Summary of the Workshop on the most appropriate legal instruments for pan-European infrastructures 14 December 2006 The workshop concentrated on the most appropriate legal forms for pan-European research infrastructures where the Community is not involved as a member. Although there is no “onesize-fits-all” solution, the debate concentrated on the most common cases: infrastructures created by Member States, and mainly publicly funded. Discussions: • Experts analysed the existing legal instruments at European level and their limitations. All the experts agreed that the existing European legal instruments are not suitable to be used for the creation of a pan-European research infrastructure. All experts agreed on the need for a specific European legal form and there was a fruitful debate on the procedure to follow to establish it: creation of a new legal instrument or adaptation of an existing legal one. Three options were presented. First option: adaptation of the existing EEIG (a flexible and efficient instrument) to fit the needs of pan-European research infrastructures; Second option: to create in every country a legal form similar to French "Société Civile", set up by means of a Directive; Third option: new legal form with European legal personality created by a Regulation, which would provide pan-European research infrastructures with a specific institutional form and an adequate territorial status. From the three proposed solutions, it was agreed that the one proposing the use of a Directive should not be followed as is the most time-consuming without any additional benefit. • • The characteristics of the ideal legal form for European research infrastructures were also discussed including some special issues like tax and social security. In conclusion, experts agreed that Art. 171 ECT could be used as a legal basis for creating a legal form for a pan-European research infrastructure. Concerning the adaptation of the EEIG, if the adaptation is to be applicable only in the research field, Article 171 could also be used as a basis.
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Recommendation: It is recommended to create a working group to perform a feasibility study on the creation of a European legal form for Pan-European research infrastructures based on Article 171 ECT. This should include an analysis of its characteristics and the pros and cons of the creation of a totally new legal form or the adaptation of the EEIG. The outcome of this group should be available at the end of May 2007, in time for the Hamburg ECRI conference.
February 2007