Council ready to adopt remaining specific programmes
The Research Council of the European Union will meet to discuss the remaining specific programmes implementing the Fourth Framework Programme for research and technological development and demonstration (1994-1998) on 1 December 1994. The following specific programmes are concerned: - Transport; - Biotechnology; - Targeted socio-economic research; - Dissemination and exploitation of research results; - Training and mobility of researchers; - Environment and climate; - Biomedicine and health; - Nuclear fission safety; - JRC (EC); - JRC (EAEC); - Controlled thermonuclear fusion. (Although this specific programme was agreed on 29 September 1994, it has yet to be adopted.) The Council has two options. The first option is to reach agreement on the specific programmes. Formal adoption will follow when the texts of the specific programmes are available in all of the official Community languages. The second option is for the Council to agree and adopt the specific programmes at the same meeting. The second option will allow the Commission to launch calls for tender for these programmes on 15 December 1994. Calls can only be launched for those programmes which have been formally adopted by the Council. It now seems likely that the Council will adopt the remaining programmes on 1 December 1994, thus ensuring that the calls for tender can proceed as planned on 15 December 1994. However, three programmes will not launch calls for tender. These are the two programmes concerning the Joint Research Centre and the programme concerned with controlled thermonuclear fusion. The formal adoption of the specific programmes that were previously agreed at the Research Council of 29 September 1994 took place at the meeting of the Fisheries Council on 23 November 1994. The programmes concerned are: - Telematics applications; - Information technologies; - Standards, measurements and testing; - Marine sciences and technologies; - Agriculture and fisheries; - Non-nuclear energies; - Cooperation with third countries. It is expected that, with the exception of the specific programme on cooperation with third countries, these programmes will all launch calls as planned on 15 December 1994. The situation as regards the specific programme on cooperation with third countries is as yet unclear, but a restricted call is expected.