title: Gemensamma forskningscentret (GFC) - Årsrapport för verksamheten 1995

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text: I r*r" ~ I EUROPEISKA GEMENSKAPERNAS KOMMISSION <k ve Bryssel den 17. 04. 1996 KOM(96)158 slutlig Gemensamma forskningscentret (GFC) ÅRSRAPPORT FOR VERKSAMHETEN 1995 (Framlagd av kommissionen) SYNPUNKTER FRAN GUVERNÖRSRÅDET PA GEMENSAMMA FORSKNINGSCENTRETS ÅRSRAPPORT FOR 1995 1995 - DET FÖRSTA ARET MED NYA UPPGIFTER 1995 var ett betydelsefullt år för GFC. Det var nämligen då som GFCs nya roll efter överenskommelse med rådet, parlamentet och kommissionen skulle börja. GFC:s ändrade roll innebar ett behov av ett bredare utbud av konkurrensutsatt verksamhet än tidigare och från och med 1995 kan GFC delta i gemenskapsprogram på samma villkor som sina nationella samarbetspartner från forsknings- och industrivärlden. Som framgår av den här rapporten har GFC hittat dynamiska lösningar på denna nya utmaning och i fråga om programmen för verksamhet med delat kostnadsansvar har man nått lovande resultat tillsammans med samarbetspartners i medlemsstaterna och andra länder med anknytning till programmen. Även när det gäller övriga typer av konkurrensutsatt verksamhet har man uppnått goda resultat. Trots de nya arbetsmetoder som introducerades under 1995 har GFC inte slagit av på takten för arbeten utförda för tredje part i jämförelse med tidigare år. Guvernörsrådet noterar att de preliminära mål som sattes upp för deltagande i konkurrensutsatt verksamhet för 1995 som helhet har överträffats. Konkurrensutsatt verksamhet är bara en del av GFC:s arbete, där andra delar utgörs av t. ex. institutionell forskning och vetenskaplig och teknisk stödverksamhet till unionens politik inom olika sektorer, särskilt miljö, energi, jordbruk och industri. Guvernörsrådet uppskattar att GFC ständigt strävar efter att uppfylla kundernas krav. I fråga om forskningen finns en välkommen vilja att få fram resultat till nytta för industrin och samhället. Rapporten ger belysande exempel på detta och guvernörsrådet kommer att fortsatt utveckling mot ett resultatorienterat GFC med en ökad inriktning på spridning av forskningsresultaten. På grundval av frekventa utvärderingar av GFC är guvernörsrådet tillfreds med den höga kvaliteten på GFC:s arbete och den allt större betydelse det får för att uppfylla de behov som Europeiska unionens politik skapar. fortsätta sporra GFC till Guvernörsrådet noterade redan förra året sina förväntningar på GFGs utveckling från 1995 och framåt. Bland de åtgärder som guvernörsrådet vidtagit för att förbättra uppföljningen av GFCs verksamhet finns en omorganisation av underkommittéerna som gör att man mer detaljerat kan granska GFC:s institutioner. Fortlöpande ansträngningar görs för att införa kapacitetsparametrar och kvalitetsbedömning. UTVÄRDERING A V GFC För sin vägledning av GFC under året har guvernörsrådet tagit fasta på rekommendationer från de utvärderingar av GFC och dess institut som gjordes av externa, oberoende experter i slutet av förra programperioden, 1992-1994. Guvernörsrådet har gått igenom samtliga rekommendationer från detta arbete och medger att GFC:s ledning gjort ansträngningar för att genomföra dem, men noterar samtidigt attvissa värdefulla rekommendationer, särskilt när det gäller administration och personalpolitik, inte har genomförts beroende på skäl som ligger utanför GFCs kontroll. REGLER SOM STYR GFC - PERSONALFRÅGOR Guvernörsrådet fortsätter att arbeta för att GFC helt och hållet skall kunna drivas så att det kan uppnå de förändrade arbetsmetoder som förordades av rådet i april 1994. Detta kan innebära en vidare utveckling av de regler och den lagstiftning som styr centrets verksamhet och eventuellt en förändrad ställning inom kommissionen. Det bör också leda till större flexibilitet när det gäller budgeten och finansiella frågor kombineratmed framstegen för det administrativa finansiella systemet. Guvernörsrådet har presenterat sina synpunkter på dessa viktiga frågor för Edith Cresson, kommissionär med ansvar bl. a för forskning. Mot slutet av året informerades guvernörsrådet om den nära förestående planen om att ge GFC utökat självstyre inom kommissionen och om andra organisationsförändringar som planerades. Söm ett första resultat av detta kommer GFC att få status som eget generaldirektorat från första delan av 1996 (enligt beslut den 16 januari 1996). 1 ©^ följderna blir för GFC i fråga om kommissionens nya personalpolitik Guvernörsrådet har även diskuterat personalpolitik med kommissionären och kommer attbevaka vilka i unionens forskningsbudget. I likhet med personalen på många andra europeiska forskningsinstitut, har GFC en åldersstruktur som gör att många av medarbetarna kommer att gå i pension inom de närmaste åren. Fem tjänster som institutschef blev lediga under 1995 och av dessa har fyra tillsatts av kommissionen på förslag från guvernörsrådet, medan den femte tjänsten fortfarande är vakant. Guvernörsrådet välkomnar de fyra nya cheferna som började vid GFC i mitten av 1995. INFORMATIONSSPRIDNING OM GFC:S VERKSAMHET i medlemsstaterna GFCs ändrade roll kräver en ökad informationsspridning om verksamheten till alla berörda parter på nationell nivå. Som ett stöd för detta planerade medlemmar av guvernörsrådet tillsammans med GFC under 1995 för en fortsättning av GFCs informationsdagar och presentationer av GFCs verksamhet fortsatt samarbete mellan nationella forskningslaboratorier, universitet, industrin och GFC. För att uppnå god samordning mellan GFCs inom forskningsverksamhet och övrig till den gemenskapens tillsammans med GFC- representanter deltagit i möten med gemenskapens programkommittéer. Dessa utbyten av synpunkter som de föreskrivs i rådsbeslut om GFC-program bör intensifieras och omfatta all relevant programverksamhet under 1996. forskningsverksamhet med anknytning ramprogram, har medlemmar från guvernörsrådet i syfte att främja STRATEGI För att GFC skall klara sin uppgift att bedriva kundorienterad forskning av högsta kvalitet och integritet som stöd för gemenskapspolitiken krävs en tydlig och långsiktig strategi för GFC och dess institut. I slutet av 1995 enades guvernörsrådet om en uppdaterad strategi för GFC och man har diskuterat de underliggande strategierna förvarje institut som vägledning för centret för dess nuvarande och framtida verksamhet. En av de åtgärder som fanns i 1995 års strategidokument är ökad användning av kapacitetsindikatorer för att stödja utvecklingen av GFC. INSTITUTET FÖR FRAMTIDSSTUDIER (IPTS) I sitt utlåtande om årsrapporten från 1994 nämner guvernörsrådet den nya placeringen av IPTS i Sevilla och det arbete som planeras. Guvernörsrådet är tillfreds med det nya arbetsprogrammet för IPTS som definierades 1995 och som godkänts av kommissionen. Guvernörsrådet uppskattar även den nya betydelsefulla teknikövervakningsfunktion som invigdes av Edith Cresson i närvaro av styrelseordföranden. Edith Cresson betonade det samarbete som i medlemsstaterna och med Europaparlamentet. IPTS har etablerat HÖGFLÖDESREAKTORN 1995 var det sista året för det kompletterande EURATOM-programmet för högflödesreaktom i nederländska Petten. Under året har det förekommit diskussioner på alla nivåer om framtiden för högflödesreaktom och det föreslagna fleråriga programmet som skulle starta under 1996. Man har bland annat diskuterat en genomgripande översyn av ledningen för anläggningen och en intensiv satsning mot en mera kommersiell användning av en större del av reaktorns kapacitet med åtföljande förbättringar av effektivitet och ekonomi. OMNÄMNANDEN Guvernörsrådet uppskattar de täta kontakter man haft med kommissionären med ansvar för forskning, Edith Cresson, och ser fram emot vidare diskussioner om utvecklingen av GFCs strategi. Guvernörsrådet vill samtidigt visa sin uppskattning insatser som gjorts av generaldirektören, enhetscheferna och samtliga GFC-anställda i arbetet med att klara de nya utmaningarna. för de stora 2 «X. G E M E N S A M MA FORSKNINGSCENTRET forskningscentret Gemensamma gemensamma forskningslaboratorium. Det är inrättat av Europeiska kommissionen och har sitt säte i Bryssel. På fem orter, i Belgien, Italien, Nederländerna, Spanien och Tyskland, finns sammanlagt åtta olika institut som vart och ett har en specialinriktning. Europeiska unionens (GFC) är Instituten är följande: IRMM Institutet för referensmaterial och -mätningar GEEL (B) ITU IAM ISEI El IRSA 1ST IPTS Institutet för transuraner KARLSRUHE (D) Institutet för avancerade material PETTEN (NL)och ISPRA(I) Institutet för systemteknik och informationsteknik ISPRA (I) Miljöinstitutet Institutet för tillämpningar av fjärranalys Institutet för säkerhetsteknologi ISPRA (I) ISPRA (I) ISPRA (I) Institutet för framtidsstudier SEVILLA (SP) GFCs uppgift är att främja och bedriva kundorienterad forskning av högsta kvalitet och integritet som stöd för gemenskapspolitiken. Det gemensamma forskningscentret är en väsentlig del av gemenskapens system för forskning och teknisk utveckling och bidrar som sådant till gemenskapens forskningspolitik, särskilt på de områden där centret har gedigna, för att inte säga unika, kunskaper och på områden där centrets neutralitet är av avgörande betydelse för den vetenskapliga och tekniska stödverksamheten för gemenskapspolitiken. Dessa verksamheter utförs genom GFCs särskilda program som beslutas av rådet och som finansieras av Europeiska unionens budget. Dessutom deltar GFC alltmer, på konkurrensutsatta villkor, tillsammans med industrin, forskningsorganisationer och universitet i medlemsstaterna eller associerade länder i gemenskapsprogram, inklusive verksamhet med delat kostnadsansvar i enlighet med ramprogrammen. Centret erbjuder också mot betalning sina tjänster till olika kunder. Personalen uppgick vid slutet av 1995 till 1 786 personer inbegripet tjänstemän och tillfälligt anställda. Till detta antal skall läggas 319 forskare som deltog i olika forskningsprojekt och som avlönades av GFC. Värdet på GFCs krediter under 1995 uppgick till knappt 258 miljoner ecu. Den här årsrapporten syftar till att ge en allmän överblick av GFC: s verksamhet under 1995. I årsrapporterna från de åtta forskningsinstituten finns mer detaljerade uppgifter. GFC ger även ut ett stort antal antal vetenskapliga rapporter, presenterar dokument till konferenser och bidrar med i artiklar Publikationsbulletinen som ges ut årligen), organiserar workshops, seminarier och konferenser för att sprida sina vetenskapliga resultat. (en uppställning över dessa i vetenskapliga tidskrifter rapporter finns 3 ^ 1. DET GEMENSAMMA FORSKNINGSCENTRET UNDER 1995 1995 - ETT BETYDELSEFULLT AR inom forskning, för gemenskapens verksamheter 1995 var första året för GFCs nya inriktning. Denna formulerats av Europeiska unionens råd, Europaparlamentet och Europeiska kommissionen efter diskussioner som 1994 ledde till beslut om ramprogram teknisk utveckling och demonstration samt till de efterföljande besluten om särskilda forskningsprogram i syfte att genomföra ramprogrammen. Dessa inkluderar två forskningsprogram under åren 1995-98 som är specifika för GFC, varav ett gäller Europeiska gemenskapen (EG) och det andra Europeiska atomenergigemenskapen (Euratom). I enlighet med rådets slutsatser av den 26 april 1994 om GFC: s roll, har centret under 1995 bedrivit både institutionella verksamheter och konkurrensutsatta verksamheter. De förra omfattar institutionell forskning och teknisk/vetenskaplig stödverksamhet för gemenskapspolitiken. De konkurrensutsatta verksamheterna omfattar deltagande i åtgärder med delat kostnadsansvar inom ramprogrammen, åtgärder för att stödja konkurrenskraften hos kommissionens tjänster som ansvarar för olika politikområden inom unionen, konkurrensutsatta verksamheter som ligger utanför gemenskapens ramprogram samt kontraktsarbeten utförda för tredje part. Under 1995 tog dessutom den nyligen utsedda kommissionen initiativ för att stärka samarbetet mellan industri- och forskningsvärlden. I det sammanhanget betonade kommissionären med ansvar för forskning, Edith Cresson, behovet av fortsatt kommersialisering av GFCs forskningsresultat och av förbättrad spridning av GFC: s verksamhet. Under 1995 utökades också Europeiska unionen med tre nya medlemsstater (Finland, Sverige och Österrike). Dessa länder hade redan under 1994 deltagit i GFC:s verksamhet i enlighet med EES- avtalet (Europeiska ekonomiska samarbetsområdet). Inom denna ram kunde GFC under 1995 fortsätta samarbetet med Island, Liechtenstein och Norge. INSTITUTIONELLA VERKSAMHETER GFC:s institutionella verksamheter bidrog till att nå målen för det fjärde ramprogrammet för EG- och Euratom-programmen kommunikationsteknik (informationsteknik), industriteknik (industri- och materialteknik, mätning och testning), miljö (miljö och klimat), biovetenskap och bioteknik (jordbruk och fiske, inklusive jordbruksindustrin, livsmedelsteknik, riktad samhällsvetenskaplig forskning, säkerhet vid kärnfission och termisk kärnfusion. landsbygdsutveckling), inom områdena icke-kärnbränsle, informations- skogsbruk och och NYA UTMANINGAR: KONKURRENSUTSATTA VERKSAMHETER Efter grundliga förberedelser, som började 1994, svarade GFC på de utmaningar som var resultatet av de nya möjligheter som 1995 öppnades för konkurrensutsatta verksamheter. Tillsammans med samarbetspartner från industrin, forskningscenter ochuniversitet i unionen och associerade länder, utarbetades mer än 300 förslag som svar på den första ansökningsomgången enligt de nya ramprogrammen. Av förslagen antogs 28 %. GFC presenterade även förslag på åtgärder i syfte att främja konkurrensen och för gemenskapsprogram utanför ramprogrammen, i synnerhet PHARE och TACIS, där man fick kontrakt på arbeten som gällde kärnsäkerhet i länder i Central- och Östeuropa, samt i Ryssland och övriga nya oberoende stater. För att man skulle kunna utnyttja dessa nya möjligheter krävdes intensiv marknadsföring av GFC. Detta möjliggjordes tack vare flera rättsliga, finansiella, budgetmässiga och administrativa beslut som fattades av gemenskapens institutioner (rådet, parlamentet och kommissionen). Besluten omfattade nödvändiga ändringar av budgetförordningen för Europeiska unionens budget, som det fattats beslut om i september 1995. Kontraktsuppdrag som utförts för externa tredje parter var också betydande och nya kontrakt som ingicks under 1995 uppgick till över 18 miljoner ecu. 4 Q^ BESÖK AV KOMMISSIONAREN Den 20 juli 1995 besökte kommissionären Edith Cresson för första gången GFC. Det första besöket skedde vid institutet i Ispra, följt av ITU i Karlsruhe i september och i december IPTS i Sevilla där Edith Cresson invigde institutets nya teknikövervakningsfunktion. I sitt tal till personalen uppmuntrade hon GFC att fortsätta sitt arbete för forskning och teknisk utveckling i Europa. Hon presenterade kommissionens uppfattning i fråga om GFC:s bidrag till unionens politik och till engagemanget för konkurrensutsatta verksamheter. 1995 meddelade kommissionen att man inrättat flera arbetsgrupper som skall syssla med industriell forskning inom följande områden: den nya generationen flygplan, multimedieprogram för utbildning, morgondagens bil, vacciner och virussjukdomar, framtidens tåg och järnvägssystem, transporter som kombinerar olika transportsätt, framtidens sjöfartssystem och miljövänliga vattenteknologier. Personal från GFC har deltagit i de flesta av dessa arbetsgrupper och parallellt med detta har GFCs ledning planerat nya inriktningar för GFCs institutionella forskningsområden för att anpassa forskningen efter de nya prioriteringar som kommissionen angivit. NYA CHEFER Under året tillträdde nya chefer för fyra av GFC-instituten, ISEI, El, IRSA och IAM, efter att ha blivit utnämnda av kommissionen på förslag från guvernörsrådet. INITIATIV FÖR FÖRBÄTTRAD KOMMUNIKATION Banden mellan GFC och industrin, forskningscentra och universitet stärktes också genom att man anordnade informationsdagar i London, Aten, Köpenhamn, Milano och Wien, på initiativ från medlemmar av guvernörsrådet. Informationsdagarna gav instituten tillfälle att presentera sig och i workshops diskutera nya perspektiv för samarbete. På liknande vis har representanter för GFC:s ledning och personal hållit ett antal seminarieri medlemsstaterna om GFCs verksamhet rent allmänt och i synnerhet de delar som syftar till att stimulera konkret samarbete på nationell eller regional nivå med industrin och forskningsinstanser. Genom information, bl. a. i form av nyhetsbrev och riktade seminarier, riktad till övriga tjänster inom kommissionen har man demonstrerat hur GFC kan bidra till att genomföra unionens politik. STRATEGI Under programperioden 1995-98 kommer GFC å ena sidan att bygga på erfarenheterna från tidigare programperiod, å andra sidan måste man möta de utmaningar som de ständiga och snabba förändringarna på världsmarknaden ställer på den europeiska industrin och de nya krav som den Europeiska unionen står inför, och där tyngdpunkten ligger på offentliggörandet av de forskningsresultat som är viktiga för industrin och samhället. För att klara kraven organiserar därför GFC varje år flera konferenser, workshops och seminarier på sina fem orter i Europa. Besökssiffrorna återspeglar det intresse som den vetenskapliga världen visar för de bidrag som GFC kan lämna till forskning och utveckling. I syfte att stärka GFCs nya hållning så som den föreskrivs av rådet, parlamentet och kommissionen har guvernörsrådet och GFCs ledning under året diskuterat strategierna för de åtta instituten och GFC som helhet, vilket resulterade i att tyngdpunkten skall ligga på kundorienterad forskning av hög kvalitet som är till verklig nytta för Europeiska unionen och som skall utföras effektivt och med flexibel omställning allt efter ändrade behov på marknaden. GFCs verksamhet skapar band mellan forskarlag i medlemsstaterna som befinner sig på olika nivåer i fråga om vetenskaplig och teknisk utveckling. Verksamheten bidrar följaktligen till att stärka sammanhållningen mellan laboratorier och forskningsinstitut i gemenskapens samtliga regioner. 5 «Cx. 1. 1 INSTITUTIONELL VERKSAMHET: GFCS SÄRSKILDA FORSKNINGSPROGRAM Den viktigaste uppgiften för GFC under 1995 var att bidra till genomförandet av GFCs särskilda forskningsprogram i enlighet med gemenskapens ramprogram som skulle genomföras för första gången. Bidraget bestod av forskningsverksamhet och vetenskaplig/teknisk stödverksamhet till kommissionens tjänster. institutionell 1. 1. 1 Institutionell forskningsverksamhet Under 1995 uppgick den institutionella forskningsverksamheten till 73 % av GFC:s institutionella verksamhet uppdelad på följande program: • Programmet Industriteknik och materialteknik genomförs av Institutet för avancerade material (IAM) och omfattar forskningsprojekt som rör avancerade material, ytteknik, nya miljövänliga material och icke-destruktiva utvärderingsmetoder för kontroll av industrikomponenter. • Programmet Mätning och testning omfattade forskningsprojekt om referensmätningar och -material och genomfördes av Institutet för referensmaterial och -mätningar (IRMM). Programmet omfattade även en bedömning av pålitligheten hos strukturer, som genomfördes av Institutet för säkerhetsteknologi (1ST). • Programmet Miljö och klimat bestod av forskningsprojekt om förorening av atmosfären, mark och vatten och genomfördes av Miljöinstitutet (El), om successiv uppbyggnad av ett decentraliserat europeiskt databehandlings- och informationssystem för Centret för jordobservationer, om tillämpningen av fjärranalys som genomfördes av Institutet för tillämpningar av fjärranalys (IRSA) och om industriella risker som genomfördes av Institutet för säkerhetsteknologi (1ST) och av Institutet för systemteknik och informationsteknik (ISEl). • Programmet om icke-nukleär energi bestod av forskningsprojekt om material för rena teknologier, genomfört av Institutet för avancerade material (IAM), om standardisering av fotoelektriska apparater som genomfördes av Institutet för systemteknik och informationsteknik (ISEl). • Programmet om säkerhet vid kärnfissioner omfattade olika slags forskning från studier om reaktorsäkerhet, genomförda av för systemteknik och informationsteknik (ISEl) och Institutet för avancerade material (IAM), till verksamhet som gäller nukleär säkerhet och hantering av kluvet material, genomförd av Institutet för säkerhetsteknologi (1ST), av Institutet för systemteknik och informationsteknik (ISEl) och av Institutet för transuraner (ITU). ITU genomförde även forskning om kärnbränsle och aktinider. för säkerhetsteknologi (1ST), av Institutet Institutet • Programmet Kontrollerad termisk kärnfusion (teknologi och säkerhet) genomförs av Institutet för säkerhetsteknologi (1ST), Institutet för systemteknik och informationsteknik (ISEl) och Institutet för avancerade material (IAM). • Programmet Riktad samhällsvetenskaplig forskning omfattar övervakningsfunktionen för vetenskap och teknik och verksamheten vid Institutet för framtidsstudier (IPTS). Institutets viktigaste uppgift är att bearbeta material från experter, konsulter, forskningsorganisationer och institut i medlemsstater och om det är möjligt i tredje länder i syfte att opartiskt analysera, behandla och integrera materialet samt, vilket är ännu viktigare, att urskilja trender eller områden där åtgärder behövs och att presentera dessa för beslutsfattare. • Tack vare den institutionella forskningen kunde GFC skapa ett nät av vetenskapligt samarbete över hela Europa. GFC har via bilateralt och multilateralt samarbete lyckats skapa fler än 800 kontakter med olika partners, huvudsakligen inom Europeiska unionen men även i andra europeiska länder, i USA och Japan. • Slutligen har den institutionella forskningen varit en av huvudfaktorerna som gör det möjligt för GFC att utveckla europeiska forskningsnätverk som är inriktade på GFC:s egna resurser. 6 ô^ 1. 1. 