EU and US increase scientific co-operation
The Joint Research Council (JRC) and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have agreed to expand their scientific co-operation to ten new areas. It’s hoped the closer collaboration, in addition to the new Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), will bring key financial savings for businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Speaking at the JRC-NIST Implementing Arrangement signing ceremony in Washington DC, Dominique Ristori, JRC director general, said: “In the light of the launch of the first round of negotiations on the TTIP, our co-operation on standards and measurements is particularly relevant.
“The Implementing Arrangement we signed today will create an overarching framework for a cross-Atlantic co-operation on standards and measurements in a wide range of areas, such as energy, transport, nanotechnology, healthcare and clinical measurements as well as many others. It will also serve as a leading example in the process towards setting global standards”.
Due to the differences in technical regulations, standards and certifications between the EU and US, further co-operation on scientific infrastructure and exchange of scientific and technological information between the two countries is required. The agreed areas are subject to the development and harmonisation of methods, indicators and documentary standards.
For example, while a car can be declared safe according EU regulations, if imported in the US, it still has to undergo a safety check. Negotiations will address these barriers and the ‘unnecessary’ rules and regulations resulting from different standards.
Other areas of co-operation include the environment and climate; food safety and nutrition; civil engineering; security; ICT; and marine optical radiometry.
The TTIP aims to remove trade barriers including tariffs, unnecessary regulation and restrictions on investments in a wide range of sectors and allow companies to sell and buy goods and invest more easily on the other side of the Atlantic.
