Minutes of the meeting of the EPTA Council 2002

October 21st, 2002

London, UK

1.       Approval of the minutes from the 2001 Council meeting

The minutes were approved after inclusion of minor amendments requested by STOA, European Parliament and TAB, Germany.

2.       Congratulations to the Swiss-TA on their 10th anniversary

Sergio Bellucci thanked the chair for her congratulations to the Swiss-TA on their 10th anniversary and added that the Swiss were looking forward to welcoming the EPTA conference next year.

3.       Reports on any organisational reviews/significant developments from EPTA members and associates

TAB, Germany reported that following the September elections a new committee and new rapporteurs would be appointed, and a new workplan was expected in January.  The contract between the Bundestag and Karlsruhe research institute had been renewed until 2008 and now also included cooperation with the Frauenhofer Institute for Systems Analysis and Innovation Research.

DBT, Denmark explained that the DBT would suffer a 30% budget cut from next year which will entail changes in the level of work, and the future priorities are being debated this autumn.  Next year's workplan was being formulated by the usual participative process and contributions from EPTA colleagues were few, but very welcomed. One interesting idea from the international community was to study the possibility for harmonisation of EU S&T policy in areas of ethics, because the difference across Europe makes up a serious problem – and maybe this issue could be subject to EPTA cooperation in the future?

PIAS, Czech republic reported that recent difficulties were at an end and that PIAS now had the support of both houses of Parliament.

STOA, European Parliament explained that a proposed restructuring of support services in the European Parliament could require alterations in STOA's role.  One suggestion was to retain STOA under the direction of a panel of representatives of the 2 or 3 committees to which S&T was most relevant.  STOA would work in a manner similar to TAB, with work outsourced to a European institute.  EPTA members might wish to consider responding to any resulting call for tender.

VAST, Italy reported that they had recently organised a successful seminar on transport issues, involving contributions from 6 prestigious Italian research institutes.

The Norwegian Parliament had confirmed NBT's mandate in April.  NBT was to work on technology assessment and technology foresight, with an emphasis on public dialogue.  Its secretariat would be permanent and it was in the process of appointing a permanent director.

viWTA, Flanders expressed their appreciation for having joined EPTA and added that the EPTA network had already been useful to them.  Having finished recruiting they were now working on their first work programme and procedures were being developed for Parliamentary committees to consult them. 

The Greek Committee on Technology Assessment was continuing to raise its profile among MPs and had cooperated with the energy committee on an examination of wind energy and distributed electricity generation.

ITA, Austria were hosting an international conference on privacy on 11 November (www.oeaw.ac.at/ita/privconf).  They were one of the few TA bodies with a focus on health technology assessment, and would be glad to share expertise in this area. 

TA Swiss had recently undergone an evaluation, the results of which were to be presented to the Parliament next month.  Next year their Parliament would again discuss S&T assessment in Switzerland, and TA were hoping for increased funding as a result.  In 2003 TA-Swiss would be focussing on research on humans in conjunction with a new law being prepared in Parliament.

The Belgian Federal Office for Scientific, Technical and Cultural Affairs (OSTC) was now officially linked to the federal Parliament, although they were still an observer at EPTA.  They had already produced their first study and were keen for full membership of EPTA.

4.       EPTA's relationship with EU accession countries and the wider Europe

PIAS, Czech Republic explained that they proposed holding a conference in Prague in April 2003 [update: now likely to take place on 27-29 March 2003] to facilitate development of Parliamentary TA and foresight throughout Europe, with a particular emphasis on EU accession states.  They invited EPTA members to attend this conference. 

After some discussion, the meeting confirmed the EPTA membership criteria agreed at the 2001 Council meeting.  EPTA membership was open to organisations pursuing TA activities and operating in Europe, while organisations from beyond Europe would be welcome as observers.  It was agreed that Council of Europe membership would be a useful basis for invitations to the Prague meeting.  There was no need to define at this stage which countries might qualify for EPTA membership in the future, since any membership applications would be considered on a case by case basis.

5.       Latest news regarding the US Office of Technology Assessment

David Cope of POST, UK reported that a clause in the energy Bill currently under consideration by the US congress would refinance the OTA.  If the current deadlock between congress and the senate over the Bill was resolved it was likely that the OTA would be in action again by next April with a staff of 20 to 25.

6.       Technology Assessment and Technology Foresight  - developments at the European level

Lars Klüver of DBT, Denmark reported that development of the European Research Area had focussed the Commission's attention on the need for pan-European TA. He, Robby Berloznik and Markku Markula were members of an expert group established by DG Research to examine the issue of European foresight.  The group recommended that Foresight be included in FP6 and the Commission were implementing this, providing opportunities for TA organisations for making TF/TA on future oriented issues.  First calls under FP6 would be expected to be issued in mid-November, and a website had been set up to help TF/TA organisations identify sources of funding within the programme (www.cordis.lu/rtd2002/foresight/home.html).  STOA observed that there was a lack of European level science/policy dialogue unlinked to funding.

7.       European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation

David Cope of POST, UK pointed out that the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation produced a Directory of Institutions, and that OPECST was the only EPTA member currently included.  The Centre had agreed to include EPTA members in an update of the publication, and on their website.  It was agreed that the centre should be invited to the next council meeting.

8.       EPTA membership issues

PIAS, of the Czech republic, made a formal request for full membership of EPTA.  The Belgian Science and Technology Committee reported that they would also be requesting full membership shortly.  It was agreed that applicant organisations should provide the Presidency with the necessary documentation, including a formal acknowledgement of their status from the relevant parliamentary authorities and a statement of a formal, substantial work programme.  The presidency secretariat would be responsible for ensuring that the necessary documentation was received to enable the Council to take a decision at its next meeting.   

9.       EPTA presidency in 2003 and 2004

The Swiss proposed human stem cells as a possible theme for next year's EPTA conference, and invited further suggestions.  The next Directors’ meeting would be 27-28th March 2003 in French Switzerland [update: the date for the next Director’s meeting will now be 17-18th March 2003] and the next EPTA conference on 27-28th October 2003 in Berne.

OPECST, France were formally invited to hold the EPTA presidency in 2004, and accepted.

10.    Any other business

Graham Chambers of STOA drew members’ attention to a possible visit to view the manufacturing of a compressed air car currently under development in France.

It was agreed that all EPTA documents should be placed on the EPTA website.  Lars Klüver offered DBT's facilities to host the website.

It was agreed that minutes of the council meeting should be agreed by written procedure after their circulation to EPTA members.

viWTA, Flanders announced that they would be hosting the next practitioners’ meeting in 2004.  There was much praise for the usefulness of the previous practitioners’ meetings, the last of which was held in Switzerland.