Council Regulation (EC) No 71/2007 (repealed)Show full title

Article 1 Setting up of a Joint Undertaking

1. For the implementation of the Joint Technology Initiative on Clean Sky, a Joint Undertaking within the meaning of Article 171 of the Treaty is hereby set up for the period up to 31 December 2017 (hereinafter referred to as the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking).

2. Its seat shall be located in Brussels, Belgium.

Article 2 Objectives of the Joint Undertaking

1. The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall contribute to the implementation of the Seventh Framework Programme and in particular Theme 7, Transport (including Aeronautics) of the Specific Programme Cooperation.

2. The objectives of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall be the following:

(a) accelerating in the EU the development, validation and demonstration of clean Air Transport technologies for earliest possible deployment;

(b) ensuring coherent implementation of European research efforts aiming at environmental improvements in the field of Air Transport;

(c) creating a radically innovative Air Transport System based on the integration of advanced technologies and full scale demonstrators, with the target of reducing the environmental impact of air transport through significant reduction of noise and gaseous emissions, and improvement of the fuel economy of aircrafts;

(d) accelerating the generation of new knowledge, innovation and the uptake of research proving the relevant technologies and fully integrated system of systems, in the appropriate operational environment, leading to strengthened industrial competitiveness.

Article 3 Legal status

The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall be a Community body with legal personality. In all the Member States of the Community, it shall enjoy the most extensive legal capacity accorded to legal persons under the laws of those States. It may, in particular, acquire or dispose of movable and immovable property and be a party to legal proceedings.

Article 4 Statutes

The Statutes of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking, as set out in Annex I hereto, constitute an integral part of this Regulation and are hereby adopted.

Article 5 Community contribution

1. The maximum Community contribution to the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking covering running costs and research activities shall be EUR 800 million paid from the budget appropriation allocated to the Theme ‘Transport’ of the Specific Programme Cooperation, according to Article 54(2)(b) of the Financial Regulation.

2. Where appropriate, the Community contribution to the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking for the funding of the research activities shall include funding of proposals selected by way of open and competitive calls for proposals.

The evaluation and selection process shall ensure that allocation of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking public funding for competitive calls for proposals follow the principles of excellence and competition, and shall be carried out with the assistance of independent experts.

Any public or private entity established in a Member State or in a country associated to the Seventh Framework Programme, shall be eligible for such funding.

3. The arrangements for the Community financial contribution shall be established by means of a general agreement and annual financial implementation agreements to be concluded between the Commission, on behalf of the Community, and the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking.

4. Other Members of the Joint Undertaking shall contribute resources at least equal to the Community contribution, excluding those allocated through calls for proposals in order to carry out the research activities of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking.

Article 6 Financial rules

1. The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall adopt specific financial rules in accordance with Article 185(1) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002. They may depart from the rules laid down in Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 23 December 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the budget of the European Communities(1) where the specific operating needs of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking so require, subject to the prior consent of the Commission.

2. The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall have its own internal audit capability.

Article 7 Staff

1. The Staff Regulations and the rules adopted jointly by the institutions of the Communities for the purpose of applying them shall apply to the staff of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking and its Executive Director.

2. Without prejudice to paragraph 3 of this Article and Article 7(3) of the Statutes, the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall exercise the powers conferred on the appointing authority by the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities and on the authority empowered to conclude contracts by the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities in respect of its staff.

3. The Governing Board shall, in agreement with the Commission, adopt the necessary implementing measures referred to in Article 110 of the Staff Regulations.

4. The staff resources shall be determined in the establishment plan of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking that shall be set out in its annual budget.

5. The staff of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall consist of temporary agents and contract agents engaged for a fixed period that may be renewed no more than once for another fixed period. The total period of engagement shall not exceed seven years and shall not in any case exceed the period during which the Joint Undertaking shall exist.

6. All costs related to the staff shall be borne by the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking.

Article 8 Privileges and immunities

The Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities shall apply to the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking and its staff.

Article 9 Liability

1. The contractual liability of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall be governed by the relevant contractual provisions and by the law applicable to the agreement or contract in question.

2. In the case of non-contractual liability, the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall, in accordance with the general principles common to the laws of the Member States, make good any damage caused by its staff in the performance of their duties.

3. Any payment by the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking in respect of the liability referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and the costs and expenses incurred in connection therewith shall be considered as expenditure of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking and shall be covered by the resources of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking.

4. The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall be solely responsible for meeting its obligations.

Article 10 Jurisdiction of the Court of Justice and applicable law

1. The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction:

(a) in any dispute between the Members which relates to the subject matter of this Regulation and/or the Statutes referred to in Article 4;

(b) pursuant to any arbitration clause contained in agreements and contracts concluded by the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking;

(c) in actions brought against the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking, including decisions of its Bodies, under the conditions provided for in Articles 230 and 232 of the Treaty;

(d) in disputes related to compensation for damage caused by the staff of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking in the performance of their duties.

