30th November 2010 - EUCAR participated today in the European Parliament meeting "Simplification: The Way Ahead" respresented by Professor Sylvain Allano, Executive Scientific Director of PSA Peugeot Citroën and member of the EUCAR Council.

The meeting was hosted by MEP Maria da Graça Carvalho, former Minister of Science & Higher Education in Portugal, who is the draftsperson of the Parliament's own report on simplification. Professor Allano presented the main simplification issues affecting the automotive industry: the use of usual financial accounting procedures including average personnel costs, reducing the complexity and inconsistency of rules, reducing time to grant and the importance of achieving exploitable results in collaborative R&D.  

Minister for the Brussels Region responsible for Research, Benoit Cerexhe and the Science Counsellor of the Hungarian Permanent Representation to the EU reiterated the importance of continued focus on simplification and planning for the future of EU R&D, as did László Szendrődi, the Hungarian Permanent Representation to the EU intervening from the floor.  Representing the EU Commission, Clara de la Torre, Director for Interinstitutional and Legal matters in DG RTD confirmed that a package of four measures, including a simplified methodology for applying average personnel costs, has passed through the Commission interservice consultation and is to be further processed in the next weeks.  The opinion of other Commission services is critical in this respect.  Also speaking were representatives of a University and of a research company.  Stakeholders were in agreement on most issues, although a difference of opinion arose regarding the removal of staff time recording in EU projects and the extended use of two-stage evaluation, which are not preferred by EUCAR.

European Parliament EPP Meeting: Simplification: The way ahead.