On 25 July 2008, the European Commission published a 'Proposal for a Council directive regarding a community legal framework for a European research infrastructure.' The proposed legal framework has the objective of simplifying the setting up and working of large-scale multinational research infrastructures in Europe. With this regulation, new European research infrastructure projects can adopt a legal entity which is recognised in all member countries, and which is simultaneously flexible enough to satisfy specific conditions. Such an international organism is exempt from VAT, from paying excise duties and from specific procedures for placing government assignments.
The regulation can be accepted by the Council of the EU with a qualified majority, since it is based on article 171 of the Treaty for establishing the EC. This article 171 belongs to the 'Research and technological development' section of the Treaty, and thus this proposed directive is treated in the Council on Competitiveness (COMP). There is a lot of consensus about this proposal at the political level. The inclusion of tax advantages in this regulation however gave rise to protests by a number of finance ministers.
In Recommendation 34, the VRWB gives its complete support to this proposed directive, including awarding tax benefits. In particular, the VRWB calls on all concerned policy-makers in Belgium at the federal and regional level to consecrate their efforts actively for a quick acceptance of this regulation.