Definicija: The Committee assists the Commission in implementing the programme aimed at promoting in Europe the useful application of recent developments in life sciences and biotechnology. The principal objectives of the programme are i) research, adaptation and development of agricultural products destined for industrial use, as well as the research and promotion of new industrial techniques for processing and transforming agricultural raw materials with a view to obtaining, under economically viable conditions, industrial products which meet the needs of the market; (ii) research and development of industrial inputs in agriculture, such as pesticides and fertilizers, and of eradication and disease control systems less harmful or better adapted to the environment; the reduction and elimination of by-products of processing by recovering resources and reducing waste.

Definicija: The Committee assists the Commission in the implementation of the programme aimed at identifying new directions and priorities for Community research and technological development policy and helping to show more clearly the relationships between R& D and the other common policies.

Definicija: The Committee assists the Commission in the implementation of the programme aimed inter alia at contributing to better knowledge of the marine environment in order to improve its management and protection and to predict change, and encouraging the development of new technologies for the exploration, protection and exploitation of marine resources.

Definicija: The Committee assists the Commission in implementing the programme contributing to Europe's competitiveness in the food industry, to the improvement of food safety and quality for the consumer and to the strengthening of food science and technology in Europe.