JRC and El Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas to collaborate
The European Commission's Joint Research Centre has recently signed a collaboration agreement with El Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas - the Spanish Council for National research - (CSIC). The agreement sets out a framework for mutually beneficial collaboration through joint projects, sharing facilities and staff exchanges. In particular, the institutions will collaborate on research to identify, control and establish common standards on genetically modified organisms, food technology and quality control, biomaterials and environmental monitoring. The CSIC and JRC will also work together on socio-economic-related research, which would include, for example, studying issues related to the candidate countries and the European science and technology observatory. The JRC is keen to promote collaboration between research institutions, in line with initiatives suggested by the European Commission in its communication on a European Research Area (ERA) where emphasis is placed on 'a common system of technical and scientific reference for policy implementation.' CSIC is a multidisciplinary public research agency attached to the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture and is the largest research agency in Spain, with around 10,000 staff spread throughout the country.