Minutes of the EPTA Council meeting

Markku Markkula MP, EPTA 2001 Chairperson, declared the meeting open and welcomed everyone present. In his speech, Markku Markkula stated that several European parliaments have been engaged in assessing the societal impacts of technology in 1990’s. To date, EPTA has consolidated its position as a co-operation body and has opened a new dimension for the activities of its member parliaments. In the present situation, EPTA could consider more extensive co-operation with other technology assessment and forecasting parties, such as ETAN and IPTS, among others. In this connection, EPTA could also support networking activities and invest in them. What is also required is support to parliamentarians from various countries for participation in networking activities and meetings. A possible method could be by launching and conducting joint projects. Research DG, Science and Technology Foresight is a European Commission unit that has indicated its willingness to support these research activities. Improving “the quality of life” could be seen as the joint objective for EPTA activities. In addition to exchanging mutual assessment experiences, Markkula urged the conference participants to seriously consider how technology assessment development, anticipation and implementation of future technologies could support parliamentary work on the practical level.

The record of the 2000 Berlin Council Meeting was unanimously adopted.

One of the tasks assigned to the Committee for the Future is to get acquainted with the methods of future studies and to assess the societal impact of technology. One of the technology assessment projects organized during the years 2000-2001 by the Committee has been "Knowledge Management" with special emphasis on changes effecting work culture and working methods. In addition to this, the Committee has exploited new information and communication technological methods in several ways in its own activities.

In a broader sense the Parliament has taken special activities in developing its own knowledge management. The IS&KM project (Information Systems and Knowledge Management) carried out in 2000-2001 was geared towards defining a joint content and reference frame for knowledge management, to create a vision of knowledge management in the Parliament, and to consolidate the various operative objectives for knowledge management. The project assessed the available means to reach the objectives, and defined solution proposals for a concrete revision program. The Committee for the Future operates as a test unit for the new emerging knowledge management methods.

In Finland, at least, a general societal view is that national parliaments should generate preconditions for efficient, innovative activities by citizens, companies and communities, and show examples of such activities in their own work, with the overall purpose being to improve the quality of life. As a society, Finland appears to have a consensus on operating as an Information Society, and even a pioneer of Knowledge Society development, when compared to other nations.

Knowledge management and people's capability to learn together and create processes to increase human and social capital, are the success factors that seem to become the most crucial in competition between nations. Innovative spirit as a national culture and a sufficient degree of high-standard R&D activities will provide the basic preconditions for the desired societal development.

Technology assessment and the effects of knowledge management on work cultures (TA Project), developing knowledge management for parliamentary work processes (IS&KM Project) the MPs' learning processes as a result of these projects and other simultaneous functions, plus the development of knowledge management in state administration. These areas influence parliamentary work and are also seen in societal development, and, in many respects, even in legislative work.

Philippe Dally, OPECST, France

OPECST has produced comprehensive analyses pertaining to variety of areas, such as global warming, future telecom, nanotechnology, mobile future, effects of military use of nuclear power and new energies.

Leonard Hennen extended the regards of Ulla Burchardt MP, EPTA 2000 Chairperson, and those of Prof. Herbert Paschen to the annual EPTA conference. Professor Paschen is retiring and will be succeeded by Professor Grünwald.

In its current form, TAB has operated for the past 12 years. An evaluation is being produced of the German TA activities, based on the experience received. Preliminary information indicates that these TA activities have been received with positive feedback. To date, TAB has operated on a 5-year mandate period. TAB is currently receiving such an abundance of assessment requests that selection is becoming a problem. An additional problem is keeping the assessments within the prescribed scope.

David Cope, POST, United Kingdom

POST became a permanent body of the British Parliament on 1 April 2001. Associated with this change of status, the office has also been provided with two new permanent staff positions for assistant advisers.

The 1997-2001 POST Board ceased to exist with the dissolution of the UK Parliament prior to a general election held in early June. This left comparatively little time before Parliament rose for the summer recess to resolve matters such as committee membership. It will therefore not be until November that the new POST Board is functioning, as some members are ex officio appointments by Parliamentary committees.