2 Institutionell vetenskaplig och teknisk stödverksamhet för gemenskapspolitiken GFC försåg unionens politik med vetenskapligt och tekniskt stöd på begäran av berörda tjänster inom kommissionen i enlighet med ett rådsbeslut av den 15 december 1994 (som antog GFCs särskilda program). Denna vetenskapliga och tekniska verksamhet utgjorde 27 % av GFC:s institutionella verksamhet. Stödverksamheten är kundorienterad, vilket är i linje med opartiska och neutrala vetenskapliga och tekniska krav från EG-direktiv, kommissions- och rådsbeslut eller krav i Euratomfördraget. Förhållandet kund/utförare mellan den beställande tjänsten inom kommissionen och GFC- instituten kommer till uttryck i utarbetandet och undertecknandet av samarbetsavtal mellan generaldirektoraten. Den allmänna övervakningen av sådana GFC-tjänster inom kommissionen har skötts av en officiell kommitté som omfattar flera direktorat och är upprättad i enlighet med ett kommissionsbeslut. Kommittén som sammanträdde vid två tillfällen under 1995, bägge gångerna med ett högt deltagarantal, har en dubbel roll: den skall dels övervaka det arbete som utförs, för att säkerställa ett smidigt och ömsesidigt informationsutbyte om verksamheten (under 1995 fick alla generaldirektorat information om stödverksamheten via mer än 100 sammanfattningar), dels skall den planera verksamheten för kommande år och då beakta prioriteringar, nya krav och budgetbegränsningar. till andra generaldirektorat Detta vetenskapliga och tekniska stöd rörde följande ramprogram: informationsteknologier, miljö och klimat, jordbruk och fiske, riktad samhällsvetenskaplig forskning och kärnsäkerhet och säkerhetsåtgärder. GFC:s tre viktigaste stödverksamheter är följande: 1. GFC-stöd för miljöpolitiken, som svarar för 46 % av budgeten för vetenskapligt och tekniskt stöd, ger GD XI vetenskapligt och tekniskt stöd vid genomförandet av lagstiftningen som rör miljöfarliga kemikalier, förorening av luften, vattenkvalitet, kemiskt avfall, industriella risker och kärnsäkerhet. Samarbetsavtalet mellan generaldirektoraten för perioden 1995-98 undertecknades i december 1995. 2. GFC-stöd för den gemensamma jordbrukspolitiken uppgår till 16,5 % av budgeten för vetenskapligt och tekniskt stöd. Samarbetsavtalet mellan generaldirektoraten för perioden 1995- 98 undertecknades den 17 juli 1995. 3. GFC-stöd för kärnsäkerhet (Euratom säkerhetsåtgärder GD XVII, IAEA stödprogram för säkerhetsåtgärder GD I) står för 32 % av budgeten för vetenskapligt och tekniskt stöd. Samarbetsavtalet mellan generaldirektoraten för perioden 1995-98 förväntas undertecknas i början av 1996. 7<£^ 1. 2 KONKURRENSUTSATT VERKSAMHET 1988 infördes systemet med uppdrag som skulle utföras för tredje part, vilket innebar att GFC skulle bedriva forskning på kontraktsbasis för externa kunder. Syftet var att få en värdemätning av GFC:s arbete och dess konkurrenskraft, att öka teknologiöverföringen till slutanvändarna och att låta den europeiska industrin och forskningsinstituten dra nytta av GFC:s speciella tillgångar och kompetens. Detta var första steget i att öppna GFC för konkurrens. I de diskussioner i rådet och Europaparlamentet som ledde till besluten om det fjärde ramprogrammet och EURATOM- ramprogrammet underströks behovet av att GFC fortsatte och intensifierade sin strävan att bli mer konkurrensutsatt på basis av ett äkta förhållande mellan kund och utförare så som det fastställs i rådets sammanfattning om GFCs roll i april 1994. Genomförandet av rådets slutsatser innebar, vilket rådet noterat, flera åtgärder och beslut om rättsliga, budgetmässiga, finansiella och administrativa frågor som helst skulle ha trätt i kraft den 1 januari 1995. Det viktigaste beslutet rörde ändringar av budgetförordningen. Detta beslut föregås alltid av långa förhandlingar innan rådet kan fatta beslut, vilket den här gången skedde i september 1995. Målet är att förändringen skall ske stegvis: cirka 20 % av den globala GFC-budgeten för 1995-98 bör finansieras genom konkurrensutsatt verksamhet. Den 1 januari 1995 omfattade GFC:s konkurrensutsatta verksamhet följande: -Deltagande i verksamhet med delat kostnadsansvar där GFC tillsammans med partners i medlemsstaterna lämnar in förslag i samband med ansökningsomgångar, eller bidrar till förslag som lämnats in av andra laboratorier enligt ramprogrammen. -Konkurrensutsatt verksamhet fjärde ramprogrammet, där GFC kan konkurrera om konkurrensutsatta uppdrag från kommissionens generaldirektorat. tekniskt stöd enligt det för vetenskapligt och -Övrig k on kurrens utsatt verksamhet som ligger utanför ramprogrammen där GFC ensamt eller tillsammans med andra kan delta i olika verksamheter som finansieras av gemenskapen (t. ex PHARE, TACIS, stöd till utvecklingsländer osv. ) och kan söka bidrag från gemenskapen för dessa verksamheter. -Kontraktsforskning, det ursprungliga arbetssättet för tredje part som nämns ovan, som nu är del av GFCs ordinarie konkurrensutsatta utbud. Även om förberedelserna för den snabba uppgången av konkurrensutsatt verksamhet hade startat redan 1994, var 1995 året då man började lära sig av erfarenheterna: lära sig att hantera nya administrativa och rättsliga frågor, lära sig att på ett kreativt sätt omdisponera sina resurser och personal för att möta nya utmaningar och lära sig attanpassa sig till en helt ny inre och yttre miljö. GFC-instituten har tagit itu med den konkurrensutsatta verksamheten på ett motiverat, flexibelt och entusiastiskt sätt och har dessutom haft gott stöd av en för konkurrensutsatt verksamhet. intern arbetsgrupp I fråga om GFCs deltagande i verksamhet med delat kostnadsansvar har GFC tillsammans med samarbetspartners från medlemsstaterna lämnat in totalt 338 projektförslag som svar på de första ansökningsomgångarna för femton specifika program. I december 1995 hade kommissionen beviljat finansiellt stöd till 95 av dessa förslag, vilket motsvarar 28 % av de inlämnade förslagen. Det finansiella resultatet för GFC, som visserligen är svårt att bedöma exakt beroende på pågående kontraktsförhandlingar för flera projekt, kommer att överstiga 10,5 miljoner ecu. Det är viktigt att notera hur både förslagsverksamheten och de följande utvärderingsresultaten har visat betydelsen av GFCs arbete och dess förankring i den europeiska industri- och forskarvärlden. Inom området konkurrensutsatt verksamhet för vetenskapligt och tekniskt stöd öronmärktes 128 miljoner ecu inom det fjärde ramprogrammet för fyraårsperioden. Av dessa ställdes 26,5 miljoner ecu till förfogande för kommissionens tjänster i början av 1995, men endast 20 miljoner ecu har 8 <3^ använts under 1995. GFCs institut har lyckats få cirka 11,9 miljoner ecu i form av kontrakt, ensamma eller i samarbete med andra. GFC:s institut har även uppvisat en hög aktivitetsnivå under 1995 för övrig konkurrensutsatt verksamhet utanför ramprogram som TACIS, PHARE osv. I den här hårt konkurrensutsatta sektorn av marknaden har GFC fått kontrakt motsvarande 2,3 miljoner ecu. Nya kontrakt (vunna på marknaden i sin helhet) för arbeten för tredje part uppgår för 1995 till över 18 miljoner ecu. Det är imponerande att kunna bibehålla marknadsandelarna med tanke på de stora ansträngningar som lagts ned på övriga områden (för 1994 uppgick kontraktsvärdet för arbeten för tredje part till 18 miljoner ecu). I tabell 1 ges en översikt av intäkter under 1995 för konkurrensutsatt verksamhet. Tabell 1 - konkurrensutsatt verksamhet Intäkter under 1995 (i miljoner ecu) Intäkter 1995 Krediter för1995(*) Verksamhet med delat kostnadsansvar Konkurrensutsatt stödverksamhet Konkurrensutsatt verksamhet utanför det fjärde ramprogrammet Arbete för tredje part TOTAL 10,8 11,9 2,3 18,5 43,5 3,9 4,8 1,3 18,5 28,5 (*) Återstoden kommer att överföras till 1996 års budget. HFR kompletterande program för driften av högflödesreaktom Kommissionen ansvarar i Petten enligt avtalet Euratom/Nederländerna av den 25 juli 1961. Den 29 april 1992 antog rådet ett fyraårigt kompletterande forskningsprogram som rör driften av högflödesreaktom (HFR) i Petten och som skulle genomföras av GFC för Europeiska atomenergigemenskapen I det kompletterande programmet som skulle avslutas den 31 december 1995 var HFR-verksambeten huvudsakligen resultatet av samarbete mellan Nederländerna och Tyskland, som också stod för finansieringen. Extra finansiering, som hela tiden ökat, kom från externa kontrakt. Enligt planerna skall driften av HFR fortsätta under ett nytt kompletterande program, där en ännu större del av inkomsterna skall komma från den industriella sektorn och kostnaderna skall sänkas kraftigt. (1992-1995). (HFR) 9 Q^ 1. 3 GFCS INFORMATIONSDAGAR - PUBLIKATIONER OCH KONFERENSER Den nya inriktningen för GFCs verksamhet gör det nödvändigt med ett närmare samarbete mellan GFC och industrin, forskningscentra och universitet i medlemsstaterna. För att stimulera detta samarbete och för att öka medvetenheten om GFC har man anordnat informationsdagar på initiativ från medlemmar av guvernörsrådet i London, Aten, Köpenhamn, Milano och Wien. Representanter från GFC har presenterat centret och i parallella workshops som representerar institutet har man hittat underlag för nya samarbetsformer med deltagarna. Informationsdagarna har fungerat som ett komplement till de talrika presentationerna av GFC för besökare på orterna, besöken på nationella laboratorier, medverkan från GFC på specialmässor och -utställningar, distribution av GFC-litteratur osv. GFC kan erbjuda ett brett sortiment av publikationer om vetenskapliga frågor. Det rör sig om allt från rapporter och artiklar i vetenskapliga tidningar, artiklar till konferenser, EUR-rapporter och recensioner. Under 1995 publicerade GFC totalt cirka 1 000 artiklar. Deras fördelning på respektive institut visas i tabell 2. Tabell 2 - GFC-publikationer under 1995 (till och med den 14 februari 1996) Institut EUR- rapporter Artiklar till konferenser Publicerade artiklar Totalt Övergripande planering Institutet -mätningar för referensmaterial och Institutet för transuraner Institutet för avancerade material Institutet för systemteknik och informationsteknik Miljöinstitutet Institutet för tillämpningar av fjärranalys Institutet för säkerhetsteknologi Institutet för framtidsstudier Totalt 5 5 2 16 14 22 17 19 17 117 1 66 96 136 115 129 111 114 4 772 1 40 15 49 26 37 23 16 1 7 111 113 201 155 188 151 149 22 208 1097 En detaljerad lista över GFC-publikationer offentliggörs varje år i Publikationsbulletinen. Det senaste numret, nr. 15, publicerades i mars 1995, och innehöll alla publikationer under 1994. De flesta av dessa publikationer kan fås från PR-enheten i Ispra. Förutom patenten finns i Publikationsbulletinen en uppställning över alla patent som GFC fått. Under 1994 fick man 22 patent. Varje år organiserar GFC ett antal konferenser, workshops och seminarier på de fem orterna i Europa. Under 1995 anordnades 9 konferenser, 94 internationella workshops och sammankomster och 135 besök till de olika orterna. Totalt har fler än 11 000 personer besökt anläggningarna, vilket visar det stabila intresse som den vetenskapliga världen visar för de bidrag som GFC kan ge till forskning och utveckling. 10 ö^ 1. 4 Mänskliga GFC:s personalstyrka består av tjänstemän och personer med tidsbegränsad anställning, inbegripet både vetenskapligt-tekniska tjänster och administrativ personal. I slutet av december 1995 uppgick antalet anställda till 1 786 personer, vilket kan jämföras med 1 845 i december 1994. 1 tabell 3 visas personalfördelningen för 1995. Tabell 3 - Personalfördelning i december 1995 Institut Antal anställda Generaldirektoratet Programdirektoratet Samordning av resurser - vetenskaplig & teknisk stödverksamhet Ispra Institutet för referensmaterial och -mätningar Institutet för transuraner Institutet för avancerade material Institutet för systemteknik och informationsteknik Miljöinstitutet Institutet för tillämpningar av fjärranalys Institutet för säkerhetsteknologi Institutet för framtidsstudier Personer utlånade till GFC Totalt 25 13 347 169 194 250 187 219 101 246 26 9 1786 Förutom den ordinarie personalen är 319 forskare aktiva i GFC i olika projekt, till exempel: särskilt meriterade forskare som gästforskare, nationella experter som lånats ut till GFC av medlemsstater för att delta i särskilda vetenskapliga projekt, stipendiater med doktorsexamen eller med grundutbildning. I tabell 4 visas fördelningen per institut av de forskare som arbetade vid GFC i slutet av december 1995. Dessutom kommer cirka 20 forskare varje år från ett tredje land på stipendium inom ramen för kommissionens Internationella atomenergiorganet (IAEA). överenskommelse med eller med respektive land Förutom ovanstående forskare arbetar flera särskilt meriterade forskare och ungefär 150 praktikanter vid de olika GFC-instituten under kortare perioder utan att det belastar EU-budgeten. H O. Tabell 4- Gästforskare, utlånade experter, stipendiater i december 1995 Institut Gäst forskare Utlånade experter Forskare med doktors examen Studenter med grund- utbild-ning Totalt Institutet för referensmaterial och -mätningar Institutet för transuraner Institutet för avancerade material Institutet för systemteknik och informations teknik Miljöinstitutet Institutet för tillämpningar av fjärranalys Institutet för säkerhetsteknologi Institutet för framtidsstudier Totalt 2 2 4 1 5 7 4 2 27 2 - - 2 4 5 - 13 14 16 32 26 17 21 17 8 151 16 10 15 15 34 17 13 36 26 51 44 60 50 34 8 128 18 319 12 ^ 1. 5 FINANSER GFCs budget för 1995 visas i tabell 5. Tabell 5 - Budget i miljoner ecu Institutionell verksamhet EG-specifikt program lAEA-specifikt program 152 761 75 301 Delsumma 228 062 Konkurrensutsatt verksamhet Deltagande i verksamhet med delat kostnadsansvar Konkurrensutsatt vetenskaplig och teknisk stödverksamhet Deltagande i gemenskapens verksamheter utanför det fjärde ramprogrammet 0,027 0,045 Arbete för tredje part 10 460 Högflödesreaktor Delsumma Totalt 10532 18 548 257142 Till dessa åtaganden kommer 0,564 miljoner ecu i krediter som förts över från 1994 års budget för genomförande av forskningskontrakt rörande miljö och distansövervakning från rymden, godkända i mars 1995 (SEK(95), 400 slutlig). GFCs totala finansiella tillgångar uppgick till knappt 258 miljoner ecu: Utförande av GFC-specifika program kommissionens tjänster). (forskning och institutionell stödverksamhet för Utförande av GFCs konkurrensutsatta verksamhet inom ramen för EU:s budget (deltagande i verksamhet med delat kostnadsansvar för kommissionens tjänster, deltagande från GFC:s sida i övrig gemenskapsverksamhet, bidrag från den nederländska och den tyska regeringen för driften av högflödesreaktom och från GFCs kunder för arbeten som utförs på deras begäran). Det bör understrykas att siffrorna i tabell 6 syftar på utgifter för arbeten som GFC utfört under 1995. Verksamhet med delat kostnadsansvar och konkurrensutsatt vetenskaplig och teknisk stödverksamhet och deltagande i övrig gemenskapsverksamhet representerar nya typer av verksamhet för GFC under 1995. I de flesta fall ingicks kontrakten först i slutet av 1995. Som en naturlig följd utfördes bara ett begränsat arbete under 1995. I tabell 2 finns siffror över kontrakt som ingicks under 1995. 13 O^. JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE 1995 ANNUAL REPORT (Presented by the Commission) FOREWORD Following Article 7 of the 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 Joint Research Center (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); Article 7 of the Council Decision of 15 December 1994, adopting a specific programme of research and technological development, including demonstration, to be implemented by the Joint Research Centre for the European Atomic Energy Community (1995 to 1998) (94/919/Euratom); Article 5 of the Council Decision of 29 April 1992, adopting a supplementary research programme to be implemented by the Joint Research Centre for the European Atomic Energy Community (92/275/Euratom) during the period 1992-1995; it is foreseen that an annual report on the implementation of the activities of the JRC will be transmitted by the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee. In fulfilment of this requirement, the enclosed document reports on JRC activities in 1995, and at the same time constitutes a contribution to the reporting on Community RTD (Research and Technological Development) activities required by Article 130P of the EC Treaty. This annual report is accompanied by the comments of the Board of Governors. OBSERVATIONS BY THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS ON THE JRC ANNUAL REPORT 1995 *95 - THE FIRST YEAR UNDER MODIFIED ROLE 1995 was a significant year for the JRC. This was the year where the modified role of the JRC, as agreed with the Council, the Parliament and the Commission in 1994, took effect. This modified role for the JRC called for a wider spectrum of competitive activities than was the case in the past, and from 1995 onwards the JRC could participate in Community programmes on an equal basis with its national partners from research and industry. As witnessed by the present report, the JRC responded in a nvnamic way to this new challenge and in the case of the shared cost action programmes, obtainec n the competition promising results together with its partners throughout the Member States of the European Union and other countries associated with the programmes. Good results were also obtained for the other modes of competitive activities. It is noteworthy that, in spite of the new modes introduced in 1995, the JRC kept up the pace with work for third parties in comparison with previous years. In this new situation, preliminary targets were set for participation in competitive activities in 1995 and the Board notes with satisfaction that overall, these targets were exceeded. Competitive activities is only one facet of the JRC work, another being its institutional research and scientific and technical support to the Union's sectorial policies, notably environment, energy, agriculture and industry. The Board appreciates the continuing concern of the JRC to respond positively to the requirements of customers. For the research activities there is a welcome drive towards producing useful results for the benefit of industry and society. The report highlights examples of this and the Board will continue to urge the Centre to pursue the necessary trend towards a further output-oriented JRC with an increased scope for the commercialisation of its research results. Based on frequent evaluations of the JRC, the Board feels satisfied with the generally high quality of the JRC work and its increasing relevance to the needs of the European Union's policies. The Board already noted last year its expectations for the development* for the JRC from 1995 onwards. Amongst the measures the Board has taken to strengthen its follow-up on the JRC activities is a restructuring of its Sub-Committees, allowing to follow in more detail the JRC institutes. Continuing efforts are being made to introduce performance parameters and quality assessment. EVALUATIONS OF THE JRC In its guidance of the JRC throughout the year the Board has drawn on the recommendations from the evaluations of the JRC and its Institutes by external, independent, experts available at the end of the previous 1992-1994 programme period. The Board has reviewed the full set of recommendations from this exercise and recognises the JRC's management efforts in working to implement them, while noting that some useful recommendations particularly related to administrative and staff policy matters have not yet been implemented for reasons beyond the control of the JRC RULES GOVERNING THE JRC - STAFF ISSUES The Board continues to press for the JRC to be allowed to operate fully in a way that enables it to achieve the change in working methods envisaged by the Council Conclusions of April 1994. This may call for a further evolution of the rules and regulations governing its activities, possibly involving an evolution of its status within the Commission. This should also lead to an increased flexibility in budgetary and financial matters combined with the noted progress on the financial management systems. The Board has presented its points of view on these important matters to the Commissioner for Research, Mrs. Edith Cresson. Towards the end of the year it was informed of the imminent plans for giving the JRC a larger autonomy within the Commission and other organizational changes planned. Thus as a first step, the JRC will be given status as a separate Directorate General from early 1996 (Decided on 16 January, 1996). Thé Board has also discussed staff policy issues with the Commissioner and expects to follow the implications for the JRC under the new policy of the Commission on staff under the research budget of the Union. Like the staff of many other European research institutes, the JRC has an age distribution which will result in many vacancies in the coming few years. Five senior posts as Institute Director became vacant in 1995 and four of these were filled, following appointments by the Commission upon advice from the Board, while a fifth post is still to be filled. The Board welcomes the four new Directors who joined the JRC in mid-1995. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ON THE JRC The modified role of the JRC requires a more intense dissemination of information on JRC activities to all interested parties at a national level. As a contribution to this, in 1995 Members of the Board, together with the JRC, arranged for a continuation of the series of JRC Information Days and presentations of JRC activities throughout the Member States with the aim of fostering further collaboration between national research laboratories, universities, industry and the JRC. To attain proper coordination between the JRC research activities and other related research activities under the Community Framework Programmes, Members of the Board have participated with JRC representatives in meetings of the Community Programme Committees. These exchanges of views as prescribed in the Council decisions on the JRC programmes should be intensified and encompass all relevant programme activities in 1996. STRATEGY The fulfilment of the JRC's mission of performing customer-driven research of the highest quality and integrity in support of Community policies, calls for a clear long-term strategy for the JRC and its Institutes. The Board agreed in late 1995 on an updated JRC strategy and has conducted discussions on the underlying Institute strategies as a guide for the Centre in its current and future activities. One of the measures envisaged in the 1995 strategy document is more extensive use of performance indicators to assist the development of the JRC. INSTITUTE FOR PROSPECTIVE TECHNOLOGICAL STUDIES (IPTS) In its observations on the 1994 Annual Report, the Board mentioned the new location of this institute in Seville and the work planned. It is pleased to record the new work programme for IPTS, defined in 1995 and endorsed by the Commission. Moreover, the Board appreciates the inauguration of the important Technological Watch function by the Commissioner, Mrs. Edith Cresson, in the presence of the Chairman of the Board, who emphasised the collaboration IPTS has established throughout the Member States and with the European Parliament. HIGH FLUX REACTOR 1995 was the last year of the supplementary EURATOM programme for the High Flux Reactor (HFR) at Petten (NL). Throughout the year discussions have taken place at all levels on the future of the HFR reactor and its proposed new multi-annual programme to begin in 1996. This has involved a complete overhaul of the management of the facility and an intensive drive towards a more direct commercial use of a considerable part of its capacity with the ensuing improvement in efficiency,and economy. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Board welcomes the several contacts it has had during the year with the Commissioner for Research, Mrs. Edith Cresson and looks forward to further discussions on the development of JRC strategy. At the same time the Board expresses its appreciation for the hard work of the Director General, his Directors and the entire JRC staff in addressing the challenges facing them. JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE 1995 ANNUAL REPORT Report of the Commission TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. THE JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE IN 1995 1. 1 INSTITUTIONAL ACTIVITIES: JRC SPECIFIC RESEARCH PROGRAMMES 1. 1. 1 Institutional Research Activities 1. 1. 2 Institutional Scientific and Technical Support for Community Policies 1. 2 COMPETITIVE ACTIVITIES Participation in shared cost actions Competitive scientific and technical support activities Other competitive activities outside the Framework Programmes Third Party Work HFR Supplementary Programme 1. 3 INFORMATION DAYS - PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCES 1. 4 HUMAN RESOURCES 1. 5 FINANCES 2. ACTIVITIES OF THE JRC INSTITUTES IN 1995 ,: 2. 1 THE INSTITUTE FOR REFERENCE MATERIALS AND MEASUREMENTS 2. 2 THE INSTITUTE FOR TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS 2. 3 THE INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED MATERIALS 2. 4 THE INSTITUTE FOR SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND INFORMATICS. , 2. 5 THE ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE 2. 6 THE INSTITUTE FOR REMOTE SENSING APPLICATIONS 2. 7 THE INSTITUTE FOR SAFETY TECHNOLOGY 2. 8 THE INSTITUTE FOR PROSPECTIVE TECHNOLOGICAL STUDIES Annex 1 Annex 2 8 10 10 14 18 18 18 18 18 19 19 20 22 23 23 26 28 31 35 38 41 : 44 46 48 JRC Annuel Report 1995 THE JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE The Joint Research Centre is the corporate research laboratory of the European Union. It is established by the European Commission with headquarters in Brussels. Five separate sites, located in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, house eight different institutes, each with its own focus of expertise. These institutes are: IRMM The Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements GEEL (B) ITU The Institute for Transuranium Elements KARLSRUHE (D) 1AM The Institute for Advanced Materials PETTEN (NL) and ISPRA (I) ISEl The Institute for Systems Engineering and Informatics ISPRA (I) El The Environment Institute IRSA The Institute for Remote Sensing Applications 1ST The Institute for Safety Technology ISPRA (I) ISPRA (I) ISPRA (I) IPTS The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies SEVILLE (E) The mission of the JRC is to promote and carry out customer-driven research of the highest quality and integrity in support of Community policies. The Joint Research Centre, being an integral part of the Community research and technological development system, contributes to Community research policy, particularly in those sectors in which it has special, if not unique, skills and in areas where its neutrality is essential for scientific and technical support for Community policies. These institutional activities are performed in executing the JRC specific programmes decided by the Council and funded by the European Union budget. Furthermore the JRC is increasingly engaged in competitive activities participating: on a competitive basis, with industry, research organisations and universities within the Member States or associated including shared cost actions under the Framework countries, Programmes, and offering its services against payment to various customers. in Community programmes, The statutory staff, comprising officials and temporary agents of the JRC, was 1. 786 at the end of 1995. To this number one must add 319 scientists who were active in the Centre and were paid by the JRC under various hosting schemes. The global credits committed by the JRC in 1995 were slightly lower than 258 Mioecu. This Annual Report is intended to give a general overview of JRC activities in 1995. Readers may find more details in the Annual Reports of the eight institutes. The JRC also publishes numerous scientific reports, presents papers to conferences and in scientific journals (all these reports are referred to in the Publication Bulletin which is published yearly), and organises workshops, seminars and conferences to disseminate its scientific output. 1. T HE J O I NT RESEARCH CENTRE IN 1995 8 1995 A SIGNIFICANT YEAR to led, EAEC research, in 1994, to decisions on 1995 was the first year of a new approach for the JRC. This had been defined by the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the European Commission in discussions which the for Community Framework Programmes activities technological in to development and demonstration and subsequent decisions on the specific research programmes the Framework implement Programmes. These include two JRC specific, 1995-1998, research programmes, one for the EC (European Community) and the other for the Energy Community). In conformity with the Council conclusions of 26 April 1994 on the role of the JRC, the Centre in institutional activities as well as competitive institutional activities, the former covering research and scientific and institutional technical support to Community policies. The competitive activities include participation in shared-cost actions under the Framework Programmes, competitive support measures for Commission services responsible for the various Union policies, competitive activities outside the Community Framework Programmes and contractual work performed for outside third parties. in 1995 has engaged (European Atomic appointed Commission for establishing better 1995 was, moreover, the year in which the launched newly bonds initiatives between industry and research. Within this frame the Commissioner for research, Mrs. E. Cresson, strongly emphasised the need for further commercialisation of JRC research results and for improved communication of JRC activities. Finally, 1995 also saw the enlargement of the European Union. The three new Member States (Austria, Finland and Sweden) had already participated in 1994 in JRC activities under the EEA (European Economic Area) Agreement. This framework allowed for the continuation, in 1995, of the JRC collaboration with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. INSTITUTIONAL ACTIVITIES The JRC institutional activities contributed to the 4th Framework the objectives of Industrial and Material Programme for the EC and the EAEC Framework Programmes via the lines of Information and (Information Communications Technologies Technologies Technologies), (Industrial Technologies, Measurements and Testing), Environment (Environment and Climate), Life Sciences and Fisheries, Technologies including agro-industry, technologies, forestry and rural development), Non-nuclear Energy, Targeted Socio-Economic Research, Nuclear Fission Safety and Thermonuclear Fusion. (Agriculture food and NEW CHALLENGES: COMPETITIVE ACTIVITIES than 300 proposals were made Following extensive preparations begun in 1994, the JRC responded to the challenge set by the new opportunities opened up in 1995 for competitive activities. Together with partners from industry, research centres and universities throughout the Union and associated countries, more in response to the first call for proposals under the new Framework Programmes, with a success rate of 28%. The JRC also presented proposals for competitive support activities and for Community programmes outside the Frame work Programmes, notably PHARE and TACIS, where contracts were won for nuclear safety work in the Central and Eastern European countries, Russia and other Newly Independent States (NIS). Taking up these new opportunities required intensive marketing by the JRC. They were made possible by a series of legal, financial, budgetary and administrative decisions by the institutions (Council, Parliament, Community Commission). These the necessary amendments to the Financial Regulation for the European Union budget, decided on in September 1995. included Contractual work performed for external third parties was also notable and new contracts signed during 1995 amounted to well above 18 Mioecu. W5/7S BY THE COMMISSIONER On 20 July 1995 Commissioner Mrs. E. Cresson, made her first visit to the JRC, starting with the Institutes at Ispra, followed by a visit to ITU in Karlsruhe in September and IPTS in Seville in December, where Mrs. Cresson inaugurated the JRC Annual Report 1995 new technological watch function of the Institute. In her address to the personnel during these visits, she encouraged the JRC to continue its mission for Research and Technological Development in Europe. She outlined the views of the Commission on the contributions to be made by the JRC to the policies of the Union and on to engagement in competitive activities. Member States on JRC activities in general and in particular those aimed at stimulating industry and concrete collaboration with research conducted at a national or regional level. JRC availability in support of Union policies was further publicised by information activities directed to other Commission services, including a Newsletter and targeted seminars. in In 1995 the Commission announced that it had established several task forces on industrial research the areas of new-generation aircraft, multimedia educational software, the car of tomorrow, vaccines and viral diseases, the trains and railway systems of the future, intermodal transport, maritime systems of the future and environmentally friendly water technologies. JRC staff have participated in most of these task forces and, in parallel, the JRC management has planned reorientations within the JRC institutional research areas, in order to match research to the new priorities set by the Commission. NEW DIRECTORS During the year, four new Directors of JRC Institutes, namely ISEl, El, IRSA and IAM, took up their posts, after appointment by the Commission acting on the advice of the Board of Governors. COMMUNICATION INITIATIVES Links between the JRC and industry, research centres and universities were also reinforced through the organisation of Information Days in London, Athens, Copenhagen, Milan and Vienna, on the initiative of Members of the Board of Governors. The Institutes were presented, while workshops outlined new perspectives collaboration. Likewise, members of JRC management and staff have given a number of seminars throughout the for STRATEGY The programme period 1995-1998 will see the JRC, on the one hand build on experience acquired from the previous programme period and on the other, meet the challenges that rapidly and continuously changing world markets impose on European Industry and the new demands facing the European Union, with an emphasis on the commercialisation of research results of value to industry and society. To this end, each year the JRC organises a number of conferences, workshops and seminars at its five sites in Europe. The number of visitors shows the constant interest of the scientific community in the contributions to research and development made by the JRC. /' In order to consolidate the new approach of the JRC as prescribed by the Council, the Parliament and the Commission, the Board of Governors and the JRC management have, during the year, discussed strategies for the eight institutes and the JRC as a whole, leading to an emphasis on customer-driven, high quality research of real utility for the European Union, executed in an efficient way with a flexible responsiveness to changing market needs. JRC activities have the effect of creating links between teams in Member States situated at different levels of scientific and technological development. They thus contribute to rein forcing cohesion between laboratories and research institutes in all the Community regions. JRC Annual Report 1995 1. 1 INSTITUTIONAL ACTIVITIES: JRC SPECIFIC RESEARCH PROGRAMMES The major task of the JRC in 1995 was to contribute to the implementation of the JRC specific programmes under the Communities' Framework Programmes in their first year of existence. This contribution was carried out through institutional research activities and through institutional scientific and technical support activities the Commission. the services of for 1. 1. 1 Institutional Research Activities institutional In 1995, research activities accounted for 73% of the JRC's institutional activities; the following Programme lines: they are carried out under • The Industrial Technologies and Materials Technologies programme is carried out by the Institute for Advanced Materials (IAM) and encompassed research projects on advanced materials, on surface engineering, on new ecofriendly materials and on Non Destructive Evaluation techniques for the inspection structural components. industrial of a The Measurements and Testing programme encompassed research projects on reference measurements and materials, carried out by the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements the (IRMM); assessment of the reliability of structures, carried out by for Safety Technology (1ST). Institute and the on of projects • The Environment and Climate programme consisted on research atmospheric, soil, water and waste pollution, executed by the Environment Institute (El); on the gradual setting up of the Centre for Earth Observation a decentralized European data management information system,and on applications of remote sensing techniques, carried out by the Institute for Remote Sensing Applications (IRSA); and on industrial hazards carried out by the Institute for Safety Technology (1ST) and by the for Systems Engineering and Institute Informatics (ISEl). and m The Non-Nuclear programme to consisted of research projects related materials for clean technologies, carried out Energy 10 Institute for Advanced Materials by the (IAM), and to standardisation of photovoltaic devices, carried out by the for Systems Engineering and Informatics (ISEl). Institute o The Nuclear the Fission Safety programme encompassed a number of research activities from studies on reactor safety, ranging for Safety Institute carried out by Technology (1ST), by the Institute for Systems Engineering and Informatics (ISEl) and the Institute for Advanced Materials (IAM), to research activities on nuclear safeguards and fissile materials management, executed by the Institute for Safety Technology (1ST), the for Systems Engineering and Institute Informatics for the Transuranium Elements (ITU). ITU carried out research on nuclear fuels and actinides. (ISEl), and Institute a The Controlled Thermonuclear (Technology and Safety) Institute Fusion is programme carried out by for Safety Technology (1ST), the Institute for Systems Engineering and Informatics (ÖEI), and the Institute for Advanced Materials (IAM). the / includes function the activities of B The Targeted Sodo-Economic Research the Science and programme and Technology Observatory the prospective work for Prpspective Technological Institute the Studies (IPTS). The essential role of to harvest the available Institute is from experts, consultants, contributions research organisations and in Member States and when possible in third countries, in order to analyse, process and integrate them impartially and in depth and, more importantly, to distil clear trends or needs for action in a usable form for decision makers. institutes While Part two of this document reports on the evolution in 1995 of these research activities, Institute by Institute, some salient results are highlighted here in order to illustrate how the JRC' to research enables institutional develop scientific knowledge and to acquire specific to make a valuable contribution to the advance of science, to provide scientific evaluations, to spread know how and expertise in areas where new innovative applications could be of interest to coordinate scientific cooperation throughout Europe and sometimes, to develop European scientific networks centred on its own facilities. installations in order JRC Annual Report 1995 11 > Novel activities, making valuable contribu tions to science and technology for the benefit of European industry: A new composite material, made of a silicon nitride matrix reinforced with long silicon carbide fibres, has been elaborated at IAM Petten, using a liquid infiltration technique followed by sintering. An investigation of its mechanical properties demonstrated the effectiveness of the fibre reinforcement in increasing both the strength and toughness of the otherwise brittle silicon nitride matrix, due largely to the formation of weak interphase bounding (the SiC fibres are precoated with a 400 nm thick layer of pyrolitic carbon). Figure 1 illustrates the typical stress-displacement curves for the composites with and without an interphase; the composite fabricated with fibres exhibits a much better coated performance than the one elaborated with uncoated fibres. This new composite is a first- rate temperature applications of structural components in a number of advanced industrial applications, such as gas turbines. candidate high for A project for the synthesis of carbon nitride, a new product, has been set up within a network. its thermal, optical, mechanical functional characteristics The multiple aims of the project were: to assess the and tribological properties of the material and to evaluate for industrial use in optical applications, magnetic storage, hard disk techniques and advanced mechanical components. The network has aroused the interest of 22 research institutes and 11 industrial partners from 9 different countries. The experimental contribution of the IRM M will be the characterisation of the material by nuclear techniques. The IRMM will perform the analysis of materials layers for the light elements (H, B, C, N, O) using charged particle beams of the 7 MV Van de Graaff accelerator. Nuclear reaction analysis of carbon and nitrogen by (d,p) reactions as well as Rutherford backscattering will be performed. • The JRC has exploited spin-offs from its research activities in areas where a new Community policy could be emerging: For example, the European Commission, together with the Member States, is currently strengthening its policy on natural risks, in particular on the monitoring and prevention of floods. Flooding is a major threat in many regions of Europe, both north |siC/Si,N4 composite g 0. 2 OJ Dieptaoamant (nun) 0. 4 0. 