Commission Decision of 14 December 2007 setting up the ‘European Research Council Executive Agency’ for the management of the specific Community programme ‘Ideas’ in the field of frontier research in application of Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 (Text with EEA relevance) (2008/37/EC) (repealed)

Commission Decision

of 14 December 2007

setting up the ‘European Research Council Executive Agency’ for the management of the specific Community programme ‘Ideas’ in the field of frontier research in application of Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2008/37/EC) (repealed)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(1), and in particular Article 3(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 empowers the Commission to set up executive agencies in accordance with the general statute laid down by that Regulation and to entrust them with certain management tasks relating to one or more Community programmes.

(2) The purpose of empowering the Commission to set up executive agencies is to allow it to focus on core activities and functions which cannot be outsourced, without relinquishing control over, or ultimate responsibility for, activities managed by the said executive agencies.

(3) Decision No 1982/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)(2) provides for the establishment of the European Research Council as a means of implementing the ‘Ideas’(3) Specific Programme. The European Research Council shall consist of an independent Scientific Council supported by a dedicated implementation structure.

(4) By Decision 2007/134/EC of 2 February 2007 establishing the European Research Council(4) the Commission, in addition to setting up the European Research Council (ERC) and the Scientific Council, announced the setting-up of the dedicated implementation structure as an executive agency, to be established by a separate act in compliance with Regulation (EC) No 58/2003.

(5) Management of the ‘Ideas’ Specific Programme involves implementation of research projects which does not entail political decision-making and requires a high level of scientific and financial expertise throughout the project cycle.

(6) The delegation, to an executive agency, of tasks related to programme execution is possible with a clear separation between the programming stage, this being established by the Scientific Council and adopted by the Commission, and implementation, which would be entrusted to the executive agency, according to the principles and methodology established by the Scientific Council.

(7) A cost-benefit analysis carried out for that purpose showed that using an executive agency to manage the activities of the European Research Council would be advantageous both in financial and non-financial terms.

(8) The Agency should implement its operating budget in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 1653/2004 of 21 September 2004 which establishes a standard financial regulation for the executive agencies pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(5).

(9) The measures provided for by this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Executive Agencies,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

(1)

OJ L 11, 16.1.2003, p. 1.

(2)

OJ L 412, 30.12.2006, p. 1.

(3)

OJ L 54, 22.2.2007, p. 81.

(4)

OJ L 57, 24.2.2007, p. 14.

(5)

OJ L 297, 22.9.2004, p. 6. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1821/2005 (OJ L 293, 9.11.2005, p. 10).