8 The Clean Sky and
ENIAC Joint Undertakings
| (a)
(28723)
10148/07
COM(07) 315
+ ADD 1
+ ADD 2
+ ADD 3
(b)
(28730)
10149/07
COM(07) 356
+ ADD 1
+ ADD 2
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Draft Regulation establishing the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking
List of Clean Sky Members
Commission staff working document: impact assessment of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking
Commission staff working document: summary of the impact assessment
Draft Regulation establishing the ENIAC (nanoelectronics) Joint Undertaking
Commission staff working document: impact assessment
Commission staff working document: summary of the impact assessment
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| Legal base | (Both) Article 171 EC; consultation; QMV
|
| Document originated | (a) 13 June 2007
(b) 22 June 2007
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| Deposited in Parliament | (a) 22 June 2007
(b) 26 June 2007
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| Department | Innovation, Universities and Schools
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| Basis of consideration | EMs of 9 July 2007
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | No date set
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | (Both) Cleared but further information requested
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Background
8.1 Article 171 of the EC Treaty authorises the Council to set
up joint undertakings for the efficient execution of Community
research and development (R&D).
8.2 The budget for the EC's 7th Framework
Programme for R&D is €51.3 billion for 2007-13.[29]
The Framework Programme comprises four specific programmes ("Cooperation",
"Ideas", "People" and "Capacities").
Both the Framework Programme and the Cooperation programme refer
to Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs). The Competition programme
describes the Initiatives as follows:
"In a limited number of cases, the scope of
[an R&D] objective and the scale of the resources involved
justify setting up long term public private partnerships in the
form of Joint Technology Initiatives. These initiatives, mainly
resulting from the work of European Technology Platforms and covering
one or a small number of selected aspects of research in their
field, will combine private sector investment and national and
European public funding, including grant funding from the Research
Framework Programme and loan finance from the European Investment
Bank. Joint Technology Initiatives will be decided on the basis
of separate proposals (eg on the basis of Article 171 of the Treaty)."[30]
8.3 Joint Technology Platforms are informal networks
which are led by industry and bring together research bodies,
businesses and public authorities. They define medium- to long-term
agendas for strategic research. Six areas have been identified
as being particularly suitable for JTIs.[31]
8.4 The Commission proposes that each JTIs should
be implemented by a joint undertaking established under Article
171 of the EC Treaty. The undertakings would have a number of
common features. For example, all six would be classified as Community
bodies and the Community Staff and Financial Regulations would
apply to them.
Document (a): The proposed Clean Sky Joint Undertaking
8.5 The Commission says that the aeronautics industry
faces major challenges. They include:
- the continuing growth in demand
for air transport;
- the need to reduce the impact of air transport
on the environment (for example, to reduce its contribution to
air pollution, noise and climate change);
- the timescale for the replacement of aircraft
provides the opportunity to exploit new clean technologies if
R&D results are delivered before 2015;
- the EU aeronautical industry faces strong competition,
including growing competition from Brazil, China and India; and
- public expenditure on aeronautics R&D is
three times higher in the USA than it is in Europe.
8.6 The Aeronautics Technology Platform has produced
a strategic research agenda. After consulting Member States and
others, the Commission proposes that the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking
should be established to conduct R&D on the matters covered
in that agenda.
8.7 Accordingly, Clean Sky will focus on six technical
areas:
i) the SMART Fixed Wing Aircraft Integrated Technology
Demonstrator (ITD) concerned with R&D on active wing technologies
which sense the airflow and adapt their shape as required);
ii) the Green Regional Aircraft ITD (work on
low weight configurations and technologies);
iii) the Green Rotorcraft (R&D on, for example,
rotor blades and engines to reduce noise and fuel consumption);
iv) the Sustainable and Green Engine ITD (aimed
at integrating technologies to produce low noise, lightweight
and highly efficient configurations);
v) the Systems for Green Operation ITD (R&D
on, for example, all-electric aircraft equipment, thermal management
and improved ground operations); and
vi) the Eco-Design ITD, which will cover the
full life cycle of materials and components and examine such things
as decreasing the use of non-renewable materials, recycling and
reducing the emission of noxious effluents.
8.8 The draft Regulation provides for the Clean Sky
Joint Undertaking to be established for the period up to the end
of 2017. The Joint Undertaking's objectives would be to accelerate
development in the EU of clean air transport technologies for
the earliest possible deployment; and to create radically innovative
air transport systems with the aim of reducing the environmental
impact of air transport. It would be based in Brussels.
8.9 The founding members of the Joint Undertaking
would be:
- the Commission; and
- the 12 ITD leaders and 74 Associates listed in
the annex (ADD 1).
8.10 Rolls Royce and Airbus UK are listed among the
ITD leaders. Advanced Composites Group and Cranfield and Nottingham
Universities are among the Associates. The Commission and ITD
leaders would be responsible for Undertaking's strategic management;
the Associates would take part in one or more ITDs and be involved
in reaching technical decisions on them. It would be open to any
public or private body established in a Member State or other
country associated with the EC 7th R&D Framework
Programme to apply to become a member of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking.
8.11 The Joint Undertaking would be financed by contributions
from Members and "affiliates" (defined as legal entities
owned or controlled by an ITD leader or Associate, located in
a Member State or associated country and participating in the
activities of the ITD or Associate). The draft Directive expressly
limits the EC's financial contribution to €800 million at
the most. The ITD leaders and Associates would be required to
contribute at least as much as the EC.
8.12 The draft Directive includes provisions on
the contractual and non-contractual liabilities of the Joint Undertaking,
the applicable law, the jurisdiction of the European Court of
Justice and necessary supplemental and consequential matters,
including the governance and Statutes of the Undertaking.
