Maastricht Summit establishes procedure for fourth Framework programme At the Maastricht summit meeting between heads of Member States of the European Community a new procedure was agreed for the determination of Community research. A "codecision" procedure establishes that future RTD Framework programmes must gain the unanimous approval of the M... At the Maastricht summit meeting between heads of Member States of the European Community a new procedure was agreed for the determination of Community research. A "codecision" procedure establishes that future RTD Framework programmes must gain the unanimous approval of the Member States (as at present, via the Council of Ministers) plus the approval of the European Parliament. To streamline procedure, the specific RTD programmes which constitute each Framework programme will receive only a single reading in the European Parliament, rather than the two readings now required. It is hoped that, under this new procedure, the fourth Framework programme will be finalized to overlap the present third Framework programme, ensuring the continuity of projects in areas of long term importance.