6 Flexure laad-dtspfacemcnt corvn of »3N4 reinforced with SiC fibre withoat coating and with Carbon Pyrolytie coati ng*. *Co«rt^rofONERA(F Fig. 1 - Stress-displacement curves JRC Annual Report 1995 and south, and involves river basins that need monitoring in more than one country. The exchange of prevention and monitoring knowledge among Member States could thus be beneficial, even for events such as flash floods which have only local consequences. IRSA initiated a uniform land cover data base obtained with remote sensing techniques from most of Europe. Harmonised digital terrain models can be obtained with a sampling scheme of 20 by 20 m spatially and 6-7 m in elevation through optical sensors techniques using such as SPOT. New microwave sensors are being developed in order to reach a higher degree of accuracy. the Specific projects carried out for specific users have also allowed IRSA to develop an expertise in hydrological modelling. A project called WETLANDS has improved our hydrology of understanding of catchments (research conducted in 1995 on two test sites, in England and in Greece, both in collaboration with local organisations), and our ability to assess the impact of major proposed changes (such as river diversion or reservoir building) or to develop water management strategies. Another project, HYDRE, developed for a consortium of IRSA to Mediterranean regions, allowed study the evolution and hydric stress of the vegetation. Geocoded information on land cover is of prime importance for upstream runoff, as well as for downstream vulnerability assessment, in mountaineous areas, forests can slow runoff by a factor of 10 as compared to bare soil. Modelling runoff using land cover information is important for advance warning of floods during risk periods and for assessing mitigation measures. It can also be important in deciding on agricultural policies of fallow (set-aside) or afforestation which have indirect consequences on floods. The Institute for Remote Sensing Applica tions (IRSA) is in the process of setting up a scientific and technical support capacity for emerging Community policies concerning floods, thanks to its in-house expertise and the benefit of ongoing institutional research. • Institutional research activities also fostered spin-offs to specific applications. Two significant examples in the field of surface engineering at the Institute for Advanced Materials: 12 In the framework of a Eureka project led by IAM (IPACERC project), the development of a new processing technique for production of multi layer coatings has greatly increased (up to 500 times) resistance to erosion. These coatings will have applications the aeronautics field, particularly in helicopter engines. in Surface engineering technology was applied successfully in the biomaterials field, with three major achievements: improvement of the integration of prostheses in living tissues (hip, teeth) due to biocompatible coatings; reduction of wear of hip prostheses by surface engineering of mobile parts of joints; control of the proliferation of bacteria on the incorporating disinfectant prosthesis by elements on the surface of the prosthesis. These activities are conducted in conjunction with several medical Institutes in Italy, in France and in Germany. two These how institutional research can lead to applica tions useful to industry and society. examples illustrate • Institutional research enabled the JRC to spread a web of scientific cooperation ail over Europe. Indeed, through bilateral or multilateral cooperation, the JRC has set up more than 800 connections with various partners, mainly within the European Union but also in other European countries, the USA and Japan. This is illustrated in Figure 2. • Finally, its institutional research has been one of the main factors enabling the JRC to develop European scientific networks centred on its own facilities. A vivid example can be found in the afield of earthquake engineering: terms. Research aimed In spite of important advances in earthquake engineering and seismic design over the last two decades, recent seismic events in Europe (e. g. in Greece and Italy ) have shown how vulnerable developed societies still are to the effects, of earthquakes, both in human and economic at decreasing this vulnerability which, to a large extent, depends on the seismic response of structures is thus clearly needed. High level expertise in seismic design of structures has long been available in the European Union, as have been specialised for earthquake testing of structures, in particular shaking tables. facilities JRC Annual Report 1995 13 UNHMnadom 1U% Airife Fig. 2 - Distribution of JRC Cooperation by Country to research facility at given With the setting up in 1989, at the initiative of the JRC, of the European Association of Structural Mechanics Laboratories and the in 1992 of the ELSA subsequent opening Ispra, a new reaction wall earthquake dimension was engineering and Community-wide and well co-ordinated projects in seismic design of structures were set up around the new facility. At present, more than 20 specialised in Member States are involved with the JRC in a major programme of pre-normative research, in support of Eurocode 8 the provisional European standards for designing civil engineering structures in seismic areas. in Europe, laboratories (EC8), the initiative of DG Established at III (Industry) of the Commission and with the advice of the CEN experts in charge of EC8, the research project covers those priority topics which have to be addressed in order to improve the proposed European seismic design rules, and addresses new aspects of insufficiently engineering earthquake covered in the current, provisional version of the code. For the practical implementation of this the institutional activity at ELSA is a key element allowing the implementation of validation Community-wide project, JRC Annual Report 1995 experiments on large - and full - scale models of buildings and bridges. However, equally important is the significant support which has been obtained, firstly, from the Human Capital and Mobility (HCM) programme and, more recently, from the new Commission programme on Training and Mobility of Researchers (TMR). This support, added to ELSA's own institutional funding, has made it possible to set up two research networks, grouping respectively 18 and 11 European laboratories with the ELSA facility of the JRC. Moreover, substantial funding has also been obtained from the "Large installations" chapter of HCM and TMR to let researchers to have access to a consortium of shaking tables (NTUA, Athens; ISM ES, Bergamo; University of Bristol; LN€C, Lisbon; CE A, Saclay) and to the ELSA reaction wall. In addition to the projects in support of Eurocode 8, organisations from the Member States grouped with the JRC in the European Association Mechanics of Structural Laboratories are participating jointly with in shared cost actions, the ELSA competitive the for third parties. Commission and work Industry is involved in research actions aimed activities support team for 14 Reaurcb Activai» \GtittpnttonSnppvR Acoviri» Träning tad Mobility iofRf tr trdiert (TMR) Program* Sund-Coit Action» Thud-ftsty T I T. - 1. |ELSA- Laboratory StraccnraMichtiiiicf A Earthquake Engnittnng b)LMf4«aU FacOttte «BWwTiblti iUAUKSBftJOlL # -• • -• EASML European AssodaticQ gfStracogtlMechutta LtbuiMuucf Qhàftxwauaé; NaamalLabs) Basic Research in Structural Brfte / Euram Envtonmant Inco-Coperoicus Support to Co&ftrsctiosilitâuray EURDCODES SnnulanonTooli fYo. Svppostto hdufiijr, Ninonal/Regio&al -Uieof NewMaKàb& Construction Tedmoloyw Fig. 3 • European Collaboration in 1995 around the ELSA Facility and validating developing new at introducing construction technologies and durability better new materials with properties for new constructions as well as for repair and strengthening purposes. Figure 3 shows the operation in 1995 of European earthquake collaboration on engineering around the ELSA facility. 1. 1. 2 Institutional Scientific and Technical Support for Community Policies The JRC provided, Scientific and Technical Support to Union Policies at the request of the in conformity relevant Commission services, with the Council Decisions of 15 December 1994 (which adopted the actual specific programmes of the JRC). These Scientific and Technical the JRC's activities accounted Institutional activities. for 27% of The support activities are customer driven, in impartial and neutral scientific fulfilment of and technical requirements arising from E. C. directives, decisions of the Commission and the Council, or obligations stemming from the Euratom Treaty. The effective customer/contractor relationship the between requesting services of the Commission and the JRC Institutes is expressed in the elaboration and signing of inter-DG collaboration agreements. General monitoring of such JRC services to the other Directorates General of the Commission inter-DG has been exercised by an official Committee, established by a Commission decision. This group met twice in 1995, with a high attendance. Its role is twofold: monitoring the work performed, so as to ensure a smooth, the mutual exchange of activities (over 100 abstracts related to these support activities were communicated in 1995 to all DGs), and planning activities for the following year, taking into account priorities, new requests and budget limitations. information on to lines: These Scientific and Technical Support activities following Framework were related Technologies, programme Environment and Climate, Agriculture and Fisheries, Targeted Socio-Economic Research and Nuclear Safety and Safeguards. the Information Table 1 shows the distribution of this support between the JRC Institutes and the Framework Programme lines. The three main JRC support activities are: JRC Annual Report 1995 15 1. JRC Support for the Environmental Policy, which accounts for 46% of the scientific and technical support budget, provides DG XI with scientific and technical assistance for the Table 1 - JRC institutional S&T Support Activities Institutes IRMM ITU IAM ISEl El IRSA 1ST m Framework Programme Unas Information Technologies Safety and Reliability of Systems Environment and Climate European Reference Laboratory for Air Pollution (ERLAP) European Chemicals Bureau (ECB) European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) Support to the European Environment Agency (EEA) Quality Control of Consumer Products (Consumer Protection) Alpine Observatory industrial Reliability: Major Hazards Biotechnology Safety Foodstuff Analysis in Support of Industrial Policy European Community Pharmaceutical Information Network (ECPHIN) Methodologies for UCLAF Agriculture and Fisheries v remote Sensing for Agriculture Animal Identification European Office for Wine, Alcohol and Spirit Drinks (BEVABS) Reference Measurements and Materials for Quality Control of Foodstuffs Targeted Socio-Economic Research Prospective Technological Studies Nuclear Fission Safety European Networks on Component Ageing and Inspection Techniques Euratom Safeguards Support: General Euratom Safeguards Support: On-Site laboratories and ECSAM IAEA Safeguards Support • • • • JRC Annual Report 1995 • • • • • • \ 9 • • • • • • • • • / / • • • ' • • • - • • the nuclear legislation on implementation of chemical pollutants, atmospheric pollution, water quality, chemical waste, industrial risks inter-DG and safety. collaboration agreement the period 1995-1998 was signed in December 1995. This work is part of the 5th EC Action Programme in the field of the Environment, and includes: The for - The European Reference Laboratory for Air Pollution (ERLAP) which was particularly active in the harmonisation of current EC Directives on air pollution, in the organisation of Quality Assurance Control the development and validation of new monitoring techniques. programmes and in - The European Tracer Experiment (ETEX), the capability of aimed at verifying atmospheric modellers to the forecast evolution of a cloud of an atmospheric in real time. ETEX was co- pollutant sponsored by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). the EC, tasks required - The European Chemicals Bureau (ECB), which is now handling all the technical the and scientific notification of new chemicals, the risk chemicals, assessment classification and dangerous export/import for chemicals and chemicals. and control of testing methods labelling existing for of - The European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), which, in collaboration with its advisory Committee, has defined criteria for identifying the Centre's priorities. Activities included pre- validation of non-animal test protocols, vaccine potency and safety testing, and integrated alternative approaches in toxicity testing studies which focussed on metabolism-mediated toxicity, and on in- in blood tests for vitro forming tissues. teratogenicity - The European Technical Office for Medicinal Products, established at El after a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products and the Joint Research Centre. This office is established in both London and Ispra and is part of the European Technical Office for Medicinal Products (ETOMEP) Unit of the 16 it is Environment Institute of the JRC; dedicated to the development of technical systems necessary for the implementation of European Union on medicinal products. legislation - The Major Accident Hazards Bureau, in support of the "Seveso" Directive. The activity of the Bureau resulted in the preparation of a second report on lessons learned from accidents notified to the Commission; in the distribution of a pilot data base of the Documentation Centre on the Competent to Industrial Risk Authorities; and in substantial progress made by the working groups established to produce guidance for safety reports and safety management systems. - Support for of methodologies for E. U. antifraud policy (UCLAF). elaboration the - Support services related to the Alpine Observatory (Alpine Convention), initiated in 1995. / The JRC also offers institutional support to the European Environment Agency (EEA- Council Regulation 1210/90). / 2. JRC Support for the Common Agricultural Policy, accounts for 16. 5% of the Scientific and Technical Support budget. The inter-DG collaboration agreement the period 1995-1998 was signed on 17July 1995. The work is mainly in the following research areas: for - application of and remote to sensing the aim of agricultural statistics, with demonstrating developing methodologies which integrate can remote sensing data into the collection of statistics the monitoring of crop acreage and agricultural production in the EC for - monitoring and control of the Common research and Policy: Agricultural remote sensing development of new techniques improved for allowing monitoring and control of the Common Agricultural Policy. - implementation of Community wine sector legislation through the operation of the "European Office for Wine, Alcohol and Spirit Drinks" (BEVABS); some 4000 EU NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) wine JRC Annual Report 1995 17 data have been validated to be stored in the pertinent data bank. research and development of new methods animal identification in order to prevent fraud. improved for - quality control of foodstuffs, by supplying certified reference materials, by providing suitable analytical procedures and by supplying and/or coordinating laboratory intercompansons. 3. JRC Support for Nuclear Safeguards IAEA (Euratom Safeguards DG XVII, I) Safeguards support programme DG the scientific and accounts for 32% of inter-DG technical support budget. The the period collaboration agreement 1995-1998 is expected to be signed early in 1996. for Most of the work undertaken deals with the following tasks: - training of inspectors, harmonisation of in- inspection service nuclear safeguards the art practices, providing state of equipment and reference analyses of nuclear materials samples; - design of on-site for safeguards analysis at reprocessing plants such as Sellafield and La Hague; routine analysis of nuclear materials samples; laboratories examination of the purchase and testing the of major equipment construction of two analytical boxes and the training of analysts; including - work on non destructive assay, sealing and surveillance identification techniques, safeguards equipment, data information treatment, health physics and training. techniques, of testing Other Support activities deal with: institutional Scientific and Technical Safety and reliability of informatics systems Foodstuff analysis in support of the Industrial Policy Quality of (Consumer Protection) control consumer products Techniques components in support of DG XI and DG XVII. inspecting ageing nuclear for Table 1 of Annex 1 shows how these support activities are customer driven, )h fulfilment of impartial and neutral scientific and technical requirements arising from E. C. directives, decisions of the Commission and the Council, or obligations stemming from the Euratom Treaty. Progress made in these programmes is reported in more detail in Chapter 2, dedicated to the activities of the individual JRC Institutes JRC Annual Report 1995 1. 2 COMPETITIVE ACTIVITIES The introduction, back in 1988, of Work for Third Parties, where the JRC carried out research on a contractual basis for external clients, was meant to provide a measure of the relevance of the JRC's work and its competitive position, to enhance the flow of technology transfer to the end users, and to let the European industry and research communities benefit from JRC specialised facilities and competences. This was the first step in opening the JRC up to competition. The discussions in the Council and the European Parliament leading the Fourth the decisions on Framework Programme and the EURATOM Framework Programme emphasised the need for the JRC to pursue and reinforce its move towards a more competitive approach on the basis of a genuine customer/contractor relationship as stated in the Council Conclusions on the role of the JRC in April 1994. to As noted by the Council, the implementation of its conclusions implied several measures and decisions on legal, budgetary, financial and administrative matters which, ideally, should have been in force from 1 January 1995. The main decision concerned the modification of the Financial Regulation. This always involves a lengthy procedure, prior to the Council decision, and was only achieved in September 1995. It is intended that this transition be introduced gradually; around 20% of the global JRC budget for 1995-1998 should be earned through competitive activities. As of the 1st of January, 1995, JRC competitive activities included: - Participation in shared cost actions, where the JRC, in association with partners in the Member States, submits proposals in the context of call for proposals, or contributes to proposals submitted by other laboratories under the Framework Programmes; - Competitive scientific and technical support activities under the Fourth Framework Programme, where the JRC may respond to Commission specific Directorates-General which are allocated on a competitive basis in the context of invitations to tender; requests from - Other competitive activities outside the Framework Programmes, where the JRC 18 (alone or in a consortium arrangement) will be able to participate in various actions sponsored by the Community (e. g. PHARE, TACIS, assistance to developing countries, etc. ) and in the context of a competitive approach, will seek Community funding in relation to those actions; - Research under contract, the original Third Party Work mode of operation mentioned above, now part of the overall JRC compe titive portfolio. for this surge in Although preparations competitive activities had already started early in 1994, 1995 has been for the JRC a year of learning from experience: learning to cope with new administrative and legal issues, learning to redeploy creatively its resources and personnel to face the competitive challenge, and adapting to a internal and external environment. The JRC Institutes have shown a highly motivated, flexible and keen response to the competitive approach, stimulated by an internal task force on competitive activities. totally new As far as JRC participation in shared cost actions is concerned, the JRC together with partners in the Member States submitted a total of 338 project proposals in response to the first calls for proposals from 15 specific Programmes; by December, 1995 the Commission had accepted 95 of those proposals for funding, bringing the overall success rate to 28%. The financial outcome for the JRC, although difficult to calculate precisely due to the ongoing contract negotiations on several outstanding projects, will be in excess of 10. 5 Mioecu. It is important here to underline how both the proposal activity and the subsequent evaluation results have revealed to its full extent the relevance of the JRC's work and its deep roots in the European industrial and research communities. In the area of competitive scientific and technical support activities, of the 128 Mioecu earmarked within the 4th FWP for funding, this activity over the 4-year period, 26. 5 Mioecu were made available to the services of the Commission early in 1995, but only 20 MioEcu have been committed in 1995. Of these, the JRC Institutes have managed to win about 11. 9 Mioecu of contracts, either alone or in a consortium arrangement. Other competitive activities outside the Framework Programmes like TACIS, PHARE, etc. , have seen a good 1995 level of activity on the part of the JRC institutes. In this highly JRC Annual Report 1995 19 competitive sector of the market, the JRC has won around 2. 3 Mioecu. The record for Third Party work shows, for 1995, new contracts (obtained on the market at large) in excess of 18 Mioecu. Considered in the context of the outstanding effort on the other fronts, this represents a remarkable hold on the previous positions. (Third Party work earned in 1994 amounted to 18 Mioecu). Table 2 provides a summary of the amounts for competitive activities: earned in 1995 Table 2 • Competitive activities Amounts earned in 1995 (Mioecu) Earned during 1995 Inscribed as 1995 credits (*) 10. 8 11. 9 3. 9 » 4. 8 2. 3 J 1. 3 Shared Cost Actions Competitive Support Competitive Activities outside the FWP Third Party Work 18. 5 TOTAL 43. 5 18. 5 28. 5 (*) The balance, will be, after conclusion of procedures, inscribed as 1996 credits. HFR Supplementary Pogramme The High Flux Reactor (HFR) at Petten is operated by the Commission in accordance with the Euratom/Netherlands agreement of 25 July 1961. On 29 April 1992, the Council adopted a four-year supplementary research programme to be implemented by the Joint Research Centre for the European Atomic Energy Community (1992-1995) concerning the operation of the High Flux Reactor (HFR) at Petten. Under the supplementary programme which was drawing to a close on 31 December 1995, the activities of the HFR were essentially the outcome of co operation between two partners, Germany and the Netherlands, which provided its financing. financing, which has steadily Additional increased, came from external contracts. It is intended to pursue the operation of HFR under a new supplementary programme, which would income see an even greater proportion of coming from the industrial sector and a drastic reduction in costs. JRC Annual Report 1995 1. 3 JRC INFORMATION DAYS - PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCES The new approach to the JRC activities calls for industry, a closer collaboration between research centers and universities in the Member States and the JRC. In order to stimulate this and to increase the awareness of the JRC, Information Days have been organised at the initiative of Members of the Board of Governors in London, Athens, Copenhagen, Milan and Vienna. JRC members have presented the Centre and in parallel workshops representing the Institutes have found grounds for new collaboration with the participants. These information days have thus supplemented the numerous presentations of the JRC given to visitors to the sites, visits made to national laboratories, representations of the JRC at specialised fairs and exhibitions, distribution of JRC literature, etc The JRC offers a vast array of publications on scientific matters ranging from papers and articles in scientific magazines, conference papers, EUR reports and reviews/ In 1995 the JRC published in total around 1. 