advising the Executive Director on the drafting of the multi-annual programming and annual work programmes and other strategic documents, to ensure their scientific quality and their consistency with relevant Union sector policies and priorities.

under the direction of the Assembly of Members coordinate the policies, procedures, tools and practices across the Scientific Partners, make proposals to the ECRIN-ERIC Director-General to optimise the quality and efficiency of services, and monitor the performance of the ECRIN-ERIC Scientific Partners to ensure the high quality of service provision.

(a) advise the Executive Director and the Deputy Executive Director for Training in drafting the annual work programme and other strategic documents, to ensure their scientific quality and their coherence with relevant Union sector policies and priorities;

A table was presented in the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) opinion of 22-23 July 1999 on "The policy of breeding and genotyping of sheep", (as an annex)(2) and further updated in the opinion of the SSC - TSE infectivity distributed in ruminant tissues state of knowledge December 2001 - adopted 10-11 January 2002(3).

Witnesses: John Klassen, Director General, General Trade Policy Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Charles Craddock, Director, Eastern Hemisphere Division, Agri-Food Canada; James Stringham, Counsel, Trade Law Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Peter Pauker, Manager, International Liaison and Science Policy, Health Canada, Blair Coomber, Associate Director, Policy and International Affairs, Canadian Food Inspection Agency; Michele Brenning, Senior Trade Policy Analyst, Eastern Hemisphere Division, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Ray Trottman, Meat and Poultry Division, Canad ...[+++]ian Food Inspection Agency.

The Governments of the Member States and the European Commission were represented as follows: Belgium: Mr Michel LEBRUN Minister for Higher Education, Scientific Research and International Relations (French-speaking Community) Mr Jean-Maurice DEHOUSSE Minister for Science Policy and Infrastructure Denmark: Mr Frank JENSEN Minister for Research Mr Knud LARSEN State Secretary for Research Germany: Mr Bernd NEUMANN Parliamentary State Secretary for Research, Education, Science and Technology Mrs Cornelia YZER Parliamentary State Secretary for Research, Education, Science and Technology Greece: Mr Constantin SIMITIS Minister for Industry, En ...[+++]ergy and Technology Mr Nicos CHRISTODOULAKIS State Secretary for Research and Technology Spain: Mr Emilio OCTAVIO de TOLEDO State Secretary for Universities and Research France: Mr François FILLON Minister for Higher Education and Research Ireland: Mr John F. COGAN Deputy Permanent Representative Italy: Mr Giovanni MEO ZILIO State Secretary for Research Luxembourg: Mr Jean-Marc HOSCHEIT Deputy Permanent Representative Netherlands: Mr Lambert J. HANRATH Deputy Permanent Representative Portugal: Mr Luis VALENTE de OLIVEIRA Minister for Territorial Planning and Management Mr Manuel FERNANDES TOMAZ State Secretary for Science and Technology United Kingdom: Mr Robert HUGHES Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science and Technology Commission: Mr Antonio RUBERTI Member Mr Martin BANGEMANN Member * * * The acceding States were represented by the following: Austria: Mr Raoul KNEUCKER Director-General Finland: Mr Olli-Pekka HEINONEN Minister for Education and Science Sweden: Mr Carl THAM Minister for Education SPECIFIC RESEARCH PROGRAMMES After a detailed discussion and on the basis of a Presidency compromise the Council agreed on ten specific research programmes in implementation of the Community's Fourth Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration (RTD) for the period 1994-1998.