iE ; MI i JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE || European Commission | ete neemto em e CO emma creme mse yay _ 3 & Fex& eRs i . PFEMA URREI. PA etena A,aE ctDuS fsB + 3; Minoeernaai.l = uUeu dae ~ i bod BR SAYS # emer, ys.ee -e tmPm ees es— , Watt Wd | | 26 APR 2004 RE CT Fo A RENE tO Ss A EE Rr, igueiieuieibctncine ~ -_ ee -— _ - ~~ :e ANNUAL REPORT 2 o0o0e2 EUROPEAN COMMISSION JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE RepoEURr 206t59 EN European Commission Joint Research Centre RO Contact: Brussels: Tel.: +32 2 295 76 24 Fax: +32 2 299 63 22 Ispra: Tel.: +39 0332 78 98 93 Fax: +39 0332 78 54 09 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.jrc.cec.eu.int/ Legal Notice Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of the following information. A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int). Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2003-02-13 ISBN 92-894-5310-9 © European Communities, 2003 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Italy |S ; oe PETTEN The Netherlands, we ®GEEL Belgium BRUSSELS Belgium KARLSRUHE Germany MISPRA Italy dome 2 - —_ ae = weil _ ; " P| - - - 4 : a « ‘ Directorate r . . of Resources AKG e Up Institute for hi C Environment and Institute for Health Institute for the Protection Sustainability and Consumer Protection and Security of the Citizen WELLCOME LIBRARY <a ees » arwpapieeeem sGePnLh cars i Ame MSREep t , aed : : i — sa oy) JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE European Commission The mission oft he Joint Research Centre is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of European Union policies. As a service of the European Commission, the JRC functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Community. Close to the policy-making process, it serves the common interest of theM ember States, while being independent of commercial or national interests. SiN Seen £2°O O 2 EUROPEAN COMMISSION | HAI | JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE . } Report EUR 20659 EN | 225010 22210 allt £ t f t £ i f f atE s£ bi Foreword from the Commissioner for Research Observations from the Board of Governors Message from the Director-General Direct support to Community policies Chemicals policy support _ New European Network of GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) Laboratories (ENGL) ~ Sustainable agriculture and food safety ie Sustainable fisheries — control and enforcement Water Framework Directive Reaction to emergencies Prospective studies on enlargement Safety of Central- and Eastern-European nuclear reactors New Minor Actinide laboratory fosters innovation in nuclear waste management Non-proliferation and nuclear safeguards Awards to JRC young scientists Awards for best publications _ Contributing to the European Research Area ERA Action Plan Support toe nlargement Support to the GMES initiative FP6 and the multi-annual work programme Technology transfer The High Flux Reactor supplementary programme Decommissioning of JRC nuclear installations So The present status | oe nae. ea I the JRCin figures Human and financial resources a Appendices Members and participants of the JRC Board of Governo The JRC Directors ; mMOoOrewong trom tine |\ormmissioner for Research Europe has a distinguished history in science and today Building on its expertise in matters of health, safety produces just over one third of the world’s scientific and the environment, the JRC continued in 2002 to publications. Nevertheless, there are several issues of provide scientific and technical support to the European concern that need to be addressed, issues that impinge Union (EU) in the formulation and implementation of upon the fact that Europe holds second place on the Community policies. A clear focus both on policy sup- scale of world scientific research. For example, today port and ERA is strongly reflected in the priorities of Europe assigns only 1.9% of its GDP to research whilst the JRC multi-annual work programme (2003-2006) for Japan allocates 3.0% and the USA 2.7% — with the latter the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). Working closely figures rising. One obstacle for European research is with scientists, national research organisations and the dispersion of effort and lack of coherence due to businesses throughout Europe, it adds value.to Member the inevitable fragmentation within and between the State initiatives and contributes to the enlargement different countries. The European Research Area (ERA) process through supporting candidate country integra- was founded to help counteract this obstacle and tion into the EU. it aims to make the Union the most. competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world. The JRC’s activities in 2002, as documented here, demonstrate how it intervened and helped solve EU Though still in its infancy, ERA will play a key role in policy related scientific problems, how it progressed strengthening European research and the JRC, through towards enlargement and contributed to the prepar- its core areas ofs cientific competence, can play a cata- ation of ERA. | have also observed with pleasure that lytic role in its development and evolution. To this end, the JRC is becoming a dynamic and results-oriented the JRC developed an ERA action plan in 2002 that organisation, with more focus, more customer orienta- focuses on its contribution to common scientific refer- tion and timely delivery of high-quality results. | am ence systems, networking, enlargement, training and confident that the JRC will make a valuable contribu- mobility, and increasing access to specialised facil- tion to the creation of ERA and thereby contribute to ities. | attach particular importance to the promotion of European scientific excellence. common scientific references and methods, such as the new European Network of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) Laboratories, as these provide the basis for a concerted approach to solving transnational problems and to facilitating business and trade both within and Philippe Busquin beyond the Union. Research Commissioner Weng — Observations from the Board of (Sovernors ~ During 2002, the JRC focused on the preparation of its The Board also acknowledges the JRC’s potential to Abhev u ltian nual work programme for 2003 to 2006 and contribute strongly to the aims of the European Re- : ~ defii ning its role in the European Research Area and its search Area in strengthenintgh e EU’s position in inter- contribution to enlargement. The increased interaction national research. The JRC ERA Action Plan, developed with and consultation of both the High Level Group of jointly by the Board and the JRC management, sets * User DGs and the JRC’s Board of Governors contributed out ambitious targets focusing on the JRC’s ability to ° _ significantly to the overall content of the work pro- contribute via Common Scientific Reference Systems, gramme, The new Deputy Director-General, Dr. Roland increased networking, targeted