Note for the Attention of the STOA Panel 

Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union Directorate E Legislative Coordination and Conciliation Unit for Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) The Head of Unit

Brussels, 18 October 2010

 Note for the attention of the STOA Panel 

Subject: STOA delegation to the 7th meeting of the STS forum, 3 – 5 October 2010, Kyoto, Japan

SUMMARY

A STOA delegation attended the 7th meeting of the STS forum (3-5 October 2010, Kyoto). As the only high-level European policy-makers attending the forum, the three Members, led by the STOA Chairman, participated in meetings with leading Japanese policy-makers, where they presented the European Parliament's position and exchanged views about important and sensitive issues concerning EU-Japan cooperation in the area of Science and Technology (S&T), notably the future financing and management of the ITER Project1 and the ratification of the EU-Japan S&T Cooperation Agreement.  Mr Rübig spoke in the Plenary Session entitled ‘Investing in Science and Technology for Building the Future  Dialogue among Political Leaders, Scientists and Industrialists’;  Mr Correia de Campos spoke in the Concurrent Session entitled ‘The Science of Ageing’;  Ms Riera Madurell spoke in the Concurrent Session entitled ‘Security in the Age of ICT’. The delegation further participated in a roundtable discussion focusing on Technology Assessment (TA) structures in the European Parliament (EP) and the European Commission (EC), at a time when the Japanese government is exploring the possibility to establish an official TA institution in Japan. The interaction with the Japanese policy-makers was appreciated by both sides, resulting in a sense of mutual trust and respect, which led the two sides to confirm their interest and commitment in pursuing these contacts in the context of or in parallel with future meetings of the STS forum. The delegation also participated in meetings with policy-makers from other countries and visited advanced research facilities (Naka Fusion Research Institute, RIKEN Kobe Institute).

1. Introduction

A delegation of STOA Panel members led by Mr Paul RÜBIG, STOA Chairman, attended the 7th meeting of the Science and Technology in Society (STS) forum held from 3 to 5 October 2010 in

1 ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is a cooperative research project using international resources and expertise towards the practical realisation of fusion energy. The ITER Agreement was signed by the EU, China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the USA in November 2006. The main ITER facility will be constructed in Cadarache, France. The EU will carry 45.5 % of the construction costs. Construction should take 10 years, to be followed by 20 years of operation and 5 years planned for deactivation. The ITER Organisation (IO) is responsible for the joint implementation of the ITER Project. Each ITER party's Domestic Agency is responsible for the party's contribution to IO.

