NON-NUCLEAR ACTIONS OF THE JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE (JRC)

To provide customer driven scientific and technical support to the Community policy making process, ensuring support to the implementation and monitoring of existing policies and responding to new policy demands. The JRC's independence of special interests, whether private or national, combined with its technical expertise enable it to facilitate communication and consensus building between stakeholders (industry associations, environmental action groups, Member States' competent authorities, other research centres etc.) and policy makers, especially at the Community level and notably with the European Parliament. Through scientific and technological support the JRC helps to make the Community policy process more effective, transparent and based on sound science. Where and when appropriate, research conducted by the JRC should be coordinated with the research undertaken under the ‘Themes’ of the ‘Cooperation’ Specific Programme, in order to avoid overlap and duplication. The JRC will strengthen its position in the European Research Area. In facilitating access to its facilities by European and non-European researchers, including early-stage researchers, it will increase its cooperation with other public and private research organisations, consistently improve the scientific quality of its own activities and contribute more scientifically to training, which will remain a high priority for the JRC. The usefulness and credibility of the JRC's support to Community policies is closely linked to the quality of its scientific expertise and its integration in the international scientific community. The JRC will therefore continue investing in research and networking with other centres of excellence in relevant fields. It will participate in indirect actions in all areas with emphasis on common scientific reference systems, networking, training and mobility, research infrastructure and participation in technology platforms and coordination instruments where it has the relevant expertise to produce added value. The JRC will actively pursue the promotion of the integration of new Member States and candidate countries in its activities to the level currently enjoyed by the EU-15. The JRC's priorities will be in fields which are strategically important for the Union and where its input provides high added value. Scientific and technical support to Community policies will continue to be delivered in core areas such as sustainable development, climate change, food, energy, transport, chemicals, alternative methods to animal testing, research policy, information technologies, reference methods and materials, biotechnology, risks, hazards and socio-economic impacts. Growth will be in areas of key concern for the Community: Prosperity in a knowledge-intensive society To carry out and develop advanced econometric modelling and analysis techniques in the context of policy definition and monitoring, for example in the follow-up to the Lisbon Strategy, the Internal Market and Community research and education policies. To develop models to support a new balance between sustainability objectives and competitiveness in a responsible way. To provide its scientific/technical support to the development of risk assessment and management procedures as a tool for the European decision-making process. Solidarity and responsible management of resources To become a recognised science and technology reference centre for sustainable agriculture focusing on food quality, traceability and safety (including GM food and feed), spatial management and cross-compliance and to support the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy. To provide the Common Fisheries Policy with S&T support. To enhance the provision of harmonised European geo-referenced data and spatial information systems (support to INSPIRE) and to continue developing new approaches to global environmental and resources monitoring (support to GMES). To provide expertise and play a role in the GMES research activities and in the development of new applications in this field. To support the implementation of the EU Action Plan on Environment and Health including providing support to on-going activities to establish a Community integrated environment and health information system. To promote and enhance the development and validation of alternative strategies, and in particular non-animal methods, in all relevant areas of research (safety assessment, vaccine testing, health and biomedical research etc.). Freedom, security and justice To develop activities contributing to the establishment of the area of freedom, security and justice, especially in areas related to protection against terrorism, organised crime and fraud, border security and prevention of major risks, in cooperation with relevant bodies. To support the Community response to natural and technological disasters. Europe as world partner To strengthen support to Community external policies in specific areas such as external aspects of internal security, development cooperation and humanitarian aid.

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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.