000 papers and their distribution by Institute is shown in Table 3. The detailed list of JRC publications is published each year in the "Publications Bulletin". The last issue, No. 15, published in March 1995, gives all publications in 1994. Most of these publications are available upon request to the Public Relations Unit, Ispra. In addition the above to publications, mentioned Bulletin lists all patents obtained by the JRC. There were 26 patents granted in 1995. In 1995 in Europe. Each year the JRC organises a number of conferences, workshops and seminars at its five sites there were 9 conferences, 94 international workshops and meetings and 135 visits to the various sites. The resulting total of more than 11. 000 visitors shows the constant interest of the scientific community to the contributions in research and development made by the JRC. 20 Table 3- JRC Publications in 1995 Institute EUR Reports Conf. Papers Articles Published Provis. Total General Management Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements Institute for Transuranium Elements Institute for Advanced Materials Inst, for Systems Engineering and Informatics Environment Institue Institute for Remote Sensing Applications Institute for Safety Technology Institute for Prospective Technological Studies Total 5 5 2 16 14 22 17 19 17 117 1 66 96 136 115 129 111 114 4 772 1 40 15 49 26 37 23 16 1 7 111 113 201 155 188 151 149 22 208 1097 1. 4 HUMAN RESOURCES The JRC statutory staff is made up of officials and temporary agents, including both scientific- technical and administrative staff. By the end of December 1995 the Statutory staff numbered 1. 786 agents, compared with 1. 845 in December 1994. Table 4 gives the distribution of statutory staff in 1995. Table4- Distribution of statutory staff as of December 1995 Institute Directorate General Programmes Directorate Resources Coordination-Scientific & Technical Support Ispra \ Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements Institute for Transuranium Elements Institute for Advanced Materials Institute for Systems Engineering and Informatics Environment Institute Institute for Remote Sensing Applications Institute for Safety Technology Institute for Prospective Technological Studies JRC seconded staff Total Staff 25 13 347 169 194 250 187 219 101 246 26 9 1. 786 JRC Annual Report 1995 21 In addition to statutory staff, 319 scientists are also active in the JRC under various hosting schemes: Table 5 gives the distribution, by Institute, of these scientists, working at the JRC at the end of December 1995. senior scientists hosted as visiting scientists, national experts seconded to the JRC by Member States, to participate in selected scientific work; post-doctoral scientists and post-gratuate students trained through a programme of fellowships. In addition about 20 scientists each year come from a third country assisted by a grant within the framework of a Commission agreement with their countries or with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Besides the above mentioned scientists, several senior scientists and about 150 trainees work at the JRC Institutes at no cost to the EU budget, in general for short periods of time. Table S - Visiting scientists/seconded experts. 3 rant holders as of December 1995 Institutes Visiting Scientists Seconded Experts Post- Doctoral Scientists Post- Graduate Students Total Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements Institute for Transuranium Elements Institute for Advanced Materials Institute for Systems Engineering and Informatics Environment Institute Institute for Remote Sensing Applications Institute for Safety Technology Institute for Prospective Technological Studies 2 2 4 1 5 7 4 2 2 - - 2 4 5 - - 16 16 14 32 26 17 21 17 10 15 15 34 17 13 8 8 Total 27 13 151 128 36 26 51 44 60 50 34 18 319 JRC Annual Report 1995 1. 5 FINANCES budget The as (commitments implemented by the JRC in 1995 is given in Table 6. credits) Table 6 -1995 Budget implementation in Mioecu (Commitments Credits) Institutional activities EC Specif ic Programme 152. 761 EAEA Specific Programme 75. 301 Subtotal 228. 062 Competitive activities Participation in shared cost actions — Competitive Scientific and Technical Support activities Participation in Community activities outside the FWP 0. 027 0. 045 Work for third parties 10. 460 Subtotal 10. 532 HFR Reactor 18. 548 Total 257. 142 22 To these commitment credits one must add 0. 564 Mioecu of credits carried over from the 1994 Budget for the execution of contracts related to research on the environment and on remote sensing from space, authorised in March 1995 (SEC(95) 400 final). Total JRC committed amounted to slightly lower than 258 Mioecu: financial resources the execution of (Research for for programmes support activities Commission) the JRC specific Institutional and the the services of in the framework of shared for the execution of JRC competitive activities the EU budget within actions, (participation competitive support activities for the services of the Commission, JRC participation in other Community activities, contributions from the the Dutch and German governments operation of the HFR and from JRC customers for the execution of work at their request. cost for It should be underlined that the figures in Table 6 refer to expenditure on work7 performed by the JRC in 1995. Shared cost actions and competitive scientific and technical support activities, as well as participation in other Community activities, were new types of JRC activity in 1995. In rnost cases contracts were only entered into at the end of 1995. As a result, only limited work was carried out during that year. Figures on contracts entered into during 1995 are provided in Table 2. JRC Annual Report 1995 23 2. ACTIVITIES OFTIIE JRC INSTITUTES IN *995 2. 1 THE INSTITUTE FOR REFERENCE MATERIALS AND MEASUREMENTS the level. In 1995, IRMM promotes European standards, The reference materials and methodologies at the European institute implemented its specific programme under the heading of Measurements and Testing and contributed to the Framework Programme line Industrial Technologies. Early in 1995, IRMM took over responsibility for managing the BCR's (Community Reference Bureau) reference includes storage, stability materials: control, distribution, sales administration and recertification of exhausted batches. this related is engaged in support activities for IRMM Community policies, to nuclear safeguards, the safety and quality control of consumer reference measurements and materials for quality control of foodstuffs. It also provides services and reference materials to various customers from the European Member States. products, and A. Institutional Activities Institutional Research Activities the Measurements One of the objectives of the work at the IRMM, within and Testing programme, is harmonisation and standard isation in analytical measurements. To this end the available measurements expertise and the refined analytical techniques of the Institute have been applied to prepare, characterise and certify high quality reference materials for both nuclear and appropriate non-nuclear fields, to be used for establishing a coordinated analytical measurement system at European level. Within this framework, responsibility for the management of reference materials under testing the standards, measurement and programme (formerly BCR) has been taken over by IRMM. Research on biological and environmental materials included attempts to isolate and stabilise chloroplast material suitable for the bio-assay of pesticide traces in drinking water control. Analytical research was pursued on metallothionein by electrochemistry and liquid chromatography, and on heavy metal traces of environmental or bio-medical relevance. The modern Ultra Clean Chemical Laboratory was used for the sub- characterisation JRC Annual Report 1995 boiling preparation of batches of high purity water anctof acids for high accuracy analytical work. The IRMM also contributed to the improvement of the neutron interaction standards data sets (which serve to determine, inter alia, partia! cross-sections) as collected in the High Priority Request List by the NEA Working Party ©n Evaluation Cooperation, under th® auspices of the NEA Nuclear Sciene© Committee and in collaboration with SAEA. in fe preparation ©f For quality control certified reference materials, a neutron activation analysis facility was set up m the SCK/CEN at Mol collaboration with (Belgium). The proceedings of the International Multiple Group Analysis Users' Workshop were published. Work related to nuclear matters included, inter alia, the supply of targets for neutron cross- section measurements, fission fragment studies and other applications; the preparation and characterisation of 10B reference layers to be flux used measurement; the setting up of an improved electrodeposition method for the preparation of thin uranium and plutonium layers; the determination of uranium in environmental samples. accuracy neutron in high Also at the LINAC, high energy resolution measurements of the inelastic scattering cross- section of iron were made using a 60 m flight path. The spontaneous fission processes of plutonium isotopes and of 252Cf have been further investigated. At the 7 MV van de Graaff accelerator, neutron inelastic scattering was measured on natural molybdenum. In collaboration with KFA Julien (Germany), cross-sections for various activation reactions were measured on chromium isotopes. Improved experiments to determine reference cross-sections the 235u(n,f) and H(n,n) have been initiated. ratio of the In radionuclide metrology, an intercomparison of computer codes used for the analysis of 239pu/24opu alpha particle spectra has been pursued. Ultralow-background (3 spectrometry was used to characterise human bones for low radionuclide content in the underground laboratory of HADES (High Activity Disposal Experimental Site) at Mol (Belgium) in a European effort to obtain a natural matrix reference material. Similarly, detection limits in a biological matrix were for 2iopb determined. experimental the materials research projects setups two For for complementary hydrogen profiling have been installed at the 7 MV van de Graaff. At the 3. 5 MV van de Graaff machine, the stopping power for helium ions and protons of polyimide and VYNS (trade name of vinyl chloride/vinyl acetate co polymer) foils has been determined, as well as the uniformity of trace metals on filters for an aerosol reference material. Institutional Support Activities IRMM's support activities in 1995 were mainly related to Nuclear Safeguards, on request from DG I (External Relations), for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and DG XVII (Energy, Euratom Safeguards Directorate). Non- nuclear certified reference materials were also prepared for other DGs. IRMM acted in general as a Commission laboratory offering scientific/technical support to services which do not dispose of their own measurement back-up. Work on dried nitrate or metallic spike material improve safety at large was continued to reprocessing plants, and plutonium isotopic reference materials were prepared on behalf of DG I for IAEA. Low concentrations implied meticulous chemical work in IRMM's ultra clean chemical laboratory. and uranium 24 IRMM provided DG XVII with solutions for detector calibration needed in non-destructive assays of uranium and plutonium. Certified reference materials of soils, sediments and foodstuffs were prepared for DG III (Internal Market) and DG VI (Agriculture), for quality control to assist enforcement of European legislation. These activities were complemented by providing suitable analytical procedures and by initiating and/or coordinating laboratory intercomparisons. For DG VI, new activities were initiated on selenium speciation and sugar analysis. Cosmetics analyses and a product safety data bank were under development for DG XXIV (Consumer Policy). B. Competitive Activities Shared- Cost Actions its field of competence, In IRMM has contributed in 1995 to 8 SCA proposals, 3 of which have been accepted so far; these deal with: • the design, production and certification of sets of synthetic polymer reference materials consisting of a polyolefinic base material doped with heavy elements Cd, Cr, Hg and Pb at two different concentration levels; • the preparation and certification of calibrant solutions and fly ash samples for measure ments polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and polychlorodibenzofurans (PCDF) contaminations in emissions at levels of 0. 1 ng/m3; of • the preparation and characterisation of catalytic converters with respect to Pt, Rh, Zr and Ce. Work for third parties IRMM services and reference materials are available on a commercial basis. As IRMM now manages the BCR's reference materials, tfrjese are also being made commercially available for non-nuclear applications. The International Measurement Evaluation Programme (IMEP) is arousing interest in a growing number of laboratories. The most recent IMEP round on trace elements in water in 28 attracted about 250 European countries. Regular The Evaluation Interlaboratory Measurement Programme (REIMEP), an external quality control exercise, recently brought together 20 laboratories JRC Annual Report 1995 25 laboratories worldwide in rounds on uranium oxide powder and two uranyl nitrate solutions. The supply of nuclear samples to external customers, in particular for reactor neutron dosimetry, was continued. Four new neutron reactor dosimetry pressure vessel surveillance (titanium metal and three Al-Co alloys) have been prepared. reference materials for JRC Annual Report 1995 2. 2 THE INSTITUTE FOR TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS the nuclear fuel cycle. The ITU performs activities in the field of the safety Institute of contributed to the Framework Programme line Nuclear Fission Safety with a particular emphasis on the safety of actinides in the nuclear fuel cycle. Other research themes were the safety of nuclear fuels, through the measurement and modelling of fuel properties, and the characterisation of spent fuel with a view to its long term storage. ITU also provided scientific and technical support for Community policies in the area of Nuclear Fission Safety, mainly in on-site laboratories at Sellafield and La Hague IAEA (Euratom Safeguards) and (International Atomic Energy Agency). In addition, it is engaged in several contracts at the request of various customers. the for A. Institutional Activities to ITU performs its activities under the "Safety of it nuclear fuels" part of the programme; contributes the Commission's sectorial policies on "Safeguards" and "Fissile Material Management", and through development of techniques and instruments, analytical services and expertise, and direct in field measurement support. research Institutional Research Activities in have been obtained superconductors Fuel Cycle Safety: Basic actinide research is being carried out to elucidate the electronic structure of actinide elements and their interest for chemistry and solid-state physics. Important results the uranium-based heavy- understanding of fermion with doped neptunium (Np) and plutonium (Pu). Other themes light/solids interactions; neutron experiments with Np compounds and neutron inelastic scattering, to better understand electron interactions in the 5f and 3d electron shells; X-ray synchrotron experiments on uranium oxide single crystals and uranium arsenide crystals, to help understand magnetic behaviour. include the theory of In the area of safety nuclear fuel, ITU is measuring and modelling fuel properties and fuel/cladding interactions in order to be able, in a few years, to design very high burn-up MOX (mixed U- Pu oxide) fuel pins that would be as reliable as present-day uranium fuel. Fission product release from irradiated fuel as used in 26 the PHEBUS reactor safety programme was measured up to complete evaporation of the fuel. The TRANSURANUS code was successfully used to describe high burn-up phenomena (rim effect). For the first time, the use of high resolution electron microscopy clearly revealed dislocation lines in U02 and the subgrain boundary formation as the first step in the formation of the rim-structure. In the area of the mitigation of long-lived actinides and fission products, in order to help further minimise the radiotoxicity of spent fuel and highly active waste, ITU collaborates with leading national laboratories, nuclear industry and Member State authorities to prepare samples for fuel irradiation, transmutation and recovery of actinides for example, technetium (Tc) samples for irradiation, pins with high Pu and Np content and a Pu-cerium inert matrix based pin within the EFTTRA (Experimental Feasibility of Targets for Transmutation) and (Transmutation and Burning of TRABANT Actinides in Triox) programmes. The feasibility of recovering actinides from irradiated fuel targets with 20% Am (americium) and 20% Np was demonstrated. Extraction chromatography was investigated for the separation of U and Pu from such fuels. A patent application was made for a method burning weapon-grade Pu in a Light Water Reactor with high proliferation resistance. Studies were carried out on fabrication procedures and the physical and chemical properties of inert matrix materials for the transmutation of actinides. Pellets of mixed oxide reference material and fuel pins with metallic fabricated and characterised. fuel have been In the area of spent fuel characterisation with a too long term storage, analyses were per formed to provide reactor operators, the fuel cycle industry and licensing authorities with the necessary, relevant safety data, including those on radiotoxicity. For instance, the leaching and corrosion behaviour of natural uranium oxide and irradiated high burn-up fuel was investi gated using solutions simulating groundwater and salt brine, with attention paid to the mechanisms and kinetics of leaching. The structure of oxidised layers on leached uranium oxide was determined by the Rutherford backscattering/channeiing techniques. The porosity in the outer rim of irradiated high burn-up fuel was quantitatively analysed in detail. Institutional Support Activities In support of the energy policy (DG XVII), in the area of "Safeguards and Fissile Materials JRC Annual Report 1995 27 tested. In addition, Management", on-site laboratories were designed for safeguards analysis at reprocessing plants such as Sellafield and Cap de la Hague, and major analytical equipment such as robots, titrators, alpha- spectrometers, non-destructive measurement devices and detectors, was purchased and two analytical boxes were constructed, analysts were trained and routine analyses of nuclear material samples were performed. Some other examples of 1995 support activities: a performance evaluation of the MGA method (Multiple Group Analysis) for K-edge and neutron-gamma counting applications; a comparison of plutonium assay techniques; a detailed evaluation of isotope correlation techniques for the determination of Pu-242; samples preparation and measurements technology for safeguards samples with trace amounts of radionuclides in soils, vegetation and sediments from contaminated areas. As before, ITU staff provided significant analytical in-site support to the Safeguards Directorate fuel fabrication plants. The characterisation of vagabonding nuclear materials was continued whenever necessary. reprocessing and in in , _ Utar s*nsfâ»àm10çfr rààJo* •^mp^-tmes for tfàJWêfâmMii'^ T sa' fM&twàtmmt md a mnçe' of Jilt, • à œn$t àfxàdfoîsoiopes v&kê'éœ *M0t»< tor$*f6fttenû^inenvd^à^ ffU >Mtf;jMfarf tû bèo&mé/è network - B. Competitive Activities Shared-Cost Actions 8 proposals (made with EU partners) for the Nuclear Fission Safety programme were accepted in 1995. The projects concern: • evaluation of partitioning and transmutation strategies JRC Annual Report 1995 • new partitioning techniques • impact of accelerator based technologies on nuclear fission safety • thorium cycles as a nuclear waste manage mentoption • revaporisation tests on samples from PHEBUS FP • source term for performance assessment of spent fuel as a waste form • supporting nuclear data for advanced MOX • fuels joint experiment on Americium transmuta tion These Cost-Shared Actions will contribute about 1 Mioecu. Competitive Support for Community Policies Following a call for tender from DG XIII, ITU has submitted, together with other partners, a project on "Enhanced Gas Cleaning by Infra- Sonic Particle Agglomeration and Deposition". The project was accepted at the end of 1995; the Institute's share is about 0. 1 Mioecu. Work for Third Parties / As in previous years, the Institute has carried out work for third parties, with major contracts in the areas of post irradiation examination of irradiated fuels, fabrication and characterisa tion of fuels for transmutation, and examina tion of high burn-up uranium oxide and mixed oxide fuels for different customers. During 1995, new contracts worth about 2. 1 Mioecu have been signed, while work from previous contracts continued. Other Competitive Activities following offers submitted The the TACIS/PHARE programmes were accepted during 1995: to • Measurement of radionuclide release from Chernobyl reactor debris samples (TACIS- Ukraine) • Transfer of the nuclear safety code TRANSURANUS to the Bulgarian licensing authorities (PHARE-Bulgaria) A study proposal, concerning the establishment of a data bank on nuclear materials in the framework of illicit trafficking, was accepted by DG I. The contract will permit collaboration ITU for 12 with two Russian experts at months. The overall scope of the approved projects is about 0. 6 Mioecu. 2. 