B-1047 Bruxelles - Tel +32 2 28 43812 - Fax 0032 2 28 44984 F-67070 Strasbourg - Tel +33 3 88 1 72579 - Fax 0033 3 88 1 79054 Kyoto. The other delegation members were Mr António F. CORREIA DE CAMPOS, STOA Vice- Chairman, and Ms Teresa RIERA MADURELL, Panel member. A STOA delegation of up to three Members had been authorised by the EP Bureau on 5 May 2010. The STS forum, inaugurated in November 2004, holds an annual meeting, starting on the first Sunday of October every year, in Kyoto. The meeting is aimed at providing a framework for open discussions regarding the further progress of science and technology for the benefit of humankind, while keeping track of ethical, safety and environmental issues resulting from their application. The forum has been founded and chaired since the beginning by Mr Koji Omi, former Japanese Minister of Science and Technology (2001 - 2002) and Minister of Finance (2006 - 2007). Over the years, it has grown in stature and has attracted important participants, including many from third-world countries. Prior to its departure, the delegation had been briefed, in two separate meetings, by the Japanese Ambassador to the EU, Mr Nobutake ODANO, on current developments in Japanese S&T policy. Mr Octavio QUINTANA TRIAS, Director responsible for Nuclear Energy (Euratom) in the EC's DG Research, had briefed the delegation on recent developments concerning ITER. A visit to the Fusion Research Institute in Naka (North East of Tokyo) on 1 October 2010 and high- level bilateral meetings on 2 October 2010 in Kyoto were added to the programme in the course of the preparation - an extension of the delegation authorisation, to cover these dates, was requested from the EP President. The rest of the delegation's activities were centred on the meeting of the STS forum, which took place in the Kyoto International Conference Center (ICC Kyoto). The delegation was accompanied by Mr Theodoros KARAPIPERIS, head of the STOA Secretariat. Three officials of the EU Delegation in Tokyo (Ms Barbara RHODE, head of S&T at the delegation, Mr Akira KIMURA and Ms Mari TOMODA, interpreter) accompanied the STOA delegation throughout their visit to Japan and helped in the organisation of many activities and meetings. STOA information material (general information, sample of recent studies, STOA CD) was available at the main conference information desk and were very much in demand by conference participants. 2. Background The visit to the Naka Institute and the subsequent discussions of the delegation with leading Japanese policy-makers were carried out under the particular situation that developed among the ITER partners following the recent substantial re-evaluation of the cost of the project during the construction phase. Being by far the biggest contributor, the EU is confronted with the need to agree on a way of financing a substantial gap in commitment appropriations for the years 2012-2013. Concerns by the Japanese side about the further financing of the project by the EU and the recent changes in the top management structure of ITER have contributed to a certain erosion of trust among the partners. The Japanese side is further concerned about the delay in the ratification of the EU-Japan S&T Cooperation Agreement, signed on 30 November 2009, and currently being considered by the EP. [The delay is, in fact, due to the deliberations between EP and Council concerning the role of the EP in the conclusion of international agreements under the Lisbon Treaty (Art. 218) and does not reflect any reservations on the European side. The EP is expected to give its consent before the end of 2010.] In this context, the Japanese policy-makers were keen to underline their commitment to fulfilling their obligations under the ITER Agreement, as well as under the so-called ‘Broader Approach’2. The STOA delegation visited Japan at a time when the Japanese government is deliberating on the next (4th) period of the S&T Basic Plan (analogous to the EU Research Framework Programme), which is due to begin in April 2011. Moreover, the roundtable discussion held on Sunday, 3 October, at the University of Kyoto to discuss TA structures within the EP (TA projects account for the biggest part of STOA's activities and budget) and the EC, took place at a time when the Japanese government is exploring the possibility to establish an official TA institution in Japan.

2 The ‘Broader Approach’ is a joint EU-Japan project, which will carry out supportive research for ITER and R&D for a DEMO reactor (the next step towards the realisation of fusion energy, which should serve as a prototype for commercial reactors) during the ITER construction phase. 2 3. Friday, 1 October 2010

Ms Riera Madurell, accompanied by Mr Karapiperis and her assistant, Ms Iris ONTAVILLA MATSCHILLES, visited the Naka Fusion Research Institute on 1 October. The visit was preceded by a working lunch with high-level JAEA3 representatives, including Dr Sohei OKADA, JAEA Executive Director, Dr Hiromasa NINOMIYA, Director-General of the Naka Institute, and Kazuichiro HASHIMOTO, Director responsible for International Affairs in JAEA. JAEA acts as the Japanese Domestic Agency (DA) of the ITER Project and runs the Naka site. Also present was Mr Kaname IKEDA, ITER Director-General from December 2005 until his replacement in July 2010. Highlights of the visit included tours of the Superconducting Coil Test Facility and the Large Tokamak Device JT-60, which will be upgraded to a superconducting tokamak, known as JT-60SA, in the context of the ‘Broader Approach’. Ms Riera Madurell expressed her appreciation of the high quality of the research described by her interlocutors and reassured them about the European commitment to the continuation of the ITER and ‘Broader Approach’ activities.

4. Saturday, 2 October 2010

Ms Riera Madurell, her assistant and the accompanying EP and EC officials, travelled to Kyoto the following day (2 October), where they were joined by the STOA Chairman for a working lunch. A meeting of the delegation with Ms Naledi Grace MANDISSA, South African Minister of S&T, originally scheduled for that afternoon was cancelled due to a conflicting meeting that the Minister was finally obliged to attend at the same time. 4.1. Meeting with Prof. John Beddington, Chief Scientist, UK Government The delegation met, later that evening (18:00-19:00), with Prof. BEDDINGTON, Chief Scientific Adviser, Government Office for Science, UK, and members of his staff. The discussion focused on: 1) The need to maintain the current levels of research funding, in the face of pressures to reduce it; 2) The preparations for the 8th Research Framework Programme (FP8); 3) The current problems with ITER and the possible erosion of European expertise in the area of fusion research; 4) The need for simplification of application procedures for research funding and the support of professionals in project management; 5) The still-to-be-appointed European Chief Scientist, announced by Commission President José Manuel Barroso in a speech to the EP (in view of the renewal of his mandate) in September 2009; 6) The recently decided STOA projects for the year 2010; 7) The impact of Climate Change on agriculture and the management of water resources, 8) The science-advice and coordination problems revealed by the Icelandic volcanic eruption; 9) The privacy and data-protection issues connected with social networks and modern information and communication systems.

