The Committee on Committee on Industry, Research and Energy adopted the report drawn up by Lena EK (ALDE, SE) on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on participation by the Community in a Joint Baltic Sea Research and Development Programme (BONUS-169) undertaken by several Member States. It recommended that the European Parliament’s position at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure (formerly known as the codecision procedure) should be to amend the Commission proposal as follows:
Name: the Joint Baltic Sea Research and Development programme is referred to as BONUS throughout the text.
Implementation of BONUS: the strategic phase of the Programme shall last up to 18 months. Members stressed the need to encourage an adequate participation of SME. They also state that the grant and payment of financing to participants in BONUS shall comply with common rules in line with the Seventh Framework Programme.
Conditions for the Union contribution: the committee added here that he Union financial contribution for the implementation phase shall be conditional upon, inter alia, the establishment by the participating Member States of the Strategic Research Agenda, Stakeholders Consultation Platforms and the implementation modalities referred to in the text as well as the progress made towards the achievement of objectives and deliverables set out in Annex I, section 2 (strategic Phase.) The Commission may, if appropriate, make recommendations for improving the Strategic Research Agenda. There must also be a commitment by each participating State to contribute its share of the financing to BONUS and the effective payment of their financial contribution, in particular the funding of participants in the BONUS projects selected following the calls for proposals.
Annexes: the committee made some amendments to the Annexes. It states that The BONUS EEIG shall be the recipient and administrator of the Union contribution. A Participating State may decide to administer its own national funding and to devote its cash contribution exclusively to domestic research that is selected at central level or to have its cash contribution administered centrally by the BONUS EEIG.