3 THE INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED MATERIALS IAM performs research on advanced materials. The Institute contributed to the Framework Programme lines "Industrial Technologies and Materials Technologies" and "Measurements and Testing", with an emphasis on standards for applications, development of new and component coatings, structural improved integrity and materials for clean technologies and fusion materials. IAM also contributed to the Framework Programme lines, Non-nuclear Energy, Nuclear Fission Safety and Controlled Thermo-nuclear Fusion. It also operated in 1995 the High Flux Reactor (HFR) for the Dutch and German authorities and was engaged in work on a contractual basis for industry. A. Institutional Activities Institutional Research Activities the Within Industrial Technologies and Materials Technologies programme, research activities performed in 1995 can be sorted approximately into four clusters: TheWXEKA tPACERC Project < Helicopter engines are usually submitted to extremely hard erosion condäk>nst leading to rapid failures of their components. The engine manufacturer Turbomeca has deve loped a new type of muMayer coating deposited by Physical Vacuum Deposition, showing an improvement by a factorof over SÖV compared to conventional hard coatings already available* The new challenge is to apply this coating to the very complex shapes to be protected in a helicopter engine* Accordingly* the JRC has proposed/ in the frame of a EUREKA project, the development of a new Induction Plasma Assisted Chemkat Vapor Deposition (t-PACVD) machine specially designed for Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition wilt allow deposition at low temperatures* induction plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition will ensure good process homogeneity, which is an absolute must in this case. this application. "Standards for Applications" area: research on mechanical performances of materials, testing, corrosion, components' integrity 28 neutron scattering, joining of ceramics and brittle materials. Also, activities linked with information technologies: high temperature materials data bases; the Information Centre on Materials Activities. typical end-users are The production and aeronautics industries. the energy • "Development of New and Improved Coatings": wear and corrosion resistance improvement, chemical sensors, fatigue resistance, superhard surfaces and biome dical applications; new composite materials, with an emphasis on interfaces in fibre composites, and electrophoretic processing of ceramic matrix composites. Exploratory research projects included laser spallation testing methodology and high temperature superconductors. The typical end-users are in manufacturing the car industry, aeronautics and industry, electronics. • A new line for IAM will be support for industry through the provision of informa tion and prenormative know-how on eco- friendly materials, materials studies and an ECO materials database. Research work was done on coatings for waste incineration and coatings for dry machining in manufacturing technologies. The end-users are the waste management industry, in particular, the car industry and manufac turing industry. industry and, recycling the • Two projects focused on "Structural Compo nent Integrity": application and qualification of non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techni ques to assess defective and/or deteriorating industrial components; NDE and testing of structural components. The end-users are mostly the energy production industry, both conventional and nuclear, and the transport industry including aeronautics, rail and car manufacturers. Within the Non-Nuclear Energy programme, a new topic was introduced in 1995: "Materials for Clean Technologies". Two projects were carried out: microstructural engineering and ceramic catalyst support, both focusing on automotive catalytic converters. The potential users are the car industry, but also energy producters using conventional fuel sources. JRC Annual Report 1995 29 The Btmpean Pressar* Equipment we Mwopeen Pressure Equipment Research Council {£J*£äO & ** association of fadustrim, labû&toriesr engmeerlng esso- ciatiom end government bodies, the purpose of wh&h h to promote Zoropeen coopérative research in the domain" of pressure equipment. &BHC •&- concerned with research end development problems Uriked to construction end in-service activities, ft deaf s with all types ofpressure equipment, nuclearequipmentexduded* &&K itfy es a clearing-house to define and coordinate the research programmes end exchange experience. It has en Important role In the dissemination of die results of research to industry, and works in dose contact with the Commission of the European Communities with regard to shared*costaction proposals and support to cmandOGUL JRC IAM Petteh isthe operating agent in tftewtematfonaldomafaz thereereptafis to cooperate with the American Pressure Vessel Council and the Japanese Pressure Vessel Council. Within the Nuclear Safety and Safeguards programme, and specifically the section on reactor safety, IAM is the operating agent for the already established European networks dealing with "Nuclear Components and Inspec tion". Projects in operation include an experi mental study on ageing, degradation of steel properties and subsequent annealing, and the Networks Reference Laboratory. the development of Within the Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion programme, fusion technology focused on the design of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The IAM contributed to this effort and supported ITER'S technological needs through its selection and characterisation of adapted materials. IAM also participated in the European longer term programme for the development of low activation materials. In parallel, irradiation experiments were perform ed in the HFR in support of NET/ITER. Institutional Support Activities Projects with the same range of scientific content as above were carried out in support of DG XI (Environment) through the European networks AMES, ENIQ and NESC, and DG XVII (Energy). An information and management transfer structure was set up to improve the technology transfer process. 71** European Hetwork for Inspection Qu*tmcatmii£NlQ} the Steering committee of &V7Q, in whkh 0te £Vnvtie&rpower plant operators are the voting members, has approved e reference methodology for inspection qualification. Thk methodology has aroused grett interest. from industry m its field end h considered of prime importance for future development. B. Competitive Activities Shared- Cost Actions IAM took part in 49 proposals, of/Which 17 have been accepted so far. 9 of these will have immediate funding. The distribution of pro posals among the programmes is: 33 to Brite/Euram, 6 to Standard Measurement and Testing, 4 to Nuclear Fission Safety, 2 to Biomed-2, 1 to Environment and Climate, 1 to Esprit, 1 to Training and Mobility of Researchers and 1 to Joule. Competitive Support for Community Policies Two successful proposals were made to the Valorisation programme of DG XIII (Tele communications, Industries and Information Innovation). The first deals with an "Autono mous Solar System", the second with neural network techniques for non-destructive evalua tion (NDE) applications. This last proposal is a joint venture of both IAM and ISEl. Work for Third Parties New contracts signed in 1995 deal with the following topics: PC based High Temperature Materials Data Base Software, Non Destructive Evaluation Techniques, Aero-engine compo nents, coatings, corrosion studies on advanced materials for power generation. The overall turnover was comparable to last year's. JRC Annual Report 1995 30 Other Competitive Activities IAM is a partner in a PHARE consortium dealing with the installation of a qualification system for in-service inspection of Nuclear Power Plants in the Czech Republic. IAM is also a partner in proposals made to TACIS in the fields of NDE, inspection and materials ageing. High Flux Reactor (HFR) The High Flux Reactor at Petten continued its operation in 1995 and its utilisation reached about 75% of the practical limits. The HFR noticeably strengthened its leadership as a supplier of radioisotopes for the radiopharma ceutical industry: nearly 65% of European production took place at HFR. The recent launching of the on-site molybdenum factory will further enhance HFR's role as a key facility for nuclear medicine, vital for millions of patients. The HFR also maintained its role as irradiation test bed for the Fusion community: six new experiments on first wall structural materials (mainly martensitic steels) and plasma facing irradiation components have started. The embrittlement project, part of the European Network AMES (Ageing of Materials and Evaluation Studies), was launched. A new the experiment series was started on transmutation of actinides and fission products to reduce the long term radiological impact of high level waste, as part of the European collaboration EFTTRA (Experimental Feasibility of Targets for TRAnsmutation). JRC Annual Report 1995 31 2. 4 THE INSTITUTE FOR SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND INFORMATICS understanding from a wide range of sources and perspectives. A set of criteria for "good practice" in the field is now being developed. to ISEl performs Fission Safety the Framework Programme The research on systems engineering and informatics. It contributed in 1995 lines Environment and Climate, Non-nuclear Energy, Nuclear and Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion, carrying out research on methodologies for environmental management and assessment of environmental quality, on solar energy by photovoltaics, on fission reactor safety and fissile material control as well as on fusion reactor operational safety. In addition, ISEl provided scientific and technical support for Community policies: in the field of the environment, among others on industrial safety and the reliability of systems including biosafety; in the field of agriculture, on animal identification; and in the energy sector, on nuclear safeguards for the Euratom safeguards and for ISEl is also the currently engaged in work carried out at the request of external customers. IAEA. A. Institutional Activities research on Institute carries out The the reliability and performance of complex systems; on socio-technical systems and risk manage ment; on expert systems; on parallel comput ing; on data bases; and it operates a major computer and network facility. Areas of expertise include: aviation safety, human factors, non-nuclear energies, fusion, fissile materials safeguard, industrial safety, environ mental assessment and emergency planning. risk Institutional Research Activities Within programme, ISEl contributed to studies on: Environment and Climate the • "Global Change": an on-line information service called "European Wide Service Ex change" the (EWSE) was developed Centre for Earth Observation (CEO). Other contributions include software engineering, user interface, quality assurance, satellite image compression techniques and network support. A pilot study related to a specific decision maker and the availability of data through EWSE was carried out. for WREKA^ADAGE A&AG£ is a £UR}£KA project between French end Portuguese companies and the JRC-HiK \ Zhe mm of the project is to develop a décision-support system for integrated environmental management Its principal objective Is to provide a thorough assess* ment of alternative decisions related to environmental matters. The main features of \ the project Jim? the development of a distributed ^formation system networking mrïous sources of information represented by the stakeholders concerned with the decision process; the integration ami fusion of different types of informadon; the integration of diverse perspectives including environmental constraints, socio-economical factors and technical issues; a highly inter* active system for information updating and navigation, as well as scenarioAestiog. The project is scheduled over a three-yearperiod. • "Innovative Environmental Technologies": the application of decision support systems has been refined and a promising new method based on object-oriented program ming has been implemented, which will also be of use in ongoing work for external clients. ISEl joined the EUREKA project "Adage", which aims to develop a decision support system for comprehensive environ mental management via the thorough assess ment of alternative decisions. Within the Non-Nuclear Energy programme, the following activities were performed: • Photovoltaic: using a climatically controlled solar simulator, irradiation was carried out at various temperatures to study the effects of light-induced degradation on amorphous silicon modules. Results have been leading to a revision of the CEC ESTI 701 specification. An analysis of the spread in the character isation results for World Photovoltaic Scale samples (WPVS) has also been performed. Within the Nuclear. Fission Safety programme, work was carried out on: • The "Integrated Assessment of Environ mental Quality" approach: aims to provide decision makers with alternative options for action, via a synthesis of information and • Nuclear fission safety and reactor safety: a benchmark exercise has been launched on in probabilistic safety expert assessment (PSA), level 2. A questionnaire has judgment JRC Annual Report 1995 been distributed to a network of more than 50 European institutions (research labora tories, regulators, industries, etc. ). The first phase, parameter estimation, also involves the Institute for Safety Technology (1ST), whose facility FARO has been adopted as a reference experiment. 32 The SILab (Seals and Identification Tech niques Laboratory) has successfully helped develop specific ultrasonic boards and soft ware to be used in the next generation of ultrasonic sealing systems at JRC Ispra. A design study was performed in collabora tion with ITU for the establishment at Obninsk of the "Russian Methodological and in the field of nuclear Training Centre" safeguards. This study has the conclusion of a TACIS contract. led to ^^^umj^tt^^t^u^tà fame* ':måterfé&f' '#föjafop*r M^~^^Apf$he; retoffäenient | f t ^;^ ïfiâaWmm 'itost optké; fibres wMéuï an ; \ irmaMmm notth ifrfäji^^fäpm] of. ' féseär0/. a smart é^mppsmt ynîmmriaf hmimte "vm produced at ^ - ^ 4 ' >^ SK^P^f^p^W^^^ and Mkheison based : fiphdp^k strain transducers embedded in it} ,x*ptf dynamic ta^^were to êttâ^màç parfwmd and mutts \<rnnpa,red thepretketpredictiomand to stram vaktes 0^mùi^^;x<mvenkmal àû^/èmtgaé ;f^no^^^ ^msi^m^mm: ifif^f^ l&m wr^^n^iém'^fé^^eqf/ Vi$ùmfjWdàikriy h êie oynamk response, ^esum supplied by ft*Mtafcfor sanstoo ^àf'-'^offMres^ tmtfirhieé^ H&' dfc&wstfc Impaiilitjy and allowed the penning of future research steps. Several types of activity have been carried- research on Nuclear out within the Safeguards. The activities on remote included: and surveillance verification distributed surveillance systems based on smart digital cameras and industrial field bus; remote control of a robotic arm for simple manipulation tasks; and the application of new compact laser range finders. In the field of international remote monitoring systems, various methods image compression and encryption over public communications networks were tested. digital for The LaSCo (Laboratory for Surveillance and Containment) has been equipped with test ing equipment for electromagnetic studies, to check the compliance of instruments with the new European legislation in this area. • Research activities related to Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion have been focused on ITER (International Thermonuclear Experi mental Reactor) as follows : Remote handling: computer simulation and tests on the ROBERTINO facility of the maintenance by remote operation of the the blanket components placed reactor have been completed. inside Safety studies: the mechanicai integrity of the vacuum vessel of the reactor and blanket components under plasma disruptions has been investigated. Thermal transient anal yses after a reactor accident have been pursued. Institutional Support Activities requirement study of in support of UCLAF, • For the Commission Secretariat General, technical projects were scientific and completed the Commission antifraud service: a study of UCLAF's customers and the services they the require; a investigative process;. an inventory of information resources; and an exploratory data analysis of fraud case data. New projects are under way: a feasibility study for IRENE 95 (the integrated information management system of the UCLAF); pattern recognition in databases of fraud cases; estimating the rates of commission vs detection/communication case harmonising of information flows across all sectors. fraud; fraud • Support to DG III (Industry) included a Information and the contribution Communications Technologies programme through R&D projects, industrial workshops, seminars and conferences (SAFECOMP 95). to • Support to DG VI (Agriculture): research, development and performance tests were carried out for the new methods of JRC Annual Report 1995 33 identification of animals by means of tags and their measurement systems, in the framework of a major (antifraud) European animal tagging project. • Support to DG XI (Environment): the memorandum of understanding for the creation of the Major Accident Hazard Bureau in support of the "Seveso" Directive has been implemented. This Bureau, linked to mainly to DG XI and subsequently national authorities and industry, operates a Major Accident Reporting System (MARS) and a Community Documentation Centre for Industrial Risk (CDCIR). In 1995 the Bureau dealt with the production of reports on lessons learned from accidents notified to the Commission, with distribution of a data base on accidents as well as with coordination of technical groups on safety reports and management systems. The Bureau also organised a seminar on the implementation of the Seveso Directive, "Accident Emergency Response". Scenarios and the field of safe applications of In biotechnology, a high level EU-US meeting took place in June, dealing with field tests of genetically modified organisms. • In support of the Nuclear Safety Unit of DG XI, a first version of the European earthquake catalogue has been prepared and its further development is under consideration. • Support to provided the EURATOM Safeguards Directorate, DG XVII (Energy): ISEl contributed to the fulfilment of Treaty requirements in the following areas: sealing and identification techniques, surveillance techniques, testing of safeguards equip ments, data and information treatment, health physics and training. A new system for the automatic recorded surveillance images has been developed. A remote monitoring link between the JRC Ispra and the EURATOM Safeguards Directo rate in Luxembourg has been installed. A contribution to long-term energy scenarios, including the evolution of the nuclear energy industry, has been considered. reviewing of • Technical support is provided the EURATOM Safeguards Directorate and IAEA for the procurement and measurement of several hundred ultrasonic sealing bolts, installed on spent fuel transport and storage to JRC Annual Report 1995 containers at a European fuel reprocessing plant. B. Competitive Activities Shared-Cost Actions ISEl has been selected for 17 projects under the following lines: advanced communication technologies & services (ACTS); environment and climate; industrial and materials techno logies (BRITE-EURAM III); non-nuclear energy (JOULE R&D); nuclear fission safety; technology validation and technology transfer; telematics; training and mobility of researchers (TMR). Competitive Support for Community Policies ISEl has been selected for 36 projects launched by various DGs, namely: three projects from the Secretariat General, Antifraud Unit; three from DG lll-F on High Performance Computer ing Networks; two from DG XI on Environmental problems; twelve from DG XIIl-D on Technology transfer; thirteen from DG XVII on solar and rational use of energy; three from EUROSTAT on neural networks and other applications to statistical problems. The effective work will begin early in 1996. Work for Third Parties taking part, Four institutes from trie JRC (ISEl, 1ST, IRSA and El) are together with 79 departments from the universities of Catania, in a vast regional Messina and Palermo, development project for Sicily which started in December 1994. ISEl was granted the general management and technical leadership of the project. A first six months report has been sent in July 1995 to the Sicily Region, and the second one is in preparation. Results have been achieved in all major sub-projects. They deal with: a decision support system for water supply management; winter and summer campaigns for N02 monitoring with 300 detectors in Catania, Messina and Palermo; a mobile unit to measure pollution and' the reliability of erosion of the soil; safety and chemical and petrochemical installations; optical inspection methods for an historic building in Palermo with 3-D representation and structural analysis; sampling the Sicilian population for an analysis of trace elements in human body tissues. Three new contracts have been established on risk analysis and information to the public A project to analyse the causes and consequences of stress at work in air traffic control has been 34 carried out for the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricèrche (Italy). Other Competitive Activities The European Solar Test installation has landed 10 new contracts, 8 for photovoltaic module qualification testing and 2 for reference device calibrations. In a contract with PNC Japan (Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation), good results have been obtained with new ultrasonic and equipment instruments, for among associated compact other the sealing of plutonium things, transport containers at the PNC facility at Tokai Mura. identification Portable equipment has been provided to IAEA for volume/mass determination in large tanks in bulk handling facilities. A design study is being performed for the establishment at Obninsk of the Russian Methodological and Training Centre, in the field of nuclear safeguards. It has led to the conclusion of a TACIS contract. Two 1994 actions in the Copernicus programme have started. JRC Annual Report 1995 35 2. 