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RS 0.420.518.01 Cooperation Agreement of 27 February 1990 between the Swiss Confederation and the European Economic Community on a plan-programme for stimulating international cooperation and exchanges necessary for European researchers

Original Language Title: RS 0.420.518.01 Accord de coopération du 27 février 1990 entre la Confédération suisse et la Communauté économique européenne relatif à un plan-programme de stimulation des coopérations internationales et des échanges nécessaires aux chercheurs européens

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0.420.518.01

Original text

Cooperation Agreement

Between the Swiss Confederation and the European Economic Community on a plan-programme for stimulating international cooperation and exchanges necessary for European researchers (SCIENCE)

Conclu February 27, 1990

Entered into force by exchange of notes on 27 February 1990

The Swiss Confederation, hereinafter referred to as "Switzerland", and the European Economic Community, hereinafter referred to as "the Community",

Hereinafter referred to as "Contracting Parties",

Whereas, by its decision of 29 June 1988, the Council of the European Communities, hereinafter referred to as 'the Council', adopted a plan-programme for stimulating international cooperation and exchanges necessary for European researchers (1988-1992) (SCIENCE), hereinafter referred to as the "stimulus plan";

Whereas the Contracting Parties have concluded a Framework Agreement for Scientific and Technical Cooperation which entered into force on 17 July 1987 1 ;

Whereas the association of Switzerland with the stimulus plan can help to improve the efficiency of the European scientific and technical potential;

Whereas the Contracting Parties expect to derive a mutual benefit from the association of Switzerland in the stimulus plan,

Agreed to the following:

Art. 1

Switzerland is associated, starting from 1 Er July 1989, by this Agreement, to the implementation of the incentive plan. A summary of the plan and its objectives can be found in Appendix A.

Art. 2

The financial contribution of Switzerland resulting from its association with the implementation of the stimulus plan shall be fixed in proportion to the amount available each year in the general budget of the European Communities for appropriations Commitment to meet the financial obligations of the Commission of the European Communities, hereinafter referred to as 'the Commission', resulting from the work to be carried out in the framework of the cost-shared research contracts necessary to put In the implementation of the stimulus plan and the expenditure on the management and operation of the plan.

The proportionality factor applied to Switzerland's contribution is obtained by establishing the ratio of Switzerland's gross domestic product (GDP) to market prices and the sum of gross domestic product, at market prices, of states Members of the Community and of Switzerland. This report is based on the latest available OECD statistical data.

The estimated amount needed to achieve the stimulus plan, the amount of the Swiss contribution and the schedule of commitment estimates are presented in Annex B.

The rules governing Switzerland's financial contribution to the implementation of the stimulus plan are set out in Annex C.

Art. 3

For Swiss researchers and research and development organizations, the terms and conditions for the presentation and evaluation of research proposals and the terms and conditions for awarding and concluding contracts under the Stimulation plan are the same as those applicable to researchers and research and development organisations in the Community.

The contracts, established by the Commission, define the rights and obligations of Swiss researchers and research and development organizations, in particular the methods of dissemination, protection and exploitation of the results of the Research.

Art. 4

The Commission shall be assisted in the implementation of the stimulus plan by the European Development Committee for Science and Technology (CODEST), established by Commission Decision 82 /835/EEC 1 , and by consultants.

The Commission, in a list presented by the Swiss authorities, chooses a Swiss delegate for CODEST. It participates in the elaboration of the outline of the plans for stimulating international cooperation and the exchanges necessary for European researchers and for the examination of applications submitted under the stimulus plan.


1 JO n O L 350 of 10. 12. 1982, p. 45.

Art. 5

Thirty months after the start of the implementation of the stimulus plan, the Commission shall provide the European Parliament and the Council with a report based on an assessment of the results already achieved. It shall attach to the report any proposal for modification which may be necessary in the light of these results. It shall transmit to Switzerland a copy of the report and any proposals for amendment.

Art. 6

Each Contracting Party undertakes, in accordance with its respective provisions and regulations, to facilitate the movement and residence of the researchers involved in Switzerland and in the Community in the activities covered by this Agreement.

Art. 7

The Commission and the Swiss Federal Council shall ensure the implementation of this Agreement.

Art. 8

This Agreement shall apply to the territories in which the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community is applicable and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty, on the one hand, and on the territory of the Swiss Confederation, of the other part.

Art.

