In 1990, the Laboratory for Pollution Surveillance, and the Meteorological and Seismological Observatory of the C.S.M., were taken over by the Environment Service of the Prince's Government. This transfer was motivated by the advanced level of standardization reached by environment surveillance techniques. Pollution control had notably left the research level and joined the administrative and technical levels concerned with verifying standards of quality applicable to the environment.

In the same year, the Principality of Monaco joined the Partially Open Agreement concerning prevention, protection and organization of aid against natural and technological risks (EUR-OPA). The main objective of this agreement, adopted by a resolution of ministers of the European Council Committee, on March 20th 1987, was to activate cooperation between State members, by calling on all known resources and knowledge, so as to insure prevention and protection in the event of any major risk, and to organize the necessary aid as efficiently as possible. The Agreement was "open" so that any State non-member of the European Council could join. When the Principality of Monaco joined this agreement, eight centers were taking part in the network. These were: the European Centre for medical catastrophes at Saint-Marin, the European University Centre for culture at Ravello (Italy), the European Centre for the prevention and prevision of earthquakes in Athens (Greece), the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on accidental marine contamination in Valleta (Malta), the European Formation Center on natural disasters in Ankara (Turkey), the European Centre on geo- and morpho-dynamics in Strasburg (France), the European Centre of geodynamics and seismology (Luxembourg), and the European Centre of research on techniques for informing the public in urgent situations located in Madrid (Spain). Having joined this Agreement, the Principality of Monaco created the European Oceanlogy Observatory (O.O.E.) within the Scientific Centre of Monaco. The original mission for this Observatory was to develop research in the prevention of major ecological risks and to regenerate degraded environments. It was proposed to study modified climatic effects on coral ecosystems. The latter were chosen because of i) their major role in the global cycle of carbon and calcium on a planetary level, ii) their particular sensitivity to climatic changes, manifested by a bleaching phenomenon, which could represent a precocious warning signal.

So as to develop this research, the C.S.M. formed a physiology and biochemistry team which was soon receiving post-graduate students of different nationalities. In 1993, an ecophysiology team was also created to develop pluridisciplinary research from the ecosystem to the molecule. In this way, it was hoped to understand the effects of climatic disturbances on coral ecosystems and to set up detection methods for environmental stress.

From 1994 to 2001, following the proliferation of the tropical alga Caulerpa taxifolia in the Mediterranean Sea, an experimental ecology team was also created at the wish of the Prince's Government.

Since October, 2001, activities concerning the Partially Open Agreement of the European Council have been assigned to the Principality of Monaco's Permanent Delegation concerned with International Organizations. The C.S.M activities are thus re-organized around biomineralization and marine symbiosis, with the study of reef building corals, Mediterranean red coral and allied organisms as the main theme.