Responding to several suggestions received in the past from Parliamentarians about upgrading the appearance of its publications, POST has redesigned both its publication format and stationery. As well as maintaining its publication program, detailed below,

POST has organised several additional activities. In association with the Environment, Science & Technology Section of the US Embassy in London, POST held a seminar on US Climate Change Policy. As part of Science Week, 2001, POST organised a Parliamentary seminar, in co-operation with the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS), to consider issues raised in POST's report Open Channels. This addresses public consultation activities in science and technology policy.

POST has been collaborating in several ways with its sister organisations in EPTA. A dialogue was developed with the Norwegian Board of Technology on areas of common interest. One in particular, the possibility of a 'hydrogen economy' was on the agenda of both organisations. In the end, the tighter timetable of the Norwegian office meant that a formal join project could not be scheduled.

POST acted as 'go-between' to facilitate a visit to the UK Parliament by members of the German Bundestag's Enquet Kommission on 18 September 2001. Despite the visit being in the middle of the UK Parliament's recess, several members of the House of Lords ad hoc Select Committee on Stem Cell Research were able to meet the German delegation, although no members of the House of Commons were available.

POST has assisted the Swiss Science Council to arrange some UK input to a public round table in Bern at the end of September. The subject was 'research on human subjects'.

Dr Sarah Pearce presented a paper on 'E-democracy: consultations in the UK Parliament' at an international conference in Berlin in mid-October, organized by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education on Innovations for an e-Society.

The European Parliament’s administration includes a number of strong parties that are questioning STOA’s current activities. STOA has encountered difficulties regarding its funding and status, among other issues. STOA’s activities are steered by a panel of 19 members from various political parties. The problem is that only a small minority of them participates in STOA’s activities.

STOA operates within DG Research, but is better known among members than its parent DG. Consequently, STOA receives assessment requests that are outside its field of competence. STOA has also encountered difficulties in recruiting in-house research personnel. This has led to a situation where STOA contracts out services to external parties. Furthermore, operations are slowed down by the fact that all its reports must be published in various official EU languages.

STOA has ended up in a situation where an administrative reform is required to ensure its activities in future. This type of reform cannot be implemented before 2004.

Dr. Johannes R. Randegger, Member of the Swiss National Council and of the Swiss TA Steering Committee

The mission of the Swiss Centre for Technology Assessment, CTA, is to support politicians in the political decision-making by providing them reliable, prospective and independent TA materials and by presenting them different options and to create platforms for a mutual dialogue between various groups. CTA's mission is further to establish participative forums (e.g. consensus conferences). CTA's objectives are also to provide scientific reliable, interdisciplinary studies for target groups in order to improve public debate, to introduce a debate about technology at a pre-political level, to enhance responsibility in R&D, and to strengthen national and international TA-networks.

Brief history of Swiss Technology Assessment:

• 1982 1^st Parliamentary initiative NR Longet
• 1992-95 1^st Pilot phase of the Swiss TA programme as an activity of the Swiss Science Council
• 1996-99 2^nd Pilot phase of the Swiss 44TA programme
• 1998 1^st PubliForum on Electricity and Society
• 1998 Institutionalisation of TA in Government plans for the promotion of education, research and technology for the years 2000 - 2003
• 2000 new Centre for TA at the Swiss Science and Technology Council

CTA's vision is to seek public acceptance as reliable, prospective and independent TA centre (national and international), to integrate participatory TA in policy-making processes on science and technology issues (e.g. through parliamentary hearings) and to become a useful and reliable partner for Swiss universities and universities for applied sciences.

The work of PIAS during the last year has been concentrated on three activities:

1. Democracy Incubator

PIAS has organised a series of public seminars, in conjunction with the Czech Parliament, on various democracy and civil society themes. On April 30, the theme was the role of IT in the transparency of public administration and citizen access to elected representatives and also on Czech co-operation with Sigma Xi, the international scientific honour society. On June 4, the theme was the new relationship between the EU and Israel. We are grateful for the financial support provided by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung for this work.

2. EU-Pronet

The EU-Pronet project has now reached the stage of business plan preparation and a number of leading EU and Czech companies are involved. Although the project is commercial, seeking to integrate Cable TV and Internet to create a national value-added information network for businesses and entrepreneurs, a key aspect of the project is competence development. Training programs will be provided not only to improve technology and business skills but also to improve the quality of public administration and bring it into line with EU norms. We would welcome the involvement of our EPTA partners in providing information and speakers from their parliaments and public administrations to help ensure that these courses attract the right candidates.

