MINUTES OF THE EPTA-DIRECTORS MEETING IN GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

17-18 March 2003

1. Welcome to our guests, introduction

Sergio Bellucci declared the EPTA-Directors meeting 2003 open and welcomed everyone present.

2. News from EPTA members and associates, especially current and future work programmes (all)

Each EPTA Member reports orally about their work programme and written summaries have been circulated giving selected highlights of their work programmes.

3. Subject matters for the next EPTA conference (Research on Humans, October 2003 in Bern). Guests: Dr. Shyama Kuruvilla, WHO, Research Policy and Cooperation, Geneva; Dr. Stefan Susini and Alessandro Lampis, Edena Science, Geneva.

· Sergio Bellucci is giving inputs on possible issues for the next EPTA-Conference on October 27-28 2003 in Bern, Switzerland.
· In Switzerland a law project on "Research on human beings" is in preparation The principal themes of the law project are presented (see attached slides).
· It is proposed not only to focus the conference on the medical aspects but also to enlarge the issues on convergent aspects for example in the fields of information technology, nanotechnology, north-south divide, neurobiology, etc. (see attached slides).
· Emerging fields like cloning, bio-chips, predictive medicine could also be a discussion issue.
· Shyama Kuruvilla, WHO, Research Policy and Cooperation, Geneva is presenting different projects of the WHO like the "Health Research Utilisation Assessment Project". Kuruvilla is stressing on one hand on the importance of the availability of scientific literature for the third world and on the other hand the need for synthesis studys from the TA community.

Discussion

· David Cope is pointing out the importance of new technologies for the third world and is asking how this issue could be discussed in the Parliament.
· Graham Robert thinks that more "basic technologies" could be of greater help for developing countries.
· Lars Klüver: research on human subjects is such a big issue in itself, so for the EPTA-Conference it is better not to expand this issue with the third world aspects. Issues of development are very important, and both with regard to content and methods often closely related to European TA topics. He recommended focusing on development issues at the next EPTA conference.
· Jan Staman thinks that we should concentrate our conference on aspects related to research on human subjects that are relevant for our Parliaments.
· Allesandro de Franciscis: issues should be related to biotechno-logy. Ethical aspects are also important, and legal frameworks are very different in different countries. We should not organise a specific academic meeting, as already many events of this type take place. We should better make an overview on the different legal situations in the EPTA-countries and try to show what is important for the politicians. The involvement of the media is very important.
· Lars Klüver: the EPTA-Conference is a Networking-Event and we should discuss how to optimise our work and what we want to achieve. The proposed media-oriented project is important, but it should be realized in a different context, it is not the intention the EPTA-Conference to organise events like this.
· Walter Peissl thinks that TA is not only a presentation of actual questions. We should try to sensitise Politicians for "classical" TA-aspects, explain the intentions of TA and learn from each other.
· Jan Stanan would be interested to hear more on the different regulations in the different countries, but the EPTA-Conference should create "added value" and not just summarize facts; we should keep the TA aspects in mind.
· Lars Klüver: TA itself and the different approaches to TA in Europe should be in the centre of the discussions.

Action

· Allesandro de Franciscis will present a proposition for a possible programme for the EPTA-Conference of October 27 in Berne.

4. Possible cooperation with the Institute for prospective Technological Studies IPTS, Directorate General JRC, European Commission, (Project FISTERA). Dr. Ken Ducatel, Project Manager, Sevilla, (E) and M. Rader, Institut für Technikfolgenabschätzung und Systemanalyse (ITAS) Karlsruhe, (D)

Ken Ducatel is presenting foresight in general and a possible joint project called "Fistera" on the application of foresight into the work of PTA offices (see attached slides). For further information about FISTERA, please consult http://fitera.jrc.es.