5 THE ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE to Ei research contributed the Framework Programme lines "Environment and Climate" and "Life Sciences and Technologies". The emphasis of El's research was on global change, e. g. biogenic emissions and aerosols, and on the management of soil and groundwater pollution sources, together with contributions in the field of the working environment, such as indoor air impact on human quality and trace metals health in the EU. A large part Of the Institute's work has been devoted to support activities for Community policies: environmental policies, the agricultu ral policy, quality control of medicinal products and quality control of foodstuffs. A. lnstitutional Activities The Environment Institute is actively involved in the research programmes, Environment and Climate, and Life Sciences and Technologies. The respective proportions of R&D activities vs. support for the Commission's sectoral policies are approximately 30 and 70 percent. Institutional Research Activities • in (Biogenic Emissions the "Climate Change": Understanding formation of (an tropospheric ozone important greenhouse gas) and its impact on atmospheric pollution is of major importance for the Mediterranean region. The BEMA project the Mediterranean Area) intends to assess the role of plant biogenic emissions in that area and is being developed at El, in collaboration with 17 European laboratories, under JRC coordination. Two major research campaigns were led in 1995, focused on citrus fields near the natural Valencia vegetation near Montpellier (France). El participated also in the EUPHORE project to outdoor build photochemical reactor, completed in 1995 at CEAM (Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterraneo) in Valencia, Spain. (Spain) and on exploit large and a Field The role of natural and anthropogenic aerosols in the mitigation of the greenhouse effect was investigated, both in the field and on models. involved characterising the aerosol pollution drifting from the European continent, in preparation for the 1997 campaign of the ACE-2 (Aerosol Characterisation Experiment-2), in which over 40 European and US laboratories will participate. studies JRC Annual Report 1995 Laboratory experiments were also begun, to investigate isotopic effects on the uptake by soils of methane, a greenhouse gas. Analytical techniques and sampling devices are also being developed field measurements on N20 and CH4. for Aerosols and Climate Project 7ba Project aims at understanding the chemical and physical processes leading to aerosols in both the dean and antnropo* genically influenced marine environment These aerosols are thought to have an Important effect on the £a radiative balance and climate* The : ogmrnme combines modelling, held work and laboratory studies, in collaboration with other European and international research Warns, Most aerosols effectively scatter sun light back into spacet ieading to a cooling of the Bank A study has been undertaken into the role of black carbon (wo) aerosols in the global radiative balance. Slack carbon * the main fight-absorbing aerosol and would thus enhance greenhouse warming* BC is mainly emitted by fossil fuel burning and by biomass burning* A major aspect of the Project is the study of aerosol dynamics of sulfate aerosols, le. the study of formation and growdt processes that determine the size distribution of these aerosols. The basic mechanisms of aerosoi formation are studied in the laboratory^ A facility, unique in Bvrope, Has been built m which SÖ2 is photochemkaliy transformed into sulfuric acid4 whitft subsequently nucleates and grows to form a sulfate aerosol. • "Pollution": Work on the management of soil and groundwater pollution sources was scaled up to include catchment areas. The evaluation of several alternative land use the management strategies should allow identification of critical subareas in an agricultural ecosystem. The MITO project aims, inter alia, to monitor algal blooms in the Mediterranean sea. The performance of flow cytometers was tested in order to detect, enumerate and characterise phytoplancton populations at the cellular level. This will lead fast, easy-to-use to a real-time monitoring system which quantifies the algal species responsible for red and green tides. Test materials were prepared (AQUACON project) for laboratory performance tests for waste (sewage sludge) and soil analysis, waste water analysis and the determination of metals in surface waters. The European Collaborative Action (ECA) on "Indoor Air Quality and its Impact on Man" now involves 15 countries, and El participates in its management and scientific secretariat. Research activities have included experiments on human exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), for the first time in a 30 m3 test chamber (Indoortron). A study of the impact of ad-/desorption phenomena, and the scaling up of small to large test chamber experiments have also been carried out. h iftryfàpottant fdr two reason?. \ Wfr* ipntmuous:kutomatk mmmremmtof jutants å?;**^^^/^'*^^ variations i&£lpefi&ds+ and in order to iMf iåM^å^^^drn%m4 such as W^antfflcatbn ofthemurce ofthea&uai no Instrument ^ p p l ^ r ' a ^' widespread pbfhtmt\ used *wÊ$& ty industry: The gap has now been $$Ètf%te ïfntfrortmfm tnsdtuta, where a samMng^zand leafed *szy**. <j. , _. ^ _^ andk&one&hasbeen setup. Thkinstrutmmt can ^ap&at* unattendad, far on* waaK carrying out sampling : ana analysis of ambient air lavery iS-minutes. A"Mary Interesting feature of this instrument is that fy&dtëvseé poUuUnts, Negotiations are underway wftha ^#o)jipany^4f> 0a commercial oroduttion of mè^moskptf attention at two exhlbltiom: HÊtiCO 'Ê5 in AthemandMCH'9$mMtlar>< *' ffrthamœitormç of different taûtichlms received much tissues Establishing baseline values for trace metals for clinical, in human body epidemiological and toxicological assessment studies, and studying the impact of trace metals on the health of EU human living/working populations environment, are the objectives of the EURO TERVIHT project. Prenormative research was carried out on exposure impact on health. their in 36 Attempts were made to further understand the biochemical mechanisms of trace metal toxicity at low exposure, by identifying critical organs and molecular targets, with emphasis on the potential impact on cardiovascular, ductive systems, which might show up later in life. immunological and repro Institutional Support Activities In 1995, El has been involved in issues of concern to Directorate General XI (Environ ment), DG III (Industry), DG VI (Agriculture) and DG XXIV (Consumer policy), and has organised a large number of relevant meetings, workshops and task forces. The European Reference Laboratory for Air Pollution (ERLAP) has been particularly active in the harmonisation of current EU directives on air pollution, organising Quality Assurance Control programmes and developing and validating new monitoring techniques. Activities intercomparison included ("round robin") exercises, as/well as the development and validation of diffusive sampling techniques for measuring benzene and ozone in the air. field ETEX, the European Tracer Experiment, aims at selecting atmospheric models able to forecast the evolution of a pollutant cloud in real time. Several thousand previously collected air samples were analysed at El via a special chromatographic technique. Results show that only a few diffusion models, even when coupled with meteorological models, are accurate enough to describe the pollutant cloud's evolution. ETEX was co-sponsored by the EC, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The European Chemicals Bureau (ECB) has become fully operative 9 months ahead of schedule. It is now handling all the technical and scientific tasks required of the Commission for the notification of new chemicals in the areas of "Classification and Labelling", "Testing Methods" "Risk Assessment of Existing Chemicals" and "Export/import of Certain Dangerous Chemicals" (Directives 67/548/EEC and 92/32/EEC; Council Regulations (EEC) 2455/92 and (EEC) 793/93). A second phase of data collection for the Council Regulation on the Risk Assessment of Existing Chemicals was concluded, data was transmitted to competent authorities in the Member States, and a public (International Uniform version of IUCLID JRC Annual Report 1995 37 Chemicals Database) (excluding confidential data files), was made available on CD-ROM to the industry and general public. B. Competitive Activities Shared-Cost Actions The European Centre for the Validation of (ECVAM), Testing Methods Alternative inaugurated in October 1994, has defined its priority criteria with its advisory Committee. Studies have been launched on the pre- validation of non-animal testing protocols, testing, and vaccine potency and safety integrated alternative approaches in toxicity testing, focusing on metabolism-mediated toxicity and on in vitro tests for teratogenicity in blood-forming tissues. 22 proposals have been accepted so far. The majority of these concern the Environment and Climate Programme, covering a wide range of activities closely related to the ongoing JRC Research Programme. However, projects within the Standard, Measurement and Testing, the Telematics Applications and the Nuclear Fission Safety programmes have been approved as well. Competitive Support for Community Policies El has answered calls for tender issued by several DGs of the Commission, and 11 proposals have been selected for funding, which may reasonably be expected to start early in 1996. The topics covered include: • Prenormative research, standardised as well as special analytical methods for foodstuffs analysis (DG III); • Information and communication systems within the framework of the European Medicinal Evaluation Agency (DG III); / • Development of analytical methodologies for dairy products (DG VI); • Support to CORDIS information system (DG XIII); • Analytical procedures for custom control of special products, and for products classified according to their chemical composition (for DG XXI). Work for Third Parties A series of activities has been performed, mainly to provide local and regional authorities with appropriate tools for the management of surface bodies of water, toxic waste pollution problems and air pollution monitoring techniques. The the feasibility of collaboration with European Environment Agency's Topic Centres on Air Quality (RIVM, NL) and on Inland Waters (Water Research Centre, UK) has been explored, preliminary activities (mainly on Air Quality Monitoring, Alpine Observatory, Inland Waters, Contaminated Sites and Mobile Laboratories) having been carried out. A European Technical Office for Medicinal Products was established at El after a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the the European Agency Evaluation of Medicinal Products and the Joint Research Centre. This office is now called the ETOMEP Unit of the Environment Institute of the JRC, and is dedicated to the development of technical the implementation of European Union legislation on medicinal products. necessary systems for for Other work carried out by El included analytical work related to wine, food and cosmetics, and preparatory work in support of the Ecological Directive for surface bodies of water. JRC Annual Report 1995 2. 6 THE INSTITUTE FOR REMOTE SENSING APPLICATIONS The IRSA performs research activities on applications of remote sensing and contributed to the Framework Programme line Environment and Climate with its specific activities on the Centre for Earth Observation (CEO), remote sensing techniques and monitoring, and advanced Earth observation techniques. Through the use of satellite Earth observation data important scientific it also provides support for agricultural statistics. A. Institutional Activities Institutional Research Activities One of IRSA's important R&D fields is the exploitation of satellite data for the mapping of land cover and land degradation in Europe and in the world, and for the monitoring of bush and forest fires, under the research programme, Environment and Climate. IRSA is also develop ing and validating capabilities for remote detection, e. g. , of oil slicks or antipersonnel landmines. involved research The Centre for Earth Observation (CEO) project in 1995. its "pathfinder phase" completed Throughout the year the project ran a number of studies and workshops aimed at defining a final CEO concept and at establishing a design and implementation plan for the coming years. and in-house This consultation with present and future Earth observation data users and service providers throughout the European Union (EU) and the (EEA). The CEO European Economic Area project worked in close collaboration with a Pathfinder Phase steering committee, consisting of experts from all EU and EEA countries, nominated by the Board of Governors. The work was done in cooperation with European and global partners, including the European Space Agency (ESA), EUMETSAT, the European Environment Agency (EEA), the United States' NASA and National Océanographie and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan. The concept should include the promotion of access, to Earth observation data and services to scientific, commercial and governmental customers. the state and evolution of Monitoring terrestrial vegetation cover the creation of vegetation maps, which indicate functional both land cover change and involved 38 vegetation parameters, such as seasonality or fire on a continental and, ultimately, global scale. w< forestMformation System à$9$ saw^Me completion of the Forest ,? " "$nm Ramote sensing (&&$} Phase, in cooperation with from Prance, •^^oW^^'ol^h^a^oos 'Germany/ -Sweden, the Czech Republic, Russia, Poland* Spain* traiand and Finland, The major objective of the project is to \ contribute to the development of a Unified European forest information System, pTOvMr% both. production related and environmental forest information* In t$9& the project developed a régionalisation and fmai stratification of iïuropemn forest ecosystems and finalised the unified Muropmn forest Nomenclature System > , Using a ten year archive of satellite images, land cover maps and daily fire counts were prepared for Africa, and the same work has begun for South-East Asia. Portable stations receiving satellite data were also used in Central Africa and Madagascar to map and monitor bushfires, as part of local and regional environmental management programmes. Data obtained from instruments on the European remote sensing satellites ERS-1 and ERS-2 are being evaluated as aids to detection of fire scars and to measurement of burned areas. A database describing the entire tropical forest belt was interfaced with remote sensing data to provide the Tropical Forest Information System, which will be produced as an interactive CD-ROM for general dissemination. The mapping of land degradation linked to fire, soil erosion and land use changes in the Mediterranean Member States of the EU, and the monitoring of forests on a pan-European scale under the FIRS project (Forest Information from Remote Sensing) were associated with fundamental research on image understanding techniques, which will facilitate the use of data from future European space borne sensors. The bidirectional reflectance properties of the Earth's surface have been studied thanks to advanced models of radiation interactions, to help in developing the next generation of satellite image processing algorithms and in exploiting data from future high performance sensors. surface JRC Annual Report 1995 39 Satellite based observations of sea surface -temperatures and ocean colour over large areas provided information for the study of the marine biosphere. Image interpretation, data processing and the use of dynamic models were developed as means of assessing biomass production and carbon dioxide exchange by phytoplankton, ocean thermal dynamics, and the implications of both on the global climate system. The use of Earth observation data archives was coupled with new approaches to data management and analysis, and to strategy development for processing data from new sensors. Neural networks and virtual reality systems were tested as means of extracting information from future multidimensional data sets. In the European Airborne Remote Sensing Capability (EARSEC), tests on sensors and the development of the Synthetic Aperture Radar finalised. The geophysical processor were validation of EARSEC focused on developing oil slick detection at sea and ship routing applications. experiments defined by the Advanced European Microwave Signature Laboratory (EMSL) user group included in 1995 test series on "The scattering properties of non-vegetated soils" and "Imaging techniques". Plastic antipersonnel land mines are numerous in some heavily populated regions of the world, and detection of these dangerous objects is a high risk, yet vital, operation. In addition to the humanitarian threat, these objects can be seen as an environmental threat as their presence prohibits effective land use in 'contaminated' areas. A 1995 report based on EMSL results in evaluated possible the capacity objects manufactured from plastics by the application for of instance, remote sensing devices on land based vehicles or flying remote controlled platforms. improvements dangerous techniques using, remote sensing detect low to Institutional Support • Support for the European Environment Agency (EEA) focused on the creation of EEA's Land Cover Topic Centre, in collaboration with European organisations active in the field of Earth observation. various • Support for DG VI (Agriculture) consisted in to the application of remote sensing JRC Annual Report 1995 agricultural statistics, with the aim of developing and demonstrating method ologies for integrating remote sensing data into the collection of statistics for the monitoring of crop acreage and agricultural in the EU (Council Decision production 94/753/EC No. L299 of 22. 11. 1994). includes information (MARS) project The Monitoring of Agriculture with Remote Sensing two components. Firstly, MARS STAT, involving research on the development of an advanced agricultural system which in, t ; rates the various methods of crop pr:jauction monitoring developed by the the MARS project, of development for techniques agricultural production monitoring in non European Union countries, and the development of new Europe's for monitoring techniques agricultural the land, using data European remote sensing satellites ERS-1 and 2. Secondly, MARS CAP, which deals with the verification of farmers' land use declarations, as governed by the Common Agricultural Policy. In 1995 MARS CAP devolved to individual Member States. For MARS STAT, IRSA provided both technical support and a research programme, and for MARS CAP, technical support centred on quality control, and training and assistance for Member States' personnel and national companies. from B. Competitive Activities Shared-Cost Actions IRSA submitted 40 proposals, together with national partners, on a range of specific scientific subjects, of which 10 have been accepted. A proposal on imaging spectroscopy was also made, under the programme Training and Mobility of Researchers. If it is successful, IRSA will host 20 post-doctoral researchers over the next three years. Competitive Support for Community Policies IRSA answered calls for tender issued by several the Commission. Proposals were DGs of accepted in a number of key areas. For example: • Application of the MARS project for wine and olive production modelling (for DG VI); • An operational tropical forest monitoring programme, submitted by the Monitoring of Tropical Vegetation Unit (for DG XI); • Two joint bids with ISEl dealing with neural network applications, one to EUROSTAT concerning neural networks for land use classification, the other to DG III for the benchmarking of neural network systems. environmental resource inventories and marine pollution monitoring. Other Competitive Activities 40 Work for Third Parties Five contracts were carried out for customers in Belgium, France and Italy, on topics ranging from microwave measurements to regional A four year multi-country project for rapid environmental and agricultural monitoring and the PHARE statistics was accepted by programme. Another the development of systems for crop assessment and monitoring in Russia, was accepted by TACIS. project, on JRC Annual Report 1995 41 2. 