The European Parliament adopted a legislative resolution on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the participation of the Union in the European Partnership on Metrology jointly undertaken by several Member States.
The proposed decision concerns the participation of the European Union in the European Partnership on Metrology undertaken by several Member States.
The Partnership aims to accelerate Europe's global leadership in metrology research by establishing autonomous European metrology networks to support and stimulate new innovative products, address societal challenges and enable the effective design and implementation of regulations and standards that underpin public policies.
The European Parliament's first reading position under the ordinary legislative procedure amends the proposal as follows:
Partnership’s objectives
The Partnership should implement:
implement its mission and objectives in a clear, simple and flexible way in order to increase its attractiveness to industry, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and other relevant stakeholders. In particular, it should:
- develop a sustainable, excellent and coordinated metrology system at European level, thereby helping to bridge the investment gap between Europe and its global competitors;
- develop new research capabilities by 2030, to be established in new European metrology networks, with a performance at least equal to that of the leading metrology institutes outside the participating States;
- support, by 2030, sales of new innovative products and services through the use and adoption of the new metrology capabilities in key emerging and enabling technologies;
- promote and reward scientific excellence and support the uptake and systematic use of research and innovation results generated within the Union;
- ensure that the results of the actions carried out under the programme are taken up and deployed by industry, innovators and ultimately society, in all areas where technological development is linked with metrology, such as digitalisation, artificial intelligence, energy, smart health, climate, autonomous traffic and the circular economy;
- contribute to the creation and diffusion of new high-quality knowledge, skills and competences throughout the EU in the context of lifelong learning and with a view to achieving societal transformation;
- unleash the potential of metrology among end-users, including SMEs and industrial stakeholders, as an instrument which contributes to the achievement of the Union goals for the digital and green transitions.
- promote academic freedom in all of the Participating States, in particular the freedom to conduct scientific research, and promote the highest standards of scientific integrity.
Financial contribution
The EU’s financial contribution, including EEA appropriations, to the Metrology Partnership shall be up to EUR 300 million to match the contributions from the Participating States. The amount of the Union’s financial contribution may be increased by contributions from third countries
associated to Horizon Europe, provided that the total amount by which the Union’s financial contribution is increased is at least matched by contributions from the Participating States.
Financial contributions under the programmes co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, as well as the Recovery and Resilience Facility, may be considered to be contributions from a Member State that is a Participating State.
Governance
The governance bodies of the Metrology Partnership should comprise at least: (a) a Metrology Partnership Committee; (b) a Steering Group; (c) the Secretariat of the European Association of National Metrology Institutes (EURAMET). The composition of these bodies should be balanced in terms of expertise, experience, knowledge, geographical diversity and gender.
The agenda of the Metrology Partnership Committee meetings, the list of participants in these meetings and the decisions taken should be made publicly available on the EURAMET website.
The Commission should establish a Steering Group composed of 15 members. This advisory body to the Partnership should advise the Partnership on emerging priorities in European metrology research and on how to increase the impact of its research on European industry, economy and society.
All recommendations made by the Steering Group will be made publicly available.