5. Sunday, 3 October 2010

5.1. Meeting with Deputy Minister Yasutaka Moriguchi The delegation met with Mr Yasutaka MORIGUCHI, Deputy Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology (MEXT), Japanese Head of Delegation for ITER and leading MEXT staff, including Mr Kanji FUJIKI, Director-General of the R&D4 Bureau, and Mr Itaru WATANABE, Senior Deputy Director-General of the S&T Policy Bureau and Executive Director for Nuclear Safety. The discussion was centred almost exclusively on the current situation with ITER. The Japanese side made clear their determination to maintain their financial contribution to the project at the necessary

3 Japan Atomic Energy Agency 4 Research and Development 3 level, despite cuts in the overall S&T budget, and emphasised their intention to fulfil their commitments towards their partners, based on the agreement reached in 2006. In their view, the international collaboration in the context of ITER was unique in that the partners undertook the responsibility to produce their respective parts and then assemble them in one place. They also stressed the importance they attribute to the ‘Broader Approach’ jointly financed by the EU and Japan. The Minister emphasised the need to maintain the original timetable and reiterated his confidence in the new IO Director-General, Dr Osamu Motojima. The Japanese government felt that the ITER Council had practiced micromanagement and there was a need for more trust in the ITER structure. The STOA delegation attributed the success of the collaboration so far to the involvement of the best scientists and well-intentioned policy-makers, and emphasised the need to further ensure transparency and efficiency in the management of ITER. There would be three steps in the EU response: 1) Short-term decisions concerning the 2011 EU budget, in view of reaching a budget agreement by December 2010; the EP would insist on maintaining research appropriations at 2010 levels; 2) Long-term financial perspectives from 2014 onwards, based on the mid-term review of the financial framework; 3) The possibility to secure additional funding through revenue from allowances auctioning in the framework of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). The STOA Chairman emphasised the need to have a good basis for ensuring transparency and cost- effectiveness in public procurement and to identify the right business plan for obtaining an accurate assessment of the economic and financial situation. In his view, it would be useful to have, similarly to the car industry, alternative business plans, one for the amount asked for and one for, say, € 1 billion less, so as to identify together the best project possible, after examining their relative merits. He stressed that the aim should be ‘kaizen’ (改善), Japanese for ‘improvement’, referring to continuous improvement of processes in manufacturing, engineering, business and management. Responding to the Minister's question about the fate of the EU-Japan S&T Cooperation Agreement, the STOA Chairman assured him that a plenary vote would hopefully take place still this year. He further underlined the importance of better engagement of the two sides through regular meetings at different levels and pleaded for a systematic feeding of pertinent information into each other's discussions on priorities for the respective Research Framework Programmes. He specifically advocated enhancing cooperation among companies, especially SMEs, in the area of R&D. Mr Moriguchi expressed his confidence in the STOA Chairman, thanking him for the detailed presentation of the European position and promising to contribute with comments on FP8 in due time. After the meeting with the Japanese minister, the delegation was joined by Mr Correia de Campos. A meeting with Mr Didier LOMBARD, France Telecom Chairman, scheduled for 12:15 that day, did not take place, due to an invitation to a seated lunch that both he and the STOA Chairman had received in the meantime from the STS forum Chairman, Koji Omi. 5.2. Presentation by the STOA Chairman The STOA Chairman held a presentation during the Plenary Session entitled ‘Investing in Science and Technology for Building the Future - Dialogue among Political Leaders, Scientists and Industrialists’ (13:30 - 15:30). The speaker emphasised that science and research are an essential priority in the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy put forward by the European Council in June 2010. The EU has confirmed the importance it attaches to research by almost doubling the research budget in the current framework programme and creating new instruments to promote research and innovation, such as the European Research Council (ERC), the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP: Entrepreneurship & Innovation, ICT5, Intelligent Energy) and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), alongside the pre-existing Joint Research Centre (JRC), to which the European Institutions and

