European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC)

The Community legal framework for a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) entered into force on 28 August 2009. This specific legal form is designed to facilitate the joint establishment and operation of research infrastructures of European interest.

Background and objectives of the Regulation
Setting up an ERIC
National procedures for ERICs

Highlights Amendment of ERIC regulation: On 3 December 2012, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Council Regulation amending the Regulation EC 723-2009 concerning the ERIC. The aim is to facilitate the participation of associated countries in ERICs and ensure that their contributions to ERICs will be reflected in terms of voting rights on the same footing as Member States for ERICs that are hosted by the associated countries. DARIAH - Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities applied for the ERIC legal status on 2 October 2012. BBMRI - Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure applied for the ERIC status on 9 August 2012. C-ERIC - Central European Research Infrastructure Consortium applied for the ERIC status on 11 June 2012. C-ERIC will be a distributed research Infrastructure dedicated to the Analytical and Synthesis facilities for Materials Sciences. EATRIS - European Advanced Translational Research Infrastructure in Medicine applied for the ERIC status on 1 June 2012. ESS - European Social Survey applied for the ERIC status in March 2012. EURO-ARGO - Global Ocean Observing Infrastructure applied for the ERIC status in August 2011. ECRIN - European Clinical Research Infrastructures Network applied for the ERIC status on 13 July 2011

EU language research infrastructure gets ERIC status
29 February 2012,

CLARIN, the pan-European Common Language Resources and Technology Infrastructure, is the second European research infrastructure to be granted with ERIC status. Eight countries are committed to the setting up of CLARIN-ERIC: Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands. The Dutch Language Union completes the list of founding members. CLARIN-ERIC will be hosted in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

CLARIN makes digital language resources available to scholars and researchers of all disciplines, in particular humanities and social sciences. It provides a single collection of data and tools which can be accessed by the user through a web application, requiring only one identity and sign-on. Researchers are gaining access to repositories of data with standardized descriptions and processing tools to operate them, as well as to guidance and advice through distributed knowledge centres. CLARIN allows a true scientific on-line approach, enabling sophisticated queries based on analysis and processing of language materials.

News Alert
CLARIN website
Commission Decision of 29 February 2012 setting up the CLARIN-ERIC

On Monday 3 September 2012 a festive lunch was organised at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands to celebrate the official launch of the CLARIN-ERIC (decision of the Commission of 29 February 2012) in presence of Director General of DG Research and Innovation, Robert-Jan Smits, CLARIN -ERIC coordinator Steven Krauwer, and outgoing president of the Board of the University of Utrecht, Mrs Yvonne Van Rooy. On this occasion, R-J Smits handed officially over a plate to CLARIN coordinator Steven Krauwer. The European Commission plate will adorn the wall of the premises of the CLARIN-ERIC at the Utrecht University. In his speech R-J Smits stressed that the award of the ERIC legal status to a second research infrastructure, together with the growing number of other applications received, 6 as of today, demonstrate the timeliness and appropriateness of this instrument. CLARIN-ERIC is a very concrete realisation for the European research Area.

Commission awards first ERIC status to cross-border databank: SHARE

[17 March 2011]

A major multi-national research databank on population ageing is the first ever research infrastructure project to enjoy the new European legal status that will make it easier and simpler to run, the European Commission decided on 17 March 2011.
The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) is the first European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC). This will give it many of the same advantages and tax exemptions enjoyed by major international organisations.
SHARE is hosted by Tilburg University in the Netherlands and aims to help researchers understand the impact of population ageing on European societies and thus to help policy makers make decisions on health, social and economic policy.
Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany and the Netherlands are the founding members of SHARE. Denmark, Spain, France, Italy and Portugal are expected to join soon, with Switzerland to have observer status. Other EU countries may sign up later.
Press release
SHARE website
Commission Decision of 17 March 2011 setting up the SHARE-ERIC

To celebrate the first ERIC research infrastructure, the Research and Innovation Director General Robert-Jan Smits handed over on 8 July a plate to Philip Eijlander, Rector Magnificus University of Tilburg, Professor Boersch-Supan, coordinator of SHARE, and Frank van der Duijn Schouten, head of research of SHARE. The plate will adorn the wall of the premises of the SHARE ERIC at the Tilburg University.