Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2009)610 - Participation by the EC in a Joint Baltic Sea Research and Development Programme (BONUS-169) undertaken by several Member States SEC(2009)1476 SEC(2009)1475 - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2009)610 - Participation by the EC in a Joint Baltic Sea Research and Development Programme (BONUS-169) undertaken by several Member ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2009)610  |
| date | 29-10-2009 |
The purpose of this proposal, based on Article 169 of the EC Treaty, is to establish the participation of the Community in a Joint Baltic Sea Research Programme (BONUS-169) undertaken by all eight EU Baltic Sea Member States (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden, from now on the 'Participant States') in support of the Baltic Sea region’s sustainable development. BONUS-169 will provide scientific outputs to facilitate the implementation of ecosystem-based management in the Baltic Sea region and support the development and implementation of fit-for-purpose ecosystem-based regulations, policies and management practices aimed at safeguarding the sustainable use of the ecosystem’s goods and services.
This initiative will also help the establishment and structuring of the ERA in the Baltic Sea Region. The previously funded BONUS ERA-NET and ERA-NET PLUS have already made significant contributions to improving the coordination of marine Baltic Sea research. BONUS-169 will give momentum to achieve the critical mass or the level of integration needed to adequately address the very complex national research systems. By bringing together all 8 EU Baltic Sea Member States, this initiative aims to achieve a durable coordination and cooperation among their research policies and scientific communities in tackling common European challenges and thus make a significant contribution to the structuring of the European Research Area in the Baltic Sea Region by removing barriers between nationally funded research programmes. There will be scope for participation of the Russian Federation in the Joint Research Programme provided that the necessary legal requirements are met. Furthermore, BONUS-169 is expected to make a significant contribution to the implementation of the Baltic Sea Strategy and to actively support the Marine Strategy and Maritime Policy.
The Participating States have agreed that the Baltic Organisations Network for Funding Science, BONUS EEIG, established in Helsinki, Finland, will be the dedicated implementation structure of BONUS-169.
The Baltic Sea ecosystem is seriously impacted by many natural and human-induced pressures. The sea and coasts are particularly affected by combined and increasing negative impacts from pollution, eutrophication, climate change, acidification, invasive alien species, overexploitation of living resources and biodiversity loss. These threats are reducing the capacity of the Baltic Sea to sustainably provide the goods and services upon which humans depend. This has critical implications for the entire Baltic Region, and the wider European Community. In the coming decades, global change (including climate change) and long-term, as well as long-range influences are predicted to increase, putting additional pressures on the Baltic Sea System.
Sustainable solutions to environmental problems and the development and implementation of an ecosystem approach in the Baltic Sea necessitates new scientific knowledge to understand the behaviour of the extremely complex Baltic Sea System, its interactions and feedbacks with the multiple natural and anthropogenic drivers.
However, while many research activities are taking place in the Baltic Sea region, these efforts remain for a large part uncoordinated and lack a jointly agreed regional action plan. As a result, the efforts so urgently required to meet the complex challenges faced are highly fragmented.
An action at Community level in the Baltic Sea region is urgently called for, given the limited research possibilities available at national, regional or local level to individually meet the complex environmental challenges of the Baltic Sea region as a whole. Integrated and coordinated action between the Baltic Sea States is urgently needed if the very significant and pressing environmental challenges faced in the region are to be met effectively.
BONUS-169 is an opportunity to achieve the critical mass and the level of integration needed to adequately address the very complex national research systems. It seeks to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Baltic Sea Region's fragmented environmental research programming and approach by integrating the research activities in the Baltic Sea System into a durable, cooperative, interdisciplinary well focussed multi-national programme in support of the region's sustainable development.
This is in line with the long-standing political support over the last 15 years by the Council and the European Parliament urging for an improved coordination of research activities in Europe and for coordination of national and regional research policies and programmes under the support of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to avoid fragmentation and overlapping competencies.
In reply to this, the Commission is presenting the current proposal on the participation by the Community in a Joint Baltic Sea Research and Development Programme (BONUS-169) undertaken by several Member States.
Although the Baltic Sea environmental research community has access to a number of programmes under the EU RTD Framework Programme, there is currently no jointly implemented scheme specifically tailored to address the environmental challenges of the Baltic Sea region itself.
