STOA: THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT UNIT

Dick Holdsworth, Head of Unit, STOA

1. The organisation and role of STOA

The European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council are the institutions primarily involved in making policy and legislation in the European Union. One of the main roles of the EP is to scrutinise legislative proposals put forward by the Commission, and where necessary to propose amendments to them.

An increasing proportion of EU legislative proposals concern science or technology, or the impact of science and technology on society, the economy and the environment. To scrutinise policy options in such areas, where the debate may turn on complex technical issues, the Parliament needs to have access to sources of independent, expert advice.

That is why STOA was launched in 1987. The initials stand for 'Scientific and Technological Options Assessment'. STOA is now an official organ of the European Parliament. At the political level, it is supervised by the STOA Panel, which is comprised of one Member of the EP from each of the 20 parliamentary committees. The current Chairman of the STOA Panel is Professor Alain Pompidou, MEP, Member of the Committee on Research, Technological Development and Energy.

The Panel adopts an annual Workplan comprised of projects proposed by the Committees of the EP. The Workplan is executed by a Unit working in the Directorate-General for Research of the EP. The STOA Unit executes the projects in partnership with outside contractors and other partners, who may be universities, research institutes, laboratories, consultancies and individual researchers.

The projects referred to STOA since 1987 have covered a wide range of topics. Examples include: The future of the car, The disposal of hazardous waste, Biodiversity in Europe, Telematics in transport, Renewable energies, Nanotechnology.

In 1995 STOA undertook a major project on the Information Society, the results of which are just becoming available.

2. STOA and the Mediterranean

Members and Committees of the EP have emphasised their concern for Mediterranean issues by asking STOA to do a number of projects on issues relevant to the region. These have included the following:

	Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea
	Desertification and water resources
	Evaluation of scientific research concerning health in the southern EU
	Sustainable development in the Mediterranean region: the challenges and the policy instruments
	Forest fires
	The EU water quality directives.

In executing the project on Mediterranean pollution, STOA invited the participation of Mediterranean countries not Member States of the European Union. It held a Workshop on the subject in Cairo in November, 1992.

3. STOA and external cooperation

STOA enjoys good cooperation with a range of external partners, including international organisations such as the World Health Organisation. In 1995 it began a successful cooperation with the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies in Sevilla, which is part of the EU's Joint Research Centre.

STOA is also a member of the European Parliamentary Technology Assessment network, which links it with similar parliamentary TA bodies from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Netherlands. Apart from France, EPTA has not yet acquired member organisations in Mediterranean countries.

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