Article 50 Protocol on Industry For the purposes of Articles 48 and 49 of this Treaty, Member States agree to cooperate in accordance with the provisions of the Protocol on Industry. Article 51 Science and Technology 1. 2. Member States shall: (a) Strengthen scientific and technological capabilities in order to bring about the socio-economic transformation required to improve the quality of life of their population, particularly that of the rural populations; (b) Ensure the proper application of science and technology to the development of agriculture, transport and communications, industry, health and hygiene, energy, education and manpower and the conservation of the environment; (c) Reduce their dependence and promote their individual and collective technological self-reliance; (d) Cooperate in the development, acquisition and dissemination of appropriate technologies; and (e) Strengthen existing scientific research institutions and, where they do not exist, establish new institutions. In the context of co-operation in this field, Member States shall: (a) Harmonize, at the Community level, their national policies on scientific and technological research with a view to facilitating their integration into the national economic and social development plans; (b) Coordinate their programmes in applied research, research for development and scientific and technological services; (c) Harmonize their national technological development plans by placing special emphasis on local technologies as well as their regulations on industrial property and transfer of technology; (c) Coordinate their positions on all scientific and technical questions forming the subject of international negotiations; (e) Carry out a permanent exchange of information and documentation and establish community data networks and data banks; 37