Coordination of Non-Community Research Programmes

The action undertaken in this field will make use of two main tools: the ERA-NET scheme and the participation of the Community in jointly implemented national research programmes (under Article 169 of the Treaty). The action may cover subjects not directly linked to the ten themes in so far as they have sufficient European added value. The action will also be used to enhance the complementarity and synergy between the Seventh Framework Programme and activities carried out in the framework of intergovernmental structures such as EUREKA and COST This will include financial support for the administration and coordination activities of COST. . The ERA-NET scheme will develop and strengthen the coordination of national and regional research activities by: providing a framework for actors implementing public research programmes to step up the coordination of their activities. This will include support for new ERA-NETs as well as for the broadening and deepening of the scope of existing ERA-NETs, e.g. by extending their partnership, as well as mutually opening their programmes. Where appropriate, ERA-NETs could be used for programme coordination between European regions and Member States to enable their cooperation with large-scale initiatives, in a limited number of cases, providing additional Community financial support to those participants that pool resources for the purpose of joint calls for proposals between their respective national and regional programmes (‘ERA-NET PLUS’). The participation of the Community in research programmes jointly implemented on the basis of Article 169 of the Treaty is especially relevant to European cooperation on a large scale in ‘variable geometry’ between Member States sharing common needs and/or interests. In well-identified cases such Article 169 initiatives could be launched in areas to be identified in close association with the Member States, including the possible cooperation with intergovernmental programmes, on the basis of a series of criteria: relevance to Community objectives, the clear definition of the objective to be pursued and its relevance to the objectives of this Framework Programme, presence of a pre-existing basis (existing or envisaged research programmes), European added value, critical mass, with regard to the size and the number of programmes involved and the similarity of activities they cover, efficiency of Article 169 as the most appropriate means for achieving the objectives.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-04 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.