4a. Possible joint project on the relation between foresight activities and parliamentary technology assessment. Lars Klüver, Teknologiraadet (DK)

5. RAPID Initiative: privacy and identity management. Dr. J.J. Borking, European Commission

Jan Borking talks about the European commission RAPID initiative (see attached slides) and the possibility of EPTA members collaborating on a joint study. Jan Borking stresses the fact that privacy is a multidisciplinary phenomenon with important legal and social implications. He also points out that throughout the EU the awareness about privacy is still very low. For further information about the RAPID Initiative, please consult http://www.ra-pid.org.

Action

Walter Peissl will work a proposition for a possible cooperation of EPTA within the RAPID Initiative.

6. Project to stimulate initiatives of citizens' participation, for a European debate on human genetics. Possible collaboration with EPTA. Mr. Gerrit Rauws, Director Governance, King Baudouin Foundation, Brussels

Gerrit Rauws talks about a project of his foundation ("Citizen Participation In European Public Debate About Human Genetics") in which they want to stimulate initiatives in citizen participation for a European debate on human genetics. He is interested in a cooperation with the EPTA Members.
For further information, please contact: info@kbs-frb.be and www.kbs-frb.be.

7. Participation of civil society in the governance of the European Research Area. Dr. Philippe Galiay, European Commission, DG RTD

Philippe Galiay is presenting the activities in the Science and Society Directorate of DG Research and notably those related to the participation of civil society to the governance of the European research Area (see attached slides). DG Research is interested in a possible cooperation with EPTA in the framework of the "Science and Society action plan".

Action

Philippe Galiay will organize a Conference on "Governance of the European Research Area: The Role of Civil Society" in Brussels on 12 and 13 June 2003. EPTA-representatives will be invited to attend the conference and have a speech on the above mentioned issue.

EPTA internal matters

8. Discussion on possible joint TA-projects within the EPTA Network (Lars Klüver: "The future of the patenting)

Lars Klüver is discussing the possibility of coordinating activities on the theme "future of the patenting system".

This is a very important and internatinal issue with a great risk of redundancy in the working plans of EPTA. Teknologiraadet (DK) will make a debate project on the issue, and suggests a coordination between project managers working with such issues, maybe resulting in common recommendations after some years.

Action

· The project manager Jan Opstrup Poulsen at Teknologiraadet (jop@tekno.dk) will invite to a communication between project managers in the EPTA organisations.
· All members will evaluate if they want to initiate projects on the patenting system during the next years and report to Lars Klüver or Jan Opstrup Poulsen.

9. Situation regarding possible new Parliamentary TA organizations (Spain)

The Senate of Spain approved a Motion asking the government to study the possibility to enter Spain in EPTA. Senator Josep Varela, at the Spanish Senate, is the person who is promoting a parliamentary TA office in Spain.

10. Next EPTA presidency

France will take over the EPTA- presidency in 2004. VIWTA (Belgium) will take over the EPTA-presidency after France.

11. Application for membership (PIAS Prague Institute of Advanced Studies)

PIAS is on the list for the application for membership for EPTA. Therefore PIAS have to submit a official letter from the Czech parliament and a formal work programme. Peter is informing the the Czech parliament will decide on April 16th about the above mentioned.

12. PIAS Conference in Prague

Peter Pechan is presenting a preliminary programme of a TA-conference in Prague. A new date for the conference for June 5 -6 is proposed.

13. EPTA Name

David Cope is proposing to change the name of the EPTA-Network into EPTAN. The discussion showed that the name "EPTA" is fine and shouldn't be changed.

14. The current state of the EPTA web site

It was agreed that Teknologiraadet (DK)will continue to run the EPTA-server and update twice a year the data of the EPTA-members. The yearly changing presidency is responsible to forward the web-site changes to the Danish Teknologiraadet.

15. Varia

David Cope presents a draft unadopted document about UNESCO's parliaments and Science Initiative - for use of EPTA Directors , on the Helsinki Declaration

07.05.03, Sergio Bellucci