Vragen en antwoorden over Gezamenlijk Onderzoekprogramma Baltische Zee “BONUS-169” (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Europese Commissie (EC) i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 29 oktober 2009.

MEMO/09/487

Brussels, 29 October 2009

Questions and answers on BONUS-169

Why is the BONUS-169, the Joint Baltic Sea Research Programme, needed?

Currently, Baltic Sea research is hampered by fragmentation and duplication while the environmental challenges and problems are shared by all Member States in the region. The urgent environmental problems in the Baltic Sea region cannot be addressed by Member States acting in isolation. A joint action is therefore needed given the limited possibilities available at national level to strengthen the integration and coordination of action between the Baltic Sea States.

Although the Baltic Sea environmental research community has access to a number of programmes under the European Union Framework Programme for Research, there is currently no such jointly implemented programme specifically tailored to address the environmental challenges of the Baltic Sea region itself. BONUS-169 will integrate the national research programmes and activities of the 8 Baltic Sea States into a single joint research programme. It will help to achieve the critical mass and the level of integration needed between national research programmes. This action will support, in particular, the research and environmental objectives of the European Baltic Sea Strategy, the Marine and Maritime Strategy and the Water Framework Directive.

Which are participating countries to BONUS-169?

BONUS -169 will bring together 8 EU Baltic Sea Member States which are: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden. The Community will participate in this Joint Baltic Sea Research Programme.

Why should BONUS-169 be implemented as 'Article 169' initiative?

BONUS-169 aims at the integration of national research efforts in one programme. This fits squarely with the objective of Article 169 (EU Treaty) to strengthen research cooperation between Member States by using 'matching' European Union funds. BONUS-169, is part of both the FP7 Cooperation Specific Programme and Capacities Specific Programme.

What is an “Article 169” Initiative?

Implementing Article 169 in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) allows the European Community (EC) to participate financially in research programmes undertaken jointly by a group of Member States. Under Article 169, they integrate their research efforts by defining and committing themselves to a joint research programme. By using this method, the EC is able to promote the integration of all the scientific, managerial and financial aspects.

What are the Article 169 criteria?

The initiative has to be relevant to the Community objectives and must demonstrate European added value. It must be based on existing or already planned research programmes. A critical mass has to be reached with respect to the size and the number of programmes involved.

How does an Article 169 initiative work?

The recipient of the Community funding in each Article 169 initiative is called a Dedicated Implementation Structure (DIS). The DIS is responsible for the administrative, financial and contractual management of the joint research programme. The rules for participation are those of the national programmes concerned - necessarily compatible with EC legislation - plus additional requirements which may be imposed by the Delegation Agreement. The DIS of the BONUS 169 project shall be the BONUS European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG), established in 2007 under Finnish law.

How will BONUS-169 be implemented?

After approval by the European Council and the European Parliament, the initiative will be implemented in two phases . The initial strategic phase will last two years, during which appropriate consultation platforms will be set-up, a Strategic Research Agenda prepared, and precise Implementation Modalities developed. This is followed by an implementation phase of a minimum of 5 years, in which joint calls will be launched. The Community contribution will be based on an implementation agreement with the BONUS EEIG.

Which areas of research are covered by BONUS-169?

The initiative covers primarily environmental research. Nevertheless it aims to establish a strong integration of natural and socio-economic sciences. BONUS plans to address the continuum of the sea and the coast, including the various sectors and the interdependencies which have strong influence on the Baltic Sea ecosystem such as fisheries, socio-economics, transport and energy. BONUS has selected the following eight themes:

  • 1. 
    Linking science and policy
  • 2. 
    Understanding climate change and geophysical forcing
  • 3. 
    Combating eutrophication
  • 4. 
    Achieving sustainable fisheries
  • 5. 
    Protecting biodiversity
  • 6. 
    Preventing pollution
  • 7. 
    Integrating ecosystem and society
  • 8. 
    Strengthening collaboration and use of common Resources

Can other countries participate in BONUS -169?

Any Member State and any country associated to the Seventh Framework Programme can join BONUS-169. For the realization of a project at least three independent eligible legal entities from three different Member States or associated countries are needed, of which at least two shall be form the BONUS-169 Participating States.

What are the other Art. 169 initiatives ?

Three Article 169 initiatives have received official approval:

  • - 
    Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), which aims to improve the quality of life of older people through the use of information and communication technologies (http://www.aal-europe.eu/);
  • - 
    EUROSTARS, which is designed to help research-performing small and medium enterprises ( http://www.eurostars-eureka.eu/ );
  • - 
    Joint European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP) aimed at strategically coordinating and integrating metrology research in Europe ( http://www.emrponline.eu/ ).

See also IP/09/1648