multi-disciplinary train- Schenkel, and the new Director oft he Institute for Trans- ing and mobility, and broadening access and use of uranium Elements in Karlsruhe, Dr. Gerard Lander, JRC’s specialised facilities. A further aim of the ERA were appointed with the involvement of the Board of is meeting the challenge of an enlarged Europe. The * Governors in their selection. The Board also endorsed Board recognises the results of the JRC programme on ie the internal restructuring of senior management in the “Collaboration and advanced training” in 2002 which JRC which was carried outinan efficient and smooth way. through a series of dedicated workshops and training sessions involved more than 1000 scientists from Can- The quest to improve efficiency of services was also didate Countries. continued through development of a time accounting and project management system. The Board of Gover- The JRC’s main asset is its highly qualified staff, and the nors appreciates the JRC management’s efforts to ra- Board applauds the initiative taken in 2002 to recognise tionalise the administrative tasks and reduce costs and scientific excellence through young scientist and best “> to make best use of its human and financial resources. publication awards. The Board’s own discussions dur- ing the year benefited considerably from direct interac- nt thh isco ntext,t he Board makes the following obser- tion with staff representatives as a part of our meetings. ations for th rey 2 The Board welcomed and endorsed the move to give the JRC responsibility for the management of the Commu- nities’ intellectual property. The JRC will undertake ac- tions to protect and transfer its own results to the market and to develop its networks throughout Europe to foster best practice on innovation and technology transfer. The Board of Governors notes that the JRC’s role in nuclear-related activities presents various challenges, notably the management of JRC’s own nuclear waste and the decommissioning of some ofi ts nuclear facilities. ew structure of Integrated Scientific Areas (ISAs) will The Board of Governors encourages the JRC to continue “make better use of JRC multi-disciplinary competencies using its know-how and competency in this field to ac- and enhance the cohesion and focus of the JRC activities. complish its mission and looks forward to the future development oft he operation oft he High Flux Reactor. Fernando Aldana Chairman —pancnistogy, Message from aa the Director-General AW GINS sa iliac aoe PQ atmo ante The year 2002, the aftermath of JRC realignment and of biomedical technology and environmental research. focusing of activities, was one of consolidation and The Scientific Publication of the Year Award produced quantifiable success. This success came in terms of an overall winner with a paper on the “Determination the inauguration of a European Network of 45 GMO of Deforestation Rates of the World’s Humid Tropical laboratories and a new Minor Actinide laboratory to Forests” published in Science. Three further PaperS:samem formulate safe solutions to nuclear waste, and in were judged to have outstanding innovative scientific effectively using satellite imagery for sustainable agri- content, namely: “Fission of actinides usingatabletop culture, fisheries, environmental protection and alleviat- laser” published in Europhysics Letters; “Neutron- ing European crises such as floods and oil spills. There Induced Fission Cross Section of 233Pa between 1.0°° ~~ was success also in terms of further extending common and 3.0 MeV” in Physical Review Letters; and finally cree scientific reference systems, such as BSE test evalu- “Plutonium-based superconductivity above 18 K” pub- ation, to the candidate countries and extending our lished in Nature. These examples show that scientific scientific base and networks to the East in order to excellence is high on JRC’s agenda and | am delighted enhance nuclear safety and security. And success, on to foster this aspect as a cornerstone of credible sup- oot a different level, was achieved by preparing the FP6 port to Community policies. ee multi-annual work programme so that it enhances inte- gration between our seven institutes and, together To turn briefly from scientific matters, the JRC will alee” with the ERA action plan, outlines our commitment to remember 2002 as the year that one of its Institutes contributing towards the European Research Area. received one oft hree prizes for best “Financial Author- ising Officer” across the whole European SES . | would tike to highlight some outstanding achieve- This reflects very positively on the mana ments by young JRC scientific staff during 2002. As port unit involved. The basis for this award was faea t appraised and judged by the JRC Scientific Committee, appraisal of “sound and efficient management” and, a this year’s Young Scientist of the Year Award went to as such, this further consolidates the reputation ofthe_ Francesca Campolongo for producing original theoret- JRC as a reliable place to do business. There are also ical scientific work in the field of mathematical model- many unsung heroes who provided excellent service ling and, in particular, on uncertainty and sensitivity in both the technical and administrative domains and, analysis of model output. Young Scientist Awards for in 2003, we will introduce a recognition scheme in these scientific innovation were made for research in the areas areas as well. (6) bi In 2002, the number of short-term staff increased to ...591 compared with 494 in 2001. | am pleased with the _ progress we continue to make in attracting excellent _scientists from Member States, candidate countries _and elsewhere to work in the JRC for temporary peri- ods of up to three years. | now look forward to the start of the new Framework Programme with the expect- ation that the JRC will make a strong and reliable scien- tific and technical contribution to the conception, de- velopment and implementation of EU policies. Barry McSweeney Direct Support .* to Community policies». The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is a Directorate-General (DG) of the European Commission serving the European Union (EU) as a whole. Its role is to support EU policies by providing independent scientific and technical sup- port to the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council and the Member States — with the overall ob- jective of helping to create a safer, cleaner, healthier and more competitive Europe. The JRC carries out research of direct concern to Euro- pean citizens and industry. As a Commission service, it maintains independence from private or national interests, which is crucial in pursuing its mission. Over the years, the JRC has developed skills and tools to provide autonomous and Europe-wide expertise that brings improved understanding of the links between technology, the economy and society. Examples of areas where JRC scientific and technical support was provided in 2002 are described in the following pages.