As a first step to improve coordination in the region, the BONUS ERA-Net (2004-2006) was funded under the 6th Framework Programme. It made a good progress in initiating communication between research funding institutions in the region, analysing the landscape and developing the preconditions for further integration by elaborating a series of Analytic Papers, a Science Plan, Legal basis for a Decentralised Implementation Structure (DIS).
In 2006, the European Parliament reporting on the Commission Proposal for the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) acknowledged the need to address the fragmentation by stressing that "…it is vital that the Seventh Framework Programme should support the coordination of national and regional research policies and programmes" and that in order 'to avoid fragmentation and overlapping competencies, there should be more cooperation between national and European research programmes, and between economic actors in the long-term research agenda'. BONUS-169 was one of the four potential Article 169 initiatives included in the FP7 Cooperation Specific Programme and Capacities Specific Programme i to promote such co-ordination. Not being at the time 'mature' enough and ready for implementation, it was not included in the ‘first train’ of Article 169 initiatives. Instead and prior to the adoption of a fully-fledged BONUS-169 initiative, an ERA-Net Plus (2007-2011) was funded under FP7 as a bridging measure to further develop and test in practice the identified mechanisms through a joint call.
BONUS-169 is fully aligned with the objectives and spirit of the European Strategy for Marine and Maritime Research and the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. Furthermore, it will contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the revised Lisbon Strategy by investing more and better in knowledge for growth and jobs, contributing to the realisation of the ERA in the Baltic region and helping Europe to respond more effectively to key societal challenges in the region in relation to the environmental protection and sustainable development, tourism, aquaculture, food safety and maritime transport.
BONUS-169 will integrate the national research programmes and activities of the 8 Baltic Sea States into a single joint research programme and support, in particular, the research and environmental objectives of the Baltic Sea Strategy, the Marine and Maritime Strategy and the Water Framework Directive. Furthermore, the combination of EU and national funds will create a critical mass in terms of capacity, expertise and resources that will stimulate structural changes in the Baltic Sea and related river basin and coastal zone research systems and will promote the development and implementation of a durable, cooperative, interdisciplinary well integrated and focussed research programme jointly implemented by all Participating Member States.
In order to reach its objectives, BONUS-169 will be implemented in two distinct phases: an initial strategic phase, lasting two years, during which appropriate consultation platforms for active stakeholder involvement will be set-up, a Strategic Research Agenda prepared, and precise Implementation Modalities will be further broadened and developed; an implementation phase, of minimum 5 years, during which a minimum of three joint calls will be launched in view of funding strategically targeted BONUS-169 Projects specifically addressing the objectives of the initiative.
The two-stage approach would allow for engaging a boarder range of funding institutions and hence mobilise additional funds and the establishment of a coherent, policy-driven and long term research agenda in support of the region's sustainable development.
Since the future success of BONUS-169 will depend to a large extent upon the achievement of the objectives set out for the strategic phase, the Commission will evaluate the maturity and readiness of the initiative and provided that the results of the evaluation of are positive, the Commission and the BONUS EEIG shall conclude the Implementation Agreement.
The European Community will match the eligible Participating States contributions up to a maximum of EUR 50 million bringing the total expected budget for the initiative to EUR 100 million. The cash contributions of the Participating States and the Community contribution will be administered as a real common pot.
The strategic phase will be implemented by a grant according to the rules set out in this Decision and on Regulation (EC) no 1906/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 laying down the rules for the participation of undertakings, research centres and universities in actions under the Seventh Framework Programme and for the dissemination of research results (2007-2013) i.
The implementation phase will be implemented by indirect centralised management, according to the provisions of Art. 54 i (c) of the Financial Regulation. According to Article 56 of the Financial Regulation, the Commission will first obtain evidence of the existence and proper operation of, inter-alia, grant-award procedures, an internal control system, an adequate accounting system within the entity to which it entrusts implementation, and an independent external audit.
Contents
- Legal elements of the proposal
- Budgetary implication
- 1.1. Objectives
- 1.2. Grounds for the proposal
- 1.3. Existing initiatives in the area of the proposal
- 1.4. Consistency with the other policies and objectives of the Union
- 2. Summary of the proposed action
- 3.1. Legal basis
- 3.2. Subsidiary principle
- 3.3. Proportionality principle
- 3.4. Choice of instruments
- 5. Additional information
- 5.1. Simplification
- 5.2. Reviews
- 5.3. European Economic Area
- 6. Consultation of Interested Parties
- 6.1. Consultation methods, main sectors targeted and general profile of respondents
- 6.2. Consultation of relevant stakeholders carried out by the Commission
- Consultation on a European Strategy for Marine and Maritime Research
- Consultation with Ministers of the EU Baltic Member States regarding political engagement in a future BONUS-169
- Opinion of the Impact Assessment Board
- 6.3. Consultation of Stakeholders carried out by the BONUS Consortium
The proposal for BONUS-169 is based on Article 169 of the EC Treaty, which provides for the participation of the Community in research programmes jointly undertaken by several Member States, including participation in the structures created for the execution of those programmes.