8.13 ADD 2 provides detailed supporting information
about the proposal; and a comparative assessment of the expected
impacts of the Joint Undertaking and alternatives to it. ADD 3
is a summary of the impact assessment.
The Government's view on document (a)
8.14 The Minister of State for Science and Innovation
at the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (Ian
Pearson) tells us that:
"The UK Government strongly supports the aims
of the Clean Sky JTI. The UK Aerospace industry is a European
leader and the largest outside the USA. In 2006, it directly employed
124,000 people and had a turnover of £19.81 billion. The
UK has world-class aeronautics companies which are already involved
in the JTI process, including Rolls Royce and Airbus UK. The strength
of the industry should put the UK in a good position to benefit
substantially from this JTI both in terms of obtaining substantial
funding, enhancing industrial capability and in promotion of the
environmental agenda."
8.15 The Minister says that the draft Regulation
would have "only a limited impact on UK law". He adds,
however, that the Government is examining the provisions on the
corporate law applicable to the Joint Undertaking to see if they
would leave significant gaps and whether any amendments are needed
to ensure compatibility with UK law.
Document (b): the proposed ENIAC Joint Undertaking
8.16 The Commission says that nano-electronics is
a strategic technology for Europe which will have a major effect
on the EC's competitiveness and growth. It increasingly underpins
the high-tech manufacturing sectors. But EC nano-electronics companies
face fierce competition from elsewhere; and expenditure on R&D
in the EC is fragmented between and within Member States. Moreover,
the scale of the required expenditure is great. Nano-electronics
is, therefore, one of the six JTIs included in the EC's R&D
Framework Programme for 2007-13.
8.17 The proposal for a joint undertaking to implement
the nano-electronics JTE (the ENIAC Joint Undertaking) takes account
of the recommendations of the ENIAC Technology Platform and the
Commission's consultations with Member States, industry, research
bodies and others. The aim of the R&D financed through the
Joint Undertaking would be to boost the discovery, miniaturisation
and integration of electronic devices and to develop new materials,
equipment and processes for application in information and communication
systems and, for example, in the transport, health care, energy,
security and safety sectors.
8.18 The draft Regulation provides for the establishment
of the ENIAC Joint Undertaking to implement the JTI in the period
up to 2017. The Joint Undertaking would be based in Brussels.
Its objectives would include defining and implementing the Joint
Undertaking's research programme, selecting R&D projects through
competition, giving the selected projects financial support and
promoting investment in nano-electronics R&D.
8.19 The founding members of the ENIAC Joint Undertaking
would be:
- the Commission;
- individual Member States (if they wish to participate);
and
- the AENEAS Association (an association of European
nano-electronics companies and research organisations).
Member States and other countries pursuing relevant
research would be able to apply at any time to become members,
as would any legal entity capable of making a substantial financial
contribution to the achievement of the Joint Undertaking's objectives.
8.20 The draft Regulation provides for the running
costs of the Joint Undertaking for the period up to the end of
2017 to be met by:
- a financial contribution from
AENEAS of up to €20 million or 1% of the total costs of research
projects (not exceeding €30 million), whichever is the greater;
- up to €10 million from the budget of the
EC 7th Framework Programme; and
- in-kind contributions from participating countries.
8.21 The R&D projects selected for support by
the Joint Undertaking would be funded from:
- a total contribution of up
to €440 million from the 7th EC Framework Programme;
- grants from participating countries direct to
R&D projects in which they have an interest; and
- in-kind contributions from R&D organisations.
8.22 The Joint Undertaking's contribution to each
research project would be up to 16.5% of the costs of the project.
The Commission estimates that every Euro contributed from EC funds
will "lever" in seven Euros from industry, research
institutes and Member States.
8.23 The draft Regulation includes supplemental and
consequential provisions on, for example, the contractual and
non-contractual liabilities of the Joint Undertaking, the applicable
law, the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and the
governance and Statutes of the Joint Undertaking.
8.24 ADD 1 provides supporting information and a
comparative assessment of the expected impacts of the ENIAC Joint
Undertaking and alternatives to it. ADD 2 is a summary of the
impact assessment.
The Government's view on document (b)
8.25 The Minister tells us that the Government will
consider whether to become a founder member of the ENIAC Joint
Undertaking. He adds that:
"Membership would increase UK influence over
the development of the JTI. There is initially no financial commitment,
but if the UK were to remain a member there would be pressure
to provide a national financial contribution … There is no
minimum level set and there is flexibility for national contributions
to increase or decrease on an annual basis. Alternatively, the
proposed legislation includes the right for all Member States
to join the JTI during its implementation even if they are not
founding members."
8.26 The Minister says that there are some detailed
matters — such as the effect of the application of the Community
Staff Regulation on the Joint Undertaking's ability to recruit
suitable staff; and the provisions on contractual and non-contractual
liabilities — on which the Government will seek clarification
during the negotiations on the draft Regulation.
Conclusion
8.27 We see no reason to doubt the suitability
of aeronautics and nano-electronics to be Joint Technology Initiatives.
In our view, it is reasonable to use Article 171 of the EC Treaty
to establish a Joint Undertaking to implement each of the initiatives.
We also consider that the proposals are consistent with the principle
of subsidiarity because of the scale and complexity of the proposed
research and the benefits of cross-border cooperation.
8.28 We are content to clear both documents from
scrutiny. But we ask the Minister to send us progress reports
on the negotiations of the two draft Regulations.
29 (26581) 8087/05: see HC 34-xxx (2005-06), para 12
(24 May 2006). Back
30
See (26879) 12736/07: draft Decision concerning the Specific Programme
"Cooperation", Annex I, page 25. Back
31
The six areas are: aeronautics and air transport; hydrogen and
fuel cells; innovative medicines; embedded computing systems;
nanoelectronics; and global monitoring for environment and security. Back
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