Proposed Council Decision on the conclusion of the Agreement for scientific and technological co-operation between the Community and Brazil (link)

Brussels, 06 Oct 2004

Proposal for a
COUNCIL DECISION on the conclusion of the Agreement for scientific and technological co-operation between the European Community and the Federative Republic of Brazil
Full Text

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. The Framework Agreement for cooperation between the European Community and the Federative Republic of Brazil (hereinafter: Brazil), which entered into force on 1 November 1995, identified scientific and technological cooperation as an area of particular interest and potential.

2. In its communication of 19 July 1996 entitled "Promoting RTD cooperation with the world's emerging economies" (COM(96) 344 final) the Commission recommended, inter alia, that the Union should envisage concluding scientific and technological cooperation Agreements with selected emerging economies and added that "the implementation of this procedure is not only the ultimate expression of a political will to foster RTD collaboration. It also allows the parties to tailor country-specific RTD cooperation frames and orient the scientific communities towards selected RTD themes and technological challenges of common interest".

3. In its resolution of 14 March 1997 on the Commission communication entitled "Promoting RTD cooperation with the world's emerging economies" the European Parliament "calls on the Commission to envisage mechanisms for cooperation in the fields of advanced scientific and technological research that characterise the emerging economies, while maintaining the mechanisms intended specifically for assisting the developing countries" and "calls on the Commission to negotiate, with due regard for the circumstances in each country, bilateral agreements establishing a legal framework for the promotion of RTD cooperation". This position was reinforced in the Commission's Communication to Council and Parliament entitled The International Dimension of the European Research Area (COM (2001) 346 final).

4. On the 19 November 2002, the EC and Brazil signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation, in Brussels, reflecting the priorities for bilateral EC- Brazilian cooperation until the end of 2006. This memorandum concentrates on five priority areas, namely public administration, economic cooperation, social development, research and technology and the environment, along the lines described in the Commission's Country Strategy Paper adopted in August 2002.

5. On 14 February 2000, the Council authorised the Commission to negotiate an Agreement for scientific and technological co-operation between the European Community and Brazil. The negotiations resulted in the attached Agreement, initialled on 3 December 2002, in Brussels.

6. The Agreement was negotiated against the background of an upgraded and intensifying co-operation between Brazil and the European Union, considering the importance of science and technology for economic and social development and the mutual wish to extend and strengthen the conduct of co-operative activities in areas of common interest as diverse as:

­ biotechnology,

­ information and communication technologies,

­ bioinformatics,

­ space, ­ micro- and nanotechnologies,

­ materials research,

­ clean technologies,

­ management and sustainable use of environmental resources,

­ biosafety,

­ health and medicine,

­ aeronautics,

­ metrology, standardisation and conformity assessment, and

­ human sciences.

On June 2003, the Commission submitted to the Council a proposal for a Council Decision authorising the signing of the abovementioned agreement. The Council adopted this decision on 22 September 2003 and the attached agreement and the annexes thereto were signed on 19 January 2004 in Brasilia.

7. The Agreement is based on the principles of mutual benefit, reciprocal opportunities for access to each other's programmes and activities relevant to the purpose of the Agreement, non-discrimination, the effective protection of intellectual property and equitable sharing of intellectual property rights. It shall be concluded for an initial period of five years and will be renewable for additional periods of five years by mutual written agreement of the Parties.

8. The Agreement provides for:

­ participation of Brazilian research and technological development entities in RTD projects of the framework programme and reciprocal participation of research and technological development entities established in the Community in Brazilian projects in similar sectors of RTD. Such a participation is subject to the rules and procedures applicable in each Party;

­ joint RTD projects,

Brussels, 04.10.2004 COM(2004)625 final 2004/0216(CNS)