Status of calls for tender for specific programmes

After the Council meeting on 1 December 1994, during which agreement was reached on the remaining ten specific programmes of the Fourth Framework Programme, Commissioner Ruberti commented that the launch of the Fourth Framework Programme represents a considerable contribution ...

After the Council meeting on 1 December 1994, during which agreement was reached on the remaining ten specific programmes of the Fourth Framework Programme, Commissioner Ruberti commented that the launch of the Fourth Framework Programme represents a considerable contribution to the competitive research position of the EU in the world economy. It will also have considerable implications for the quality of life, in view of the contribution of the programme to areas such as medical science and information communications.

He also highlighted the role of SMEs in European research and development with the allocation of ECU 770 million across the specific programmes for activities specifically devoted to the participation of SMEs.

The specific programmes will also benefit from increased cooperation among Member States due to the emphasis placed on cooperation with partners and increased cooperation in science and technology. In addition, an important and hitherto much neglected dimension is the relationship between research and education and training which has resulted in increased cooperation in this field.

The following programmes have already been adopted by the European Council and will launch calls for tender on 15 December 1994:

- Industrial materials and technologies;
- Advanced communication technologies and services;
- Telematics applications;
- Information technologies;
- Standards, measurements and testing;
- Marine sciences and technologies;
- Agriculture and fisheries;
- Non-nuclear energies.

The specific programme dealing with cooperation with third countries is unlikely to launch a full call for tender on 15 December 1994. Although it is still uncertain, it is probable that an advance notice or a limited call, dealing with a number of specific countries, will be published instead.

The specific programmes agreed by the European Council on 1 December 1994 were as follows:

- Environment and climate;
- Biotechnology;
- Biomedicine and health;
- Transport;
- Targeted socio-economic research;
- Dissemination and exploitation of results;
- Training and mobility of researchers;
- Nuclear fission safety.

These programmes will be adopted at the European Council on 15 December 1994, and the Commission fully expects to launch calls for tender for these programmes on this date. If the full calls cannot be published, then the Commission will publish an advance notice of the calls. An advance notice is essentially the text of the full call, with a notice saying that the official legal call for tender will be published at a later date. This is likely to be 15 January 1995. In this event, the closing date of the tender will remain 15 March 1995.

The following programmes will not proceed by calls for tender:

- Controlled thermonuclear fusion;
- Joint Research Centre (EAEC);
- Joint Research Centre (EC).