We were particularly interested to note the recent Council of Europe Resolution (1263) on Scientific and technological development in central and eastern Europe, which called upon the governments of those countries to encourage "the dissemination of electronic data processing, information technologies and telecommunications in the economy and society, the development of small technology-based firms, the increase of the efficiency of technology transfer, the dissemination of environment friendly technologies, the acceleration of the commercialisation of research results and inventions and, from this, the development of the R&D infrastructure", themes which align very closely with the goals of the EU-Pronet project.

3. Parliamentary TA

Unfortunately, PIAS continues to be unable to fulfil its primary role of Parliamentary technology assessment because of the ongoing political situation in the Czech Republic, especially the so called "Euro-realist" elements, whose increasingly nationalist, anti-EU and anti-democratic attitude has been criticised by both President Vaclav Havel and Mr Verheugen, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement. Because of this situation, once again, it has not been possible for any Members of the Czech Parliament or Dr Pechan to attend this year's EPTA Council meeting.

There is considerable scope for effective reinforcement in the Czech Republic of the messages of the EU, democracy, transparency in public administration and independent advice to legislators. International NGOs have an important role to play in this area and they need to recognise and act upon the disturbing direction that Czech politics has taken and its impact on democracy, freedom and civil society. Such events in an EU applicant country simply cannot be ignored.

The Norwegian Board of Technology Teknologirådet was established in 1999. Its task is to serve Parliament by participating in public discussion on technological development and the opportunities provided. Teknologirådet was approved as an associate EPTA member during the Berlin Conference.

Teknologirådet is still in the process of formulating its activities. The administrative model is still to be decided. Teknologirådet will probably adopt the Danish model and function as a separate unit supervised by Parliament or the Ministry of Education and Research. Due to this ambiguity, Teknologirådet has not been provided with a permanent secretariat. Teknologirådet requested EPTA’s support for its activities.

Teknologirådet has embarked upon launching assessment activities on gene-modified foods, stem cells, and energy-related themes, among others.

In Belgium, regional parliaments are responsible for technology assessments. The Flemish Parliament has the VIWTA institute that appointed a new director shortly before the annual EPTA conference. The Institute has been assigned to co-operate with Parliamentary Committees and maintain citizen relations. The Institute has a small-scale scientific secretariat.

VIWTA has launched a pilot project on GMO.

VIWTA is an EPTA membership candidate.

EPTA’s annual conference in Berlin discussed revising the EPTA membership criteria and assigned Finland to prepare the issue.

The EPTA membership criteria have been as follows:

Full membership is open to institutions that are

• from EU member states
• devoted to TA or related activities
• serving their national parliaments through part of their activities, at least.

For a long period of time, EPTA has had associate members from outside the EU countries.

It was stated in Helsinki that membership should not be restricted to the EU countries.

Consequently, it was decided that regular EPTA membership can be obtained by a unit that pursues TA activities and

• operates in Europe,
• is devoted to TA or related activities,
• serves the parliament,
• has its own budget and secretariat,
• has a competence regarding issues with a scientific and technological component, and
• submits a written membership application.

Any other TA units interested in membership may join as associate members.

Eivind Osnes, Teknologirådet, Norway, and Sergio Bellucci, Swiss Centre for Technology Assessment, Switzerland, declared that the TA units they represent will apply for regular EPTA membership. Robby Berloznik, VIWTA, Belgium, declared that VIWTA intends to join as an associate member. The forthcoming UK presidency was authorised to prepare the above membership applications.

It was discussed in Berlin 2000 that POST would take over the presidency after Finland. Therefore, it was agreed that the United Kingdom will take over the EPTA presidency in 2002.

Tentative discussion about the 2003 presidency concluded that Switzerland is preliminary a candidate.

David Cope invited and welcomed all participants to the Directors' meeting in Belfast in March 2002 and the Council Meeting in London in October 2002.

The theme of the annual conference in 2002 will presumably be Transport and Mobility. Finally, it was recorded that the workshops arranged in Finland on October 11^th, 2001, on the date preceding the annual conference, had been rewarding. David Cope said that he would propose that the annual London conference should also be preceded by workshops on the conference themes.