20 November 2007 | General, President
COST appoints Professor Kneucker as Rapporteur
During its 163rd meeting in November 2005, the COST Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) decided that "considering the well functioning cooperation with the European Science Foundation (ESF) as the implementing agent for COST there was no urgent need to seek a legal personality for COST". On the basis of this decision COST designated the European Science Foundation in October 2006 as its implementing agent for the Seventh Framework Programme.
During its meeting on 15 and 16 November 2007, the CSO - while confirming the ESF as the legal entity for COST during the Seventh Framework Programme - decided to re-examine the legal status and the governance of COST also in view of the COST Ministerial Conference planned for the second half of 2009.
For this purpose Professor Raoul Kneucker, Chair of the High Level Panel for the Mid Term Review of the EC-ESF contract for COST during FP6, was appointed as the Rapporteur, with the task to present to the CSO a preliminary report on possible solutions for the legal status and governance of COST by 30 April 2008 at the latest. The Rapporteur will be supported in this task by the Council COST Secretariat and the Commission services, in particular to ensure the advice of the legal services of these institutions.
“With this decision” commented Professor Francesco Fedi, President of the COST CSO “and with the decision to have a COST Ministerial Conference in the second half of 2009, the CSO reacted in an extremely rapid way to the recommendations contained in the Report of the Panel established by the European Commission for the Final Review of the EC-ESF Contract for COST in FP6”.