5 Information and Communication Technologies 4 Member States turn for independent scientific and technical advice in support of EU policies. Concentrating on STOA, the Chairman presented the priorities voted upon by the STOA Panel in Spring 2010. They include large-scale projects on ‘Eco-efficient transport’, ‘Sustainable management of natural resources’, ‘Security of e-Government Systems’ and ‘Security of Networks and Information Systems’, but also workshops 6 (e.g. on an IPR strategy for Europe and CO2 as a future chemical fuel) and small-scale projects (e.g. on ‘Cross-border medicine’ and the MEP-Scientist Pairing Scheme aiming to link individual MEPs to individual scientists, who would visit each other's working places, Copyright STS forum 2010 in order to enhance mutual understanding and establish long-term working relations). 5.3. TA workshop at Kyoto University The afternoon (16:00-18:00) was taken up by a roundtable discussion held at the Medical School of Kyoto University. The event was entitled ‘The governance of Science and Technology in the EU and in Japan’ and was hosted by the EU Delegation to Japan, The University of Tokyo (PARI7, GrasPP8- I2TA9), Kyoto University (Laboratory of Prof. Kato) and Osaka University (CSCD10, DeCoCiS11). Apart from the members of the STOA delegation, participants included: 1) Mr Jan Staman (Rathenau Institute, The Netherlands) 2) Mr Keisuke Tsumura (DPJ12, The House of Representatives) 3) Mr Toshiharu Furukawa (LDP13, The House of Councillors) 4) Mr Masuo Aizawa (CSTP14) 5) Mr Tateo Arimoto (RISTEX15/JST16) 6) Mr Satoru Ohtake (CAO17) 7) Mr Kiyoshi Kurokawa (Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies) 8) Mr Hideaki Shiroyama (Professor of Public Administration, Tokyo University) 9) Mr Kazuto Kato (Associate Professor of Bioethics, Kyoto University) 10) Mr Hideyuki Hirakawa (Associate Professor of STS, Osaka University) 11) Mr Shintaro Sengoku (Associate Professor of iCeMS, Kyoto University) Mr José Mariano Gago, Portuguese Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, was also scheduled to participate, but was finally unable to attend the STS forum. A representative of the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the S&T Counsellor of the Czech Embassy were present. The programme of the event consisted of the following items: 1) Presentation about background and TA practices in Japan (Shiroyama: TA activities in Japan, lessons learnt and options for the future institutionalisation of TA in Japan; Kato: Ethics and

6 Intellectual Property Rights 7 The Policy Alternatives Research Institute (University of Tokyo) 8 Graduate School of Public Policy (University of Tokyo) 9 Innovation and Institutionalisation of Technology Assessment in Japan (RISTEX/JST-funded project, 2007-2011) 10 Center for the Study of Communication-Design (Osaka University) 11 Deliberation and Cooperation between Citizens and Scientists 12 Democratic Party of Japan 13 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) 14 Council for Science & Technology Policy 15 Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society 16 Japan Science and Technology Agency 17 Cabinet Office (Japan) 5 governance of life-science research - genomics & stem-cell research; Hirakawa: ‘Deliberative Caravan 2010’, a participatory TA experiment on Regenerative Medicine); 2) Presentation about STOA activities (Rübig: STOA history, mission, organisation and priorities, followed by a presentation of several examples of STOA projects and other activities); 3) Presentation about the future direction of Japanese S&T policy (Aizawa: Structure, mission and reform of CSTP, new growth strategy, from discipline-driven to issue-driven innovation, major innovations - environment & energy, health - and priority areas of the 4th S&T Basic Plan). 4) Comments (Kurokawa) 5) Discussion among participants: The discussion centred, among others, on issue-driven research and innovation, measuring policy outcomes, public and private investment in R&D, ethical issues in science, new models of participation, science governance in a globalised world, attracting women and the young to science. 6) Closing Remarks (Tsumura, Furukawa, Shiroyama, Rhode) Participants believed that the exchange had been extremely useful and agreed to pursue the precedent set by this meeting by organising similar meetings, possibly targeted on more specific issues, during the visits of STOA delegations to future meetings of the STS forum. The event was followed by a networking reception organised by the EU delegation. The official STS forum dinner was held from 19:00 to 20:30 in the ICC Event Hall.

