement of their quality and accuracy using the experimental installations available and by making use of European and international collaboration, in particular through networks.

- The distribution of reference materials produced within a Community framework is assured by the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM). The results achieved by IRMM in establishing extremely accurate measurements have won it recognition as a reference centre. Intercalibration campaigns conducted by the IRMM among the network of all interested in the Community will provide each laboratory with an impartial and reliable evaluation of the quality of its own measurements. This activity will be extended on request to any third-country laboratory, on payment of a fair fee.

(b) Prenormative research in the field of structural safety and reliability to improve the design specifications of civil engineering works for the development of standards (Eurocodes), in particular, by taking into account earthquakes, and the construction technologies of European industry. This research will continue to be conducted with the organizations in the Member States which have been grouped together since 1989 in the European Association of Structural Mechanics Laboratories. In order to carry out destructive dynamic tests on civil engineering works and industrial structures made of steel, concrete, brickwork and composite materials, the JRC has constructed the ELSA ('European Laboratory for Structural Assessment') test wall and the LDTF ('Large Dynamic Test Facility'), which are unique in Europe.

Furthermore, the development of non-destructive evaluation techniques to study the reliability and useful life of mechanical constructions will continue with a view to the development of component inspection techniques and the harmonization of qualification procedures. This research will continue to be conducted in the framework of the laboratory networks which have existed for a number of years, which will be gradually enlarged in line with needs.