Proposal for a Council directive for a specific procedure for admitting third country nationals with a view to scientific research (Extract from: Agenda for the Justice and Home Affairs Council, 19 No

Brussels, 15 Nov 2004

document: not yet available
legal basis: Article 63(3)(a), and 63(4) of the EC Treaty

The draft directive and the accompanying recommendations were presented by the Commission to the Council on 30 March 2004, and agreement on the recommendations was reached under the Irish Presidency. The Dutch Presidency aims to obtain approval of the draft directive. Two aspects of the draft directive are still under discussion. The first point is the extent to which a research organization can be held financially accountable for a researcher from a third country. A few Member States take the position that a research organization can only be held liable in the event of default or fraud. Other Member States are of the opinion that once given, a guarantee is valid in all situations. Also on the subject of the guarantee, there is still discussion of what costs are covered by the financial responsibility. A few Member States feel that it ought to cover both costs of accommodation and costs of a return journey. Other Member States feel that this ought to be only the costs of a return journey.

The second point involves the mobility of researchers within the European Union. Still being discussed are the conditions to be met by a researcher from a third country if he intends to stay in another Member State for less than three months. The focus here is whether a researcher from a third country needs to meet all conditions for temporary residence in the second or subsequent Member State for the entire period. A majority of the Member States are of the opinion that only the conditions set by the first Member State need to be satisfied for such a short period. One Member State is of the opinion that not only must the conditions of the first Member State be satisfied, but also the conditions of the second or subsequent Member State, which may be different. This would mean, for example, that the researcher's income in the second or subsequent Member State would require adjustment because a different minimum wage applies there.

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