7 THE INSTITUTE FOR SAFETY TECHNOLOGY Research on Safety Technology» performed at 1ST, contributed to the Framework Programme lines Measurement and Testing, Environment and Climate, Nuclear Fission Safety, and Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion. The overall mission of 1ST is research contributing to safe civil engineering structures, nuclear reactors, fusion tests as well as relating to particular problems of the chemical industries and power utilities. to perform The Institute is also engaged in several support activities related to Community policies in the field of energy, the area of Nuclear in Safeguards (Euratom Safeguards and IAEA). A. Institutional Activities for Under the Nuclear Fission Safety programme the ISTs investigations deal essentially with defining safe operation conditions for industrial installations and research, existing or planned. In particular, the Nuclear Safety and Safeguards programme covers a major part of ISTs activity. Major support is provided to the Euratom Safeguards Directorate of DG XVII and of DG I for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). IST's support activity is generally closely blended with institutional research. New results were obtained from an important corium melt experiment on melt quenching in test vessel. The experiment the TERMOS simulated an in-vessel situation during a severe accident. interactions The first version of the COMETA code for is now calculating fuel/coolant completed and is used for routine pre- and post- test calculations of the FARO tests. External users include IKE, ENEA, and the University of Wisconsin. IKE introduced the fuel breakup model into the code. The experimental programme on the STORM facility started in June 1995. The advanced instrumentation for characterising aerosols was validated. The thermohydraulic behaviour in the mixing vessel and the deposition in pipes of thermohydraulic Sn-aerosols under varying conditions were tested (four tests with pre calculations, analysis, and post-tests calcula tions). The documentation of these tests is nearly complete. The 4th and 5th meetings of the international STORM user group were held in March and December. Five sets of aerosol problems are proposed as benchmarks for codes JRC Annual Report 1995 currently used for modelling thermohydraulics and aerosol physics in nuclear plants. Large discrepancies have been highlighted in the results for turbulent aerosol deposition and resuspension as calculated by various codes. To improve and assess these mathematical models, reliable measured data are needed for comparison purposes. Work in support o f, Phebus FP was jointly performed by a team of 1ST analysts and on-site staff at CEA Cadarache (F), to interpret the wealth of on-line and post-test measurements available from a first test (late 1993) with lightly irradiated fuel, and to prepare for the next test with irradiated fuel. The first test yielded some unexpected results, such as the advanced state of degradation low deposition in th< xperimental circuit, and the persistence of gaseous radioactive iodine in the containment vessel. fuel rods, the - the New and updated models were added to the ESTER (European Source Term Research Code) system. A new, extended version of ESTER was formally released at a User Group meeting in October. An extensive validation was carried out with the User Group. for MTR Non destructive testing instruments are being developed: a new PIN monitor now used in Mol fuel plate (Belgium); a scanner inspection at Romans sur Isère (France); a new gamma detection device fuel elements stored under water; and a new Plutonium scrap monitor. An unattended system for safeguarding low enriched U installa tions includes specific software and a novel neutron collar. to control Under the Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion programme, 1ST participated to the world-wide development of fusion technology focused on the design of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The overall system testing for the ETHEL tritium safety laboratory was completed. The various laboratory systems were tested and the necessary documentation prepared the necessary cold commissioning phase prior to nuclear tests with tritium. The Fifth Topical Meeting on Tritium Technology was hosted and the proceedings were published the Fusion Technology Journal. to carry out in R&D activity focused on fusion materials, waste studies, tritium control approaches and new measurement techniques. 1ST hosted a number of experiments on behaviour of tritium, e. g. on inbuilding characteristics, the the reduction of tritiated water on regenerate hot iron beds, and the performance of a tritium gas monitor based on scintillation principles. Within ETHEL, work continued on: characterising tritium recycling and outgassing from potential fusion reactor first wall materials under conditions; studying large scale gaseous detritiation techniques; and measuring the performance of various permeation barriers. An for detritiating and experimental plant conditioning activated/ tritiated solid fusion wastes is being assembled. Work under the Measurements and Testing programme concentrated on assessing the reliability of structures. Major pseudodynamic tests were performed in the ELSA facility on a large composite steel/concrete frame under conditions simulating severe earthquakes, in support of further improvement of Eurocode 8 (which applies to the design of civil engineering structures in seismic areas) and Eurocode 4. The dynamic properties of materials and critical structural components were studied in the LDTF facility, mainly in collaboration with industry. the validation and Tools were developed to simulate the seismic behavior of complete civil engineering structures. Significant progress was made in model prediction and comparison with experimental results, on the behaviour of masonry infills, and of reinforced concrete beam-to-column joints. A full documentation set (manuals and model description reports) has large been completed computer code for transient dynamic analysis of general 3D coupled fluid-structure systems, developed in collaboration with CEA (France). for PLEXIS-3C, a Facilities and calculation tools for industrial reliability research within the Environment and Climate programme became fully operational. The FIRES facility was used for, amongst other things, complex polymerization tests as a service to the chemical industry. Control system development was supported and experimen tally verified, in collaboration with TU Stuttgart (Germany), to demonstrate Kalman filter based control and for the application of neural network control algorithms. Venting tests were performed to simulate horizontal vessel discharge and situations in heat exchangers. The DRACULA facility produced reference data for the design of emergency pressure relief systems in large plants. the COLUMBUS facility in The first commercial version of the RELIEF code for emergency pressure relief design was 42 completed, including industrial verification. It combines complex modelling with extreme user friendliness. In an application test, a plant manager was able to install the software on his PC and to simulate various venting scenarios for his plant in less than two hours. software advanced The for simulation detonation/deflagration modeling, REACFLOW, was released in a 2D version. New software modelling of two-phase flow and for the dispersion of heavy gas releases was further developed. Institutional Support Activities in PERLA to safeguards In the way of support activities for the harmonisation of in-service nuclear safeguards inspection practices, training courses were given inspectors, including Russian inspectors and operators and industrial experts, and in-field support was given to safeguards inspectors during physical inventory verifications (PIV). State of the art equipment and reference analyses of nuclear materials samples were also provided. Non destructive assays were also performed. B. Competitive Activities Shared-Cost Actions 18 out of 52 proposals were successful. They refer to the B RITE programme, the Environment and Climate programme, the ESPRIT HPCN the Nuclear Fission Safety programme, programme and the Technology Transfer programme. ELSA, the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment, has been recognised as a Large-Scale Facility for European users within the Training and Mobility of Researchers programme. A research network of 12 European organisations has been approved for research in support of Eurocode 8. Competitive Support for Community Policies 1ST has answered calls for tender from several Directorates-General. Some proposals are at an advanced stage of discussion, in particular, support for the development of EUROCODE 8 for DG III. Work for Third Parties authorities Work was requested from 1ST by various associations. industries, Developments the response of plain and reinforced concrete structures to impulsive loading. Major contracts and include simulation of JRC Annual Report 1995 43 were also signed with the USNRC, for severe accident studies with FARO, and with the Portuguese General Directorate for Monuments (DGEMN) for an experimental investigation of the structural reliability of the monastery Säo Vicente de Fora in Lisbon. Sizeable marketing focused on advancing new competitive activities and promoting the results achieved on industrial reliability. efforts three 1ST activities were displayed at exhibitions: the Loss Prevention Symposium in Antwerp, INCHEM 95 in Tokyo, and RICH in Milan. Initial sales and third party contracts point to a successful and positive trend for the future. JRC Annual Report 1995 2. 8 THE INSTITUTE FOR PROSPECTIVE TECHNOLOGICAL STUDIES The role of IPTS is to be constantly aware of all relevant, significant and outstanding scientific and technological events and trends in Europe, particularly those that call for action at EU level. The Institute contributed to the Framework line, Targeted Socio-Economic Programme Research. The essential tasks of IPTS are: to harvest available to analyse, process and integrate it impartially; and to identify clear trends or calls for action for decision makers. information; The main current tasks at IPTS are setting up the European Science and Technology Observatory technological (ESTO), and carrying out prospective studies. A. Institutional Activities IPTS moved to Seville in 1994 and under the Targeted Socio-Economic Research line of the Fourth Framework Programme was given a reinforced objective and corresponding human large part of 1995 and financial resources. A has thus been devoted to the preparation of an operational work plan. The general purpose is to harvest available contributions from experts, and consultants, institutes in the Member States where possible, also in third countries, to be able rapidly to analyse, process and integrate them impartially and in depth and, even more importantly, to distil clear trends or calls for action in a form usable by decision-makers. organisations research Although IPTS's activities and resources are formally broken into specific research on the one hand, and support of EU policies on the other, all projects address directly or indirectly the public need and understanding. Unavoidably, the distinction between the two types of activities may be somewhat blurred. knowledge for Institutional Research Activities The Observatory at IPTS forms an integral part of the Institute's work and is currently focused on selected fields, but a network of similar organisations operating at national level is being set up to extend its range and to satisfy the much broader function of a truly European Science and Technology Observatory. All interested partners share the responsibility of carrying out a "technology watch" as a joint venture. The technology watch function has been designed to support decision making and 44 is complemented by specific in-depth prospect ive analyses aimed at shedding light on the interface between scientific & technical aspects, on the one hand, the economy & society, on the other. is one of Since employment the major preoccupations of EU institutions and society, the driving force behind all of IPTS' activities is the compound notion "Technology-Competi tiveness-Employment" (TCE). In 1995, IPTS undertook prospective studies on specific subjects related either to a technology (e. g. biotechnology), a field (e. g. individual mobility) or a cross-cutting issue or aspect. For instance, work regional relevant dimension more specifically, the Mediterranean area was carried out, within the framework of both integrated development and specific sectors (renewable energies, water problems). the to Institutional Support Activities Prospective technological studies on materials, feedstock chemical recycling and energy from municipal plastics waste, recovery in 1994 on behalf of DG XI launched (Environment), resulted in four preliminary surveys: • current projects on mechanical recycling of municipal plastics waste; • current legislative activity in plastics waste management; • current projects on plastics recycling by chemolysis; • current projects on energy recovery from municipal plastics waste. Three new families of energy technologies were studied in 1995 and joined the series of prospective analyses launched in 1994 for DG XVII (Energy): photovoltaics, CO2 disposal and technologies, and C02 biological storage sequestration. A new update of the report on Climate Change Research and Policy (Forward Studies Unit and DG XVII) covers the monitoring and assessment of recent research results on climate sensitivity, with emphasis on past climate changes and on modelling as well as a synthesis of the results of the Climate Change Convention in Berlin, in 1995. JRC Annual Report 1995 45 Two new case studies for the "Business and the Environment" series have been completed for the Forward Studies Unit, one on "Waste Minimisation", the other on "Cleaner Techno logies in an SME". This series is designed to give an accurate measure of some aspects of competitiveness and employment in companies eager to respond to environmental pressures. In the context of work carried out for DG XVI the (Regional Policy), cooperation with Japanese agency NISTEP has continued, aimed at comparing the European and Japanese experiences in regional development from an RTD policy perspective. This project will be completed in 1996. In response the STOA to requests from (Scientific and Technical Option Assessment) panel of the European Parliament, IPTS has launched the three following projects: • "The role of biotechnology in the competi tiveness of the European pharmaceutical industry": Scientific, economic, legal and social considerations are to be reviewed in comparing the EU position with its major competitors. The project provides a factual overview of R&D and innovation efforts in the pharmaceutical sector, and a prospective description of the priorities in research for prospects and the new drugs and expectations for new medical therapies. The expected socio-economic benefits of new drugs in the context of European health care systems are analysed. to Its objectives issues related • "The Car of The Future, the Future of the Car": Key issues for future transport systems are linked to achieving sustainable condi tions from an environments, social and economic point of view. The project focuses technological, social and economic on aspects of individual are to develop mobility. strategies for solving the conflict between demand for mass individual mobility on the one hand, and ecological pressure, safety problems and congestion on the other hand. Its first stage concentrates on technological aspects such as new engine concepts, with focus on zero-emission/e-cars and the related light potential energy storage systems, weight materials, recycling aspects and telematics for increased road use efficiency. The results are presented in a set of reports. Socio-economic-political aspects are also JRC Annual Report 1995 dealt with, e. g. driver behaviour/mentality and acceptance problems related to various technological options. THE m iiiiiiii i j $ i r r z— =— Fig. 4 - The Monthly Report of IPTS / the rapid development of • "Multimedia Information Superhigh-ways": The project focuses mainly on issues arising from these technologies and the services they provide, such as access devices, pricing/billing to users, priority systems, interconnection and interoperability issues, contents and security concerns, etc A first report also deals with effects on and the direct employment: as with most innovative technologies, a loss of jobs will be felt in the short term while in the medium/long term, the economic per formance will have positive effects. This entails recycling the labour force, the costs of which are, at this stage, difficult to estimate. Aspects linked to social and individual aspects such as exclusion or changes in human relations are also discussed. increased general indirect B. Competitive Activities first time IPTS has entered For the the competitive market for research contracts. Its proposals relate mainly to non-nuclear energy (5 proposals submitted, 3 funded), agro-food, the environment, international cooperation on water resources, and biomass (for various Mediterranean programmes managed by DG I B). Most of the work will be carried out in 1996. JRC INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT ACTIVITIES Table 1 of Annex 1 INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT ACTIVITIES DECISIONS, DIRECTIVES, REGULATIONS OF THE COUNCIL AND COMMUNICATIONS OF THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ON INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT ACTIVITIES OF THE JRC Environment and Climate European Reference Laboratory for Air Pollution (ERLAP) European Chemicals Bureau (ECB) European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) t Support to the European Environment Agency (EEA) Work in support of Directives 80/779 EEC, 89/427 EEC, 82/884 EEC, 85/203 EEC and 92/72 EEC Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament (93/C1/02), OJ No. CI/3 of 5. 01. 1993 on the European Chemicals Bureau (ECB). Work in support of Directives 67/548 EEC, 92/32 EEC Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament SEC(91)1794 final of 29. 10. 1991. Establishment of a European Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM). Work in support of Directive 86/609 EEC — — — — — — — • - — • — — — — — — - — — — - — - - — - — - - - — _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1210/90 of 7. 5. 1990 on the creation of the European Environmental Agency (OJ No. L120/1,11. 5. 1990) (see in particular Article 15 and Annex A Cooperation with the JRC) European Community Pharmaceutical Information Network (ECPHIN) Work in support of Directives 93/39 EEC, 93/40 EEC and Council Regulations 93/2309 EEC and EEC 2377/90 Quality Control of Consumer Products (Consumer Protection) Industrial Reliability: Major Hazards Biotechnology Safety Methodologies for UCLAF ™ ^ • " • " "—" " ~M• — • — ' _ _ • _ _ — _ _ _ _ • —' Agriculture and Fisheries Remote Sensing for Agriculture On Cosmetics: 6th modification of Regulation EC/76/768 on Safety of Products: General Safety Directive 92/59/EEC of 29. 6. 1994 _ « —; • Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament; Work in support of Directive 82/501 EEC _ ^ _ » _ _ ^ _ _ ^ _ _ _ _ _ ^ ^ _ _ _ _ ^ _ _ _ _ _ _ » » _ » _ ™ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ — » _ — « _ _ _ _ i _ _ _ _ _ « _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _i \x Decision of the Council of 14. 11. 1994 on Remote Sensing applications to Agricultural Statistics for the period 1994-1998 (94/753/ EEC, OJ No. L299/27, 22. 11. 1994). _ _ _ _ - - _ - - - _ - - - • _ _ _ — _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - • _ _ — — _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ — _ _ _ — _ — _ _^ INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT ACTIVITIES DECISIONS, DIRECTIVES, REGULATIONS OF THE COUNCIL AND COMMUNICATIONS OF THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ON INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT ACTIVITIES OF THE JRC Animal Identification European Office for Wine, Alcohol and Spirit Drinks (BEVABS) Reference Measurements and Materials for Quality Control of Foodstuffs Nudear Safety and Safeguards Euratom Safeguards Support: Genera I Euratom Safeguards Support: On-Site laboratories and ECSAM IAEA Safeguards Support Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament (COM(93)360/3). Work in support of Council Regulations (EEC) No. 2048/89,2348/91 and 2347/91 and Commission Regulation No. 2676/90 Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament of 24. 3. 1992 (SEC (92)515 final, concerning the Commission Decision on on-site laboratories, for the period 1991-1996 (see in particular A rt 16 Cooperation with the JRC) Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament COM(94)383 final, of 7. 9. 1994 concerning the illicit circulation of radioactive material Communication from the Commission to the Council COM (80) 681 final, concerning an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the International Atomic Energy Agency on the one hand and the Commission on behalf of the European Atomic Energy Community, on the other, on cooperation in the field of research and development in Safeguards *fc Annex 2 GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ADAGE Aide à la Décision Aménagement Gestion de l'Environnement AQUACON Analytical Quality Control ARTINA Analysis of Radioisotope Traces for the Identification of Nuclear Actinides BRITE-EURAM Basic Research in Industrial Technologies for Europe- European Research on Advanced Materials CEA CEN Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (Paris - France) Comité Européen de Normalisation CORDIS Community Research and Development Information Service ELSA ENIC European Laboratory for Structural Assessment European Network for Inspections Qualification ESPRIT-HPCN European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information ESTI European Solar Test Installation EURATOM European Atomic Energy Community EUREKA European Research Coordination Agency EUROSTAT European Statistical Office FWP Framework Programme IPACERC Induction Plasma Assisted CVD of Erosion Resistant Coatings JOULE Joint Opportunities for Unconventional or Long-Term Energy Supply MITO NASA NEA NESC Microphyte Toxins National Aeronautics and Space Administration Nuclear Energy Agency (Paris - France) European Network for Evaluating Steel Components NET/ITER Next European Torus / International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor PHARE PHEBUS RIVM Poland - Hungary: Assistance for Economic Restructuring French Test Reactor (Cadarache - France) Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (The Netherlands) ROBERTINO Facility for the Blanket Handling Device Development in 1:3 Scale SCK/CEN SPOT TACIS Studiecentrumm voor Kernenergie/Centre d'Etudes Nucléaires (Mol-Belgium) Système Probatoire pour l'Observation de la Terre Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States and Georgia THERMIE Technologies Européennes pour la Maîtrise de l'Energie USNRC United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission ISSN 1024-4506 KOM(96) 158 slutlig DOKUMENT SV 01 15 Katalognummer : CB-CO-96-170-SV-C ISBN 92-78-02641-7 ByrAn för Europeiska gemenskapernas officiella publikationer L-2985 Luxemburg