2. For any matter not covered by this Regulation or by other acts of Community law, the law of the State where the seat of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking is located shall apply.

Article 11 Report, evaluation and discharge

1. The Commission shall present to the European Parliament and to the Council an annual report on the progress achieved by the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking. This report shall contain details of implementation including the number of proposals submitted, the number of those selected for funding, the type of participants, including SMEs, and statistics broken down by country. In particular this annual report will include assessment results of the Technology Evaluator referred to in Article 8(1) of the Statutes, as appropriate.

2. Three years after the adoption of this Regulation (but in any case no later than 31 December 2010), and subsequently by 31 December 2013, the Commission shall carry out an evaluation with the assistance of independent experts on the basis of terms of reference established after consultation with the Joint Undertaking. These evaluations shall cover the quality and efficiency of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking, and progress towards the objectives set. The Commission shall communicate to the Council the conclusions thereof, accompanied by its observations and, where appropriate, by its proposals to amend this Regulation, including the possible early termination of the Joint Undertaking.

3. Not later than six months after the end of the Joint Undertaking, the Commission shall conduct a final evaluation of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking with the assistance of independent experts. The results of the final evaluation shall be presented to the European Parliament and to the Council.

4. Discharge for the implementation of the budget of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall be given by the European Parliament, upon recommendation from the Council, in accordance with a procedure provided for by the financial rules of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking.

Article 12 Protection of the financial interests of the Members and anti-fraud measures

1. The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall ensure that the financial interests of its members are adequately protected by carrying out or by allowing the carrying out of appropriate internal and external controls.

2. Should the Members discover any irregularities, they shall reserve the right to reduce or suspend any subsequent contribution to the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking, or to recover amounts unduly spent.

3. For the purposes of combating fraud, corruption and other illegal acts, Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 shall apply.

4. The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall carry out on-the-spot checks and financial audits among the recipients of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking's public funding.

5. The Commission and/or the Court of Auditors may, if necessary, carry out on-the-spot checks among the recipients of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking's funding and the agents responsible for allocating it. To that end, the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall ensure that grant agreements and contracts provide for the right of the Commission and/or the Court of Auditors to carry out the appropriate controls and, in the event of the detection of irregularities, to impose dissuasive and proportionate penalties.

6. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)(2) shall enjoy the same powers in respect of the Joint Undertaking and its staff as it enjoys in respect of Commission departments. As soon as the Joint Undertaking is established, it shall accede to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 25 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission concerning internal investigations by OLAF. The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall adopt the measures necessary to facilitate internal investigations conducted by OLAF.

Article 13 Confidentiality

Without prejudice to Article 14, the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall ensure the protection of sensitive information, disclosure of which could damage the interests of its Members or of participants in the activities of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking.

Article 14 Transparency

1. Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents(3) shall apply to documents held by the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking.

2. The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall adopt practical arrangements for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 by 7 August 2008.

3. Decisions taken by the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 may form the subject of a complaint to the Ombudsman or of an action before the Court of Justice, under the conditions laid down in Articles 195 and 230 of the Treaty respectively.

4. The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall adopt practical arrangements for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institutions and bodies(4) before 7 August 2008.

Article 15 Intellectual property

The Clean Sky Joint Undertaking shall adopt distinct rules governing the protection, use and dissemination of research results, based on the principles of Regulation (EC) No 1906/2006 as set out in Article 23 of the Statutes, which ensure that, where appropriate, intellectual property generated in research activities under this Regulation is protected, and that research results are used and disseminated.

Article 16 Preparatory actions

1. The Commission shall be responsible for the establishment and initial operation of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking until the Joint Undertaking has the operational capacity to implement its own budget. It shall carry out, in accordance with Community law, all necessary actions in collaboration with other Founding Members and the involvement of the Governing Board.

2. For that purpose, until such time as the Executive Director takes up his duties following his appointment by the Governing Board in accordance with Article 7(3)(a) of the Statutes, the Commission may assign a limited number of its officials, including one to fulfil the functions of the Executive Director, on an interim basis.

3. The interim Executive Director may authorise all payments covered by the credits provided in the budget of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking once approved by the Governing Board and may conclude contracts, including staff contracts following the adoption of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking establishment plan. The Commission authorising officer may authorise all payments covered by the credits provided in the general budget of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking.

Article 17 Support from the host State

A host agreement shall be concluded between the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking and Belgium concerning office accommodation, privileges and immunities and other support to be provided by Belgium to the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking.

Article 18 Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 20 December 2007.

For the Council

The President

F. Nunes Correia