Note for the Attention of the STOA Panel
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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;