1. This agreement is concluded for the duration of the stimulus plan.

If the Community reviews the stimulus plan, the agreement may be denounced. The precise content of the revised plan shall be notified to Switzerland within one week of the adoption by the Community. The Contracting Parties shall notify each other within three months of the adoption of the Community decision if a termination of the agreement is envisaged.

2. When the Community adopts a new research and development programme in the field of the stimulus plan, this Agreement may be renegotiated or renewed under mutually agreed terms.

(3) Subject to paragraph 1, one or the other Contracting Party may at any time terminate the agreement with six months' notice. Projects and work in progress at the time of the termination and/or expiration of this Agreement shall be continued until their completion under the conditions laid down in this Agreement.

Art. 10

Annexes A, B and C attached to this Agreement shall form an integral part of this Agreement.

Art. 11

This Agreement shall be approved by the Contracting Parties in accordance with the procedures in force for each of them.

It shall enter into force on the date on which the Contracting Parties notify each other of the completion of the procedures necessary for that purpose.

Art. 12

This Agreement shall be drawn up in duplicate in the German, French, Italian, English, Danish, Spanish, Greek, Dutch and Portuguese languages, each of these texts being equally authentic.

Done at Brussels on 27 February, nine hundred and ninety.

Annex A

Objectives and Summary of the Incentive Plan (1988-1992)

1. The stimulus plan consists of a set of activities, chosen on the basis of their scientific and technical quality, which aim at the creation of a progressively broader set of scientific and technical cooperation and exchanges to the European level. The overall objective is to improve the effectiveness of scientific and technological research in all Member States and thus contribute to reducing disparities in scientific and technological development between the Member States. Member States of the European Community. It covers all fields of science and technology (both exact and natural sciences).

While aiming to improve the overall scientific and technical quality of research and development in all the Member States of the Community, the stimulus plan has the following specific objectives:

-
To promote research training and, through cooperation, the best use of high level researchers in the Community,
-
To improve the mobility of researchers in the Member States of the Community, - to develop and support intra-European scientific and technical cooperation in high quality projects,
-
To promote the establishment of intra-European networks of cooperation and exchanges in order to strengthen the scientific and technical competitiveness of the Community as a whole and thus to strengthen economic and social cohesion.

2. The above objectives will be achieved through support measures for researchers and teams of research and development organisations, aimed at ensuring the harmonious scientific and technical development of the Community. These measures will have the following forms:

- Fellowship Awards

Financial support granted to scientists so that they can acquire additional training by participating in a research project in a laboratory of a Community country other than their own for a period of at least one year and Two years at most.

- Search Allocations

They will enable the laboratories concerned to cover costs related to the movement or secondment of a researcher from one Community country to another, either for the admission of a scientist to a team of a country other than his own, or for Specialization of a scientific graduate before entering a research, academic or industrial laboratory.

Depending on the type of scientist concerned and the purpose of granting the research allowance, the research allowance may take different forms:

-
To allow a researcher to make short stays (from 15 days to two months) in a foreign country within the Community for specific experiments with a scientific or technical installation Specific not available in its own country,
-
Staffing costs related to mobility (travel, travel, insurance, moves, etc.), research and, possibly, the remuneration of a researcher seconded or incorporated into a country's research team (of the Community) other than its own, for a period of at least six months and not more than three years,
-
Staffing costs related to the mobility and research work of a scientist employed in the industry who will take a long-term internship (one to three years) in a public sector laboratory in a foreign country within the Community,
-
Grants for high level training courses: financial support to an organisation offering a specialised high level course organised in a Member State so that it can receive scientists from the various Member States Community in order to provide them with additional training or to enable them to convert to other functions.

- Matching laboratories from different countries

It will enable researchers who, in several countries of the Community, to work in isolation in a cutting-edge sector, to bring their efforts together, without regrouping in a single laboratory, thereby promoting the creation of a research package Exceeding the required "critical size". The granting of an endowment will enable researchers to meet, carry out joint experiments, exchange results, complete their equipment or strengthen their staff through the temporary commitment of scientists, preferably Foreign.

- Multidisciplinary and multi-national operations development

It would enable the associated research teams, through the financial resources available, to have sufficient resources (including equipment) and to bring together the best expertise available in various countries and in a variety of ways. Disciplines to achieve a predetermined objective or to share predetermined scientific work within the framework of a "network" of scientific and technical cooperation.

In addition, the plan will be complemented by sectoral incentives: research grants, research allocations and grants funded under each of the Community research and development programmes after the agreement of the committee Appropriate management and coordination (GSC).