6. Monday, 4 October 2010

The STOA Chairman and Vice-Chairman participated in an early (8:00 - 8:30) general meeting of the STS forum Council, of which they are both members (together with Mr Malcolm HARBOUR, second STOA Vice-Chairman, who was unable to attend this year's meeting of the STS forum). A meeting originally planned for that morning (8:30 - 9:00) with Mr Prithviraj CHAVAN, Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Science, Technology and Earth Sciences, India, did not materialise due to scheduling problems of the Minister. 6.1. Meeting with Prof. Masuo Aizawa and Prof. Takashi Shiraishi, CSTP Executive Members From 9:30 to 10:30 the delegation had a meeting with Prof. Masuo AIZAWA and Prof. Takashi SHIRAISHI, high-level advisors of the Japanese government (Cabinet Office), in their capacity as Executive Members of CSTP. The discussion centred on the following issues: 1) The decision-making process in the European Institutions; differences between Japan (Cabinet decision) and EU (EP in codecision) in the adoption of the S&T budget; 2) The interest and commitment of parliamentarians for S&T issues; institutionalisation of parliamentary involvement in S&T issues; 3) Exchange of information concerning priorities when formulating the Research Framework Programme (EU) and the S&T Basic Plan (Japan); 4) Consensus and disagreement within parliaments concerning priorities in S&T issues (e.g. 3% target for R&D investment, reducing bureaucracy); 5) Differences in national priorities between countries, when S&T is linked to industrial policy; 6) Horizontal (e.g. ERC) and vertical (e.g. Technology Platforms) instruments in EU research policy; 7) Public investment as incentive for private investment and as a means for redirecting priorities; 8) The role of SMEs in employment and patent creation; 9) The Japanese drive to increase technology exports, especially in social, large-scale infrastructures (e.g. water management, clean transport); 10) Priority given in the 4th S&T Basic Plan to international cooperation and standardisation; The two sides agreed that they would like regular meetings of this kind to be pursued in parallel with the meetings of the STS forum. Future meetings could focus on specific issues (e.g. e-mobility).

6 The discussion resumed later over lunch in the restaurant ‘Tankuma’ specialising in traditional ‘kaiseki’ (懐石) cuisine.

6.2. Presentation by the STOA Vice-Chairman

Mr Correia de Campos held a presentation in the Concurrent Session entitled ‘The Science of Ageing’ (10:20 - 12:20). Following this, Mr Correia de Campos left for a visit to the RIKEN Kobe Institute (15:00 - 17:00), where he visited the Center for Developmental Biology and the Center for Molecular Imaging Science, two of the foremost research institutes in Japan and the world, in their respective areas.

6.3. Presentation by Ms Riera Madurell Ms Riera Madurell held a presentation in the Concurrent Session entitled ‘Security in the Age of ICT’ (14:20 - 16:20). There was a special buffet dinner for forum participants at ‘Kiyomizu Temple’ from 18:30 to 20:30. The STOA Chairman and Vice-Chairman participated in an STS forum Council Meeting held in the restaurant ‘Tsuruya’ (20:00 - 22:00). The main item on the agenda was the discussion and adoption of a statement, which was presented by the STS forum chairman, Koji Omi, in the closing session. Copyright STS forum 2010 6.4. Closing session - STS forum statement

Addressing the closing session of the forum, Chairman Koji Omi, highlighted the main points of the statement adopted by the STS forum Council the previous evening. The statement advocates: 1) Enhanced S&T diplomacy, including increased use of S&T in addition to financial resources; 2) Greater efficiency and a multi-path approach for the provision of clean energy, including nuclear power under strict conditions of nuclear safeguards, safety and security; 3) Promotion of more efficient and humane cities through the use of science and technology and urban planning; 4) Support for agricultural R&D, including GMOs, in order to ease the food supply and demand issues caused by the world's growing population; 5) Full exploration of technologies, such as genomic and regenerative medicine, for a new healthcare system and accelerated progress in preventive medicine;

7 6) A new international system for responding to infectious diseases and a strengthening of health service capacity in the developing countries; 7) Rethinking of the social context for the participation of the elderly as productive citizens; 8) Addressing public concerns over the security, privacy and use of personal data in the context of the future Internet, which opens enormous opportunities; creating an effective ICT infrastructure as a means for redressing disparities among and within nations; 9) The need for significant changes in individual and social behaviour, in addition to science and technology, in order to solve the serious problems of humankind. The 8th meeting of the STS forum will be held in Kyoto on 2-4 October 2011.

Theo KARAPIPERIS Head of Unit