Furthermore the Council Decision No 971/2006/EC of 19 December 2006 concerning the Specific Programme 'Cooperation' implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007-2013) explicitly mentions the BONUS-169 as one of the possible candidates under the Coordination of non-Community research programmes.
Despite all efforts undertaken to address the fragmentation and duplication of Baltic Sea research, there is still a need for reinforced integration among nationally funded research efforts in order to fully address the environmental challenges facing the Baltic Sea Region which are, for a large part, of trans-national nature. The strategic objectives of this action, namely the integration of the national Baltic Sea environmental research programmes to address urgent environmental problems in the Baltic Sea region and the shortcomings leading to the fragmentation, cannot be addressed by Member States acting in isolation and in the framework of their national constitutional system given that purely inter-governmental actions aimed at the coordination of public environmental funding in the Baltic Sea have not expanded in recent years and have not, so far, been able to address the Environmental challenges faced successfully.
The additional funding to be provided through an Article 169 will i support cross-thematic funding highly relevant with the real research needs, but “falling out” of the traditional funding schemes, like projects combining natural/social/humanitarian science etc. i will promote the levelling the east-west imbalance in R&D funding, i will encourage National Research Funding Organisations to partly give up their independence for a more effective joint governance scheme implemented overseeing a Baltic Sea System research. This has been also acknowledged by the very strong political support and endorsement by the national governments of the Baltic States, the various European Councils and the European Parliament.
In addition, further to the regional added-value expected, the initiative will also aid in the development of similar research governance models for other European seas.
Article 169 invites the Community to make 'provision, in agreement with the Member States concerned, for participation in research and development programmes undertaken by several Member States, including participation in the structures created for the execution of those programmes.' Against this background, Member States are in the lead and have large scope for national decisions.
The initiative is expected to have a very strong leverage effect by mobilising up to EUR 100 million for Baltic Sea research - a sum that would not have been committed in the absence of an Article 169 and deemed absolutely essential in view of the nature and urgency of the challenges faced. This funding will allow BONUS-169 to drastically shift the current baseline from a largely fragmented system of RTD investment in environmental research in the Baltic Sea Region towards a structured and balanced investment capable of addressing the complex and trans-boundary aspects of the entire Baltic Sea System and contribute to the development and implementation of sound sustainable policies in the region.
Three policy options have been considered for meeting the general and specific objectives of the initiative. These are:
· Policy option 1: The continuation of policies so far developed under FP 7 (“business as usual”)
· Policy option 2: The recourse to regionally-oriented trans-thematic call(s) under the Framework Programme
· Policy option 3 - Recourse to Article 169 with three alternative approaches (A, B and C) varying in the extent and depth of the strategic orientation and the stakeholder involvement in the streamlining and implementation of the calls for proposals
– Policy option 3 through approach A – Recourse to an Article 169 with a focus limited to marine research and with the immediate launching of science-driven calls for proposals
– Policy option 3 through approach B – Recourse to an Article 169 with a focus broadened to include the Baltic Sea drainage basin and with a Strategic vision and roadmap to be developed prior to the start of the initiative and Commission proposal
– Policy option 3 through approach C – Recourse to an Article 169 with a focus broadened to include the Baltic Sea drainage basin and with a strategic vision and roadmap developed during the first phase of the initiative.
Policy option 3 through approach C is the preferred option since it can effectively address the shortcomings identified above by achieving long-lasting and durable integration at Member State, institutional and research community level.
The Community contribution would ensure that truly European interest would be reflected in the working programme of the initiative, building upon, but not being limited by, activities addressed at purely national level.
The budgetary implications of this horizontal proposal are already mentioned in the legal basis of FP7 i as well as in the 'Cooperation' Specific Programme of FP7 i. The agreement to be concluded between the Commission and the dedicated implementation structure shall ensure that the financial interests of the Community are protected.
