II. IDEAS

This programme will enhance the dynamism, creativity and excellence of European research at the frontier of knowledge. This will be done by supporting ‘investigator-driven’ research projects carried out across all fields by individual teams in competition at the European level. Projects will be funded on the basis of proposals presented by researchers both from the private and public sectors on subjects of their choice and evaluated on the sole criterion of excellence as judged by peer review. Communication and dissemination of research results is an important aspect of this programme. Investigator-driven ‘frontier’ research, within the framework of activities commonly understood as ‘basic research’, is a key driver of wealth and social progress, as it opens new opportunities for scientific and technological advance, and is instrumental in producing new knowledge leading to future applications and markets. Despite many achievements and a high level of performance in a large number of fields, Europe is not making the most of its research potential and resources, and urgently needs a greater capacity to generate knowledge and translate such knowledge into economic and social value and growth. A Europe-wide competitive funding structure (in addition to and not replacing national funding) for frontier research executed by individual teams, which may be of national or transnational character, is a key component of the European Research Area, complementing other Community and national activities. It will help reinforce the dynamism and attractiveness of Europe for the best researchers from both European and third countries, and for industrial investment. This action will respond to the most promising and productive areas of research and the best opportunities for scientific and technological progress, within and across disciplines, including engineering and social sciences and the humanities. It will be implemented independently of the thematic orientations of the other parts of the Seventh Framework Programme, and will pay attention to new generation researchers and new groups as well as established teams. The Community activities in frontier research will be implemented by a European Research Council (ERC), consisting of an independent scientific council, supported by a lean and cost-effective dedicated implementation structure. The management of the ERC will be carried out by staff recruited for that purpose, including officials from EU institutions, and will cover only the real administrative needs in order to assure the stability and continuity necessary for an effective administration. The Scientific Council will consist of representatives of the European scientific community, ensuring a diversity of the research fields, at the highest level, acting in their personal capacity, independently of political or other interests. Its members will be appointed by the Commission following an independent and transparent procedure for their identification, agreed with the Scientific Council, that includes the consultation of the scientific community and a report to the European Parliament and the Council. They will be appointed for a period of four years, renewable once, on a basis of a rotating system which will ensure the continuity of the Scientific Council's work. The Scientific Council will, inter alia, establish an overall scientific strategy, have full authority over decisions on the type of research to be funded and act as guarantor of the quality of the activity from the scientific perspective. Its tasks will cover, in particular, the development of the annual work programme, the establishment of the peer review process, as well as the monitoring and quality control of the programme's implementation from the scientific perspective. It will establish a code of conduct addressing, inter alia, the avoidance of conflicts of interest. The dedicated implementation structure will be responsible for all aspects of implementation and programme execution as provided for in the annual work programme. It will, in particular, implement the peer review and selection process according to the principles established by the Scientific Council and will ensure the financial and scientific management of the grants. The administrative and staffing costs for the ERC relating to the Scientific Council and dedicated implementation structure will be consistent with lean and cost-effective management; administrative expenditure will be kept to a minimum and will not exceed 5 % of the total financial allocation for the ERC, consistent with ensuring the resources necessary for high quality implementation, in order to maximise funding for frontier research. The Commission will act as the guarantor of the ERC's full autonomy and integrity. It will ensure that the ERC acts in accordance with the principles of scientific excellence, autonomy, efficiency and transparency, and that it follows precisely the strategy and implementation methodology established by the Scientific Council. The Commission will draw up, in cooperation with the scientific council, an annual report on the ERC's operations and realisation of the objectives and submit it to the European Parliament and the Council. The ERC will have the faculty to conduct its own strategic studies to prepare for and support its operational activities. In particular, it may consult with European, intergovernmental and national initiatives so as to programme its activities in the light of other research at European and national level. The implementation and management of the activity will be reviewed and evaluated on an on-going basis to assess its achievements and to adjust and improve procedures on the basis of experience. In the context of the interim evaluation referred to in Article 7(2), an independent review will also be carried out of the ERC's structures and mechanisms, against the criteria of scientific excellence, autonomy, efficiency and transparency and with the full involvement of the Scientific Council. This will include the process and criteria for the selection of the members of the Scientific Council. The review will explicitly look at the advantages and disadvantages of a structure based on an Executive Agency, and a structure based on Article 171 of the Treaty. On the basis of this review, these structures and mechanisms should be modified as appropriate. The Commission will ensure that all the necessary preparatory work, including any legislative proposals which it considers necessary, is undertaken and presented to the European Parliament and the Council, as required by the Treaty, with a view to a transition to any modified structure required, as soon as possible. To this end, the Framework Programme will be adapted or supplemented in codecision pursuant to Article 166(2) of the Treaty. The progress report referred to in Article 7(2), preceding the interim evaluation, will give initial findings on the functioning of the ERC.

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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.