3. Measures to stimulate exchange and cooperation apply to all fields of natural and exact sciences, such as:

-
Mathematics,
-
Physical,
-
Chemistry,
-
Biological sciences,
-
Earth and ocean sciences,
-
Scientific instrumentation,
-
Engineering sciences.

In the areas of intervention, the multinational projects concerned by the Community aid measures will be selected first and foremost on the basis of their quality, their multidisciplinary content, their innovative aspect and their interest in Terms of decompartmentalisation of the various forms of research and development in all parts of the Community. Where the scientific and technical quality is comparable, special attention will be paid to projects which may reduce disparities in scientific and technical development between Member States and thus contribute to To promote economic and social cohesion within the European Community.

5. The choice of stimulation incentives and the teams concerned will be made by the Commission, which, with the assistance of the European Development Committee for Science and Technology (CODEST), will use an evaluation system by the Peers. The Commission will ensure the coherence of the stimulation actions with the planned Community activities for research and development.

6. The Commission will undertake simultaneously a series of consultations, surveys, seminars in cooperation with the scientific and technical communities of the Community, in order to analyse and assess scientific needs and opportunities, and With the aim of specifying the content of the stimulus plans.

The Commission will cooperate closely with national authorities in order to ensure complementarity between these activities and national policies for stimulating research.

7. For the assessment of the scientific and/or technical quality of the requests for intervention, as in the analysis of scientific and technical needs and opportunities or the evaluation of the projects financed and the activity itself, the Commission Be able to use specialists outside of its services.


Status on 11 June 2008

Annex B

Financial provisions

Art. 1

The estimated amount needed to achieve the stimulus plan is ECU 167 million.

Art. 2

The estimated amount of Switzerland's financial contribution to the implementation of the stimulus plan is ECU 4 600 200.

Art. 3

The schedule for the estimates of commitments and the financial contribution of Switzerland is presented on the following page.

Estimated schedule of commitments needed to achieve the stimulus plan (commitment appropriations) and the contribution from Switzerland (ECU)

Year

Commitments for

Contribution of Switzerland

Management and Operations

Contracts

Total

Management and Operations

Contracts

Total

1988

220,000

28 780 000

29 000 000

-

-

-

1989

1,930,000

28,070,000

30,000,000

36 091 *

524 909 *

561 000 *

1990

2,120,000

32 880,000

35 000 000

79 288

1,229,712

1,309,000

1991

2,250,000

32 750 000

35 000 000

84 150

1,224,850

1,309,000

1992

2,380,000

35 620 000

38 000 000

89,012

1,332,188

1,421 200

Grand Total

8 900 000

158 100 000

167 000 000

288,541

4,311 659

4,600 200

* Contribution for the period from 1 Er July to 31 December 1989.


Annex C

Financing Rules

Art. 1

This Annex sets out the rules governing the financial contribution of Switzerland referred to in Art. 2 of the agreement.

Art. 2

At the beginning of each year, or when the stimulus plan is revised involving an increase in the amount estimated necessary for its implementation, the Commission shall send to Switzerland a call for funds corresponding to its participation in the Costs covered by the agreement.

This contribution is expressed both in ecus and in the currency of Switzerland; the composition of the ECU is defined by the Regulation (EEC) n O 3180/78 of the Council 1 The value in Swiss currency of the ECU contribution shall be determined on the date of the call for funds.

Switzerland shall make the payment of its contribution to the annual fees provided for in the agreement at the beginning of each year and no later than three months after the sending of the call for funds. Any delay in the payment shall give rise to the payment by Switzerland of an interest whose rate is equal to the highest discount rate applied in the Member States of the Community on the day of the due date. This rate is increased by 0.25 percentage point per month of delay.

The premium rate is applicable for the entire delay period. However, this interest will only be payable if the payment is made more than three months after the sending of a call for funds by the Commission.


1 JO n O L 379 of 30. 12. 1978, p. 1

Art. 3

The funds paid by Switzerland shall be credited to the stimulus plan, as budgetary revenue allocated to a position provided for in the statement of revenue of the general budget of the European Communities.

Art. 4

The Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities shall apply to the management of appropriations.

Art. 5

The travel and travel expenses incurred by the Swiss representative on the occasion of his participation in the meetings of the CODEST Committee shall be reimbursed by the Commission in accordance with the procedures currently in force for the representatives of the Member States of the Community.

Art. 6

At the end of each year, a situation of credits relating to the stimulus plan is drawn up and transmitted to Switzerland for information.



RO 1990 718



Status on 11 June 2008