The proposal provides for the simplification of administrative procedures for public authorities (EU or national) and for private parties.
The EU will deal directly with the dedicated implementation structure of BONUS-169 (the BONUS EEIG established in Helsinki) which will be in charge of allocating, administering, monitoring and reporting on the use of the Community contribution and the Member State cash contributions. The Community Contribution together with the Member State cash contributions will be administered as a real common pot.
Before the launching of the implementation phase the Commission will evaluate the maturity and readiness of the initiative. A mid-term review will be held at mid-term of the implementation phase and a final review will be held at the end of the joint research programme.
The proposed act concerns an EEA matter and should therefore extend to the European Economic Area.
The advice of five independent experts forming the BONUS Impact Assessment Expert Group (IAEG) was sought in order to accompany the Impact Assessment process. The group combined a broad range of high-level expertise, and met regularly in Brussels i throughout 2008 and the first half of 2009. Its recommendations formed the basis for a revision of the BONUS-169 Programme by the BONUS consortium with the assistance of two independent experts contracted by the Commission to this end.
Both expert groups analysed a broad range of background documents on the general situation of the environment and the environmental research in the Baltic area as well as all the documentation provided by the BONUS-169 consortium and advised the BONUS Consortium in the drafting of the 'Outline of BONUS-169 Joint Baltic Sea System Research Programme'.
Consultation within the context of the elaboration, adoption and implementation of the 7th EU RTD Framework Programme
BONUS-169 has formed integral part of the specific programme ‘Cooperation’, and has been subject to and benefited from the very broad consultation process organised within the context of FP7. Furthermore, falling under the remit of the thematic area Environment (including climate change), it is subject to regular consultations with the corresponding Programme Committee and Programme Advisory Group.
BONUS-169 has formed an integral part of the European Strategy for Marine and Maritime Research and has thus benefited from the consultation process undergone in the framework of the Strategy.
Consultation with Ministers of the EU Baltic Member States regarding political engagement in a future BONUS-169
In reply to a letter by DG Research Commissioner Potočnik dated November 2008, the Ministers of Research from the BONUS participating countries reaffirmed their political and financial commitment to the initiative and endorsed the need for revision of the original BONUS-169 version in line with the IAEG's recommendations.
Stakeholder consultation within the framework of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region i
The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBR) in its very broad scope and coverage makes explicit reference to the BONUS-169 initiative both under the policy oriented action and the detailed action plan. In this context, it has largely benefitted from the public and stakeholders consultation carried out within this framework in 2008/2009 i.
The draft impact assessment report was presented to the Impact Assessment Board - a body made of high-level Commission's officials mandated to check the quality of the impact assessment reports of the Commission's most significant initiatives - on 9 September 2009. Following the Board's opinion of 11 September 2009, the impact assessment report was revised to take account, as much as possible, of the Board's recommendations. These recommendations mainly led to improvements in explaining the value added of EU action and clarifying the objectives of the Bonus initiative. The revised impact assessment report was re-submitted to the Board on 21 September 2009. While the Board gave a positive opinion on this latter version, it did make some recommendations for further consideration. The impact assessment report in its final version tries to address, as best as possible, some of the Board's latest recommendations and provides justification as to the reasons - mainly due to lack of available data - for failing to address the rest.
In developing the original Science Plan and Implementation Strategy, the BONUS consortium engaged with many groups of stakeholders between the period of June 2005 and November 2006. The process included a variety of consultation mechanisms and feedback procedures in all nine Baltic Sea countries (i.e. 8 EU countries and the Russian Federation). A wide range of academic and governmental scientists in all relevant disciplines and spheres of marine science were consulted in addition to the BONUS consortium funding agencies, relevant ministries and their associated specialised institutes, intergovernmental and international organisations as well as management and regulatory decision makers.
Furthermore, the BONUS Advisory Board comprising a broad spectrum of stakeholders such as HELCOM, ICES, DG MARE, WWF, and Finnish Farmers Association also played a pivotal role in the preparation of the BONUS-169 Science Plan and Implementation Strategy.
The revised BONUS-169 Outline Research Agenda submitted to DG RTD in June 2009 is largely based on the work and consultations carried out for the original BONUS-169 initiative.
An extensive and strategically-driven programme of stakeholder consultations will be carried out during the strategic phase of the Programme addressing stakeholders from other relevant sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, transport and water-management.