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STOAScience and Technology Options Assessment

STOA Panel meetingThursday, 14 June 2018, 09:25 10:45

Room LOW N1.4, Strasbourg

Minutes

The meeting started at 09:26 with Eva KAILI, MEP and STOA Chair, in the chair.

1. Adoption of the draft agenda (PE 614.553) The Chair stated that interpretation would be temporarily disrupted due to industrial action by the interpreters. The Chair also announced that the draft agenda was in the dossier and proposed that the following items be

added: ‘6.2a. STOA workshop on ‘Socially disruptive technologies’, 6 February 2019, EP, Brussels’ and‘7.4a. STOA delegation to Jordan, 28 October - 1 November 2018. She finally announced that, as there wereno requests for further changes, the agenda was deemed adopted with this addition.

2. Approval of draft minutes - STOA Panel meeting of 19 April 2018‒ The Chair announced that the draft minutes of the Panel meeting of 19 April 2018 were in the dossier and, as

there were no requests for changes, they were deemed approved.

3. Ongoing and new STOA projects The Chair informed Members that all ongoing STOA projects were running to schedule. She stressed that the STOA workshop ‘EIT’s role in strengthening EU innovation’ had taken place on 5 June

2018 at the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels, and that a blog post would be published soon. She then announced that a number of the short-term projects approved by the Panel in March 2018 were being

launched and would be completed by the end of 2018: ‘Technology and social polarisation’, ‘Technologicalresponses to the advent of fake news’ (Lead Panel Member for both was María Teresa GIMÉNEZ BARBAT,MEP) and a new short-term project exploring the relationship between technology and artistic activities.

The Chair announced that, as there were no objections, the projects would be implemented along these lines.

4. MEP-Scientist Pairing Scheme 2018 The Chair announced to the Panel that the seventh edition of the MEP-Scientist Pairing Scheme had recently

been launched, involving a total number of 55 scientists. The Chair invited Members, if interested, to take part in the scheme. Conversely, as scientists showed interest

in contacting MEPs directly to offer them to ‘pair’, they would be encouraged to do so. She further announcedthat the ‘Brussels week’ of the Pairing Scheme would take place from 20 to 22 November 2018. The Chair announced that, as there were no objections, the preparations would proceed along these lines.

5. European Science Media Hub The Chair referred Members to the documents in the dossier, and reported that the second meeting of the Inter-

Institutional Advisory Board accompanying the European Science-Media Hub (ESMH) had taken place on 16May 2018. Board members were informed about the forthcoming actions of the ESMH and listened topresentations on Science Media Center Germany and the media monitoring tool of the Joint Research Centre.

The Chair announced that the ESMH kick-off event ‘Communicating science via social media’, was scheduledto take place on 27 June 2018 and would be discussed in more detail under agenda item 6.2. The Chair also announced the event on algorithms, big data and elections would be co-organised by

ESMH/STOA and the Parliament’s DG COMM on 6-7 November 2018 in Brussels.

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6. STOA workshops and joint activities with external organisations6.1. Forthcoming events

‒ The Chair referred Members to the table of forthcoming events included in the dossier.

6.2. ESMH kick-off event ‘Communicating science via social media’, 27 June 2018, EP, Brussels The Chair reported that the event would be by invitation only, and would feature around 50 participants. She then outlined the aim of the event, which was to present and promote the activities and goals of the ESMH

and to carry out a debate on new trends in ‘communicating science’. The Chair announced that, if there were no objections, preparations would proceed as described, in cooperation

with the STOA Chair, including the use of the STOA and ESMH budget lines to invite speakers and selectedparticipants, and to finance the networking cocktail.

6.3 STOA workshop on ‘Socially disruptive technologies’, 6 February 2019, EP, Brussels The Chair discussed that the workshop responds to a proposal by Jens GEIER, MEP, approved by the Panel,

and would examine different practical approaches to managing the public acceptability of disruptivetechnologies (decarbonisation technologies, particularly for mobility and energy).

The Chair suggested that a small contract should be set up to produce a review of approaches to managing thepublic acceptability of disruptive technologies.

The Chair announced that, as there were no objections, work on the workshop would continue along the linesindicated, including commissioning the review, to be published before the event.

7. Visits/External Activities7.1. STOA participation in ESOF1 2018, 11-14 July 2018, Toulouse

The Chair announced that three Panel members were confirmed to participate in this delegation: First Vice-Chair Paul RÜBIG (12-14 July), María Teresa GIMÉNEZ BARBAT (11-13 July) and DanutaJAZŁOWIECKA (11-13 July).

The Chair mentioned that Ms GIMÉNEZ BARBAT would participate in a session entitled ‘Is it possible todefine European values in discussions of ethics of science and new technologies?’

The Chair noted that there was room for a fourth Member to join the delegation. Interested Members shouldliaise with the Secretariat and confirm their dates (maximum of three days, between 9 and 14 July).

The Chair announced that, if there were no objections, the STOA Secretariat would proceed with theorganisation of the delegation in close cooperation with the participating Members.

7.2. STOA delegation to the European GNSS2 Agency (GSA), 20-21 September 2018, Prague The Chair announced that the delegation visit would take place on 20 and 21 September 2018, instead of the

tentatively planned 17 to 19 September 2018.The Bureau had authorised up to three Panel members to jointhis delegation. Members interested in this visit should contact the Secretariat without delay.

The Chair announced that, if there were no objections, the STOA Secretariat would proceed with theorganisation of the delegation in close cooperation with the participating Members.

7.3. STOA delegation to China (including participation in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of theNew Champions, Tianjin), 17-21 September 2018

The Chair announced that a STOA delegation has been authorised for up to three Panel members. Four haveexpressed an interest: Eva KAILI, Paul RÜBIG, Claudia SCHMIDT and Danuta JAZŁOWIECKA. Sherequested interested Members to confirm their participation as soon as possible.

The Chair informed Members that a draft delegation programme was in preparation and that, due to thechange in both the dates and scope, an updated letter would be sent by the Chair to the EP President.

The Chair announced that, as there were are no objections, the Secretariat would continue with the organisationin cooperation with the participating Members, and she would update the President on the changes made.

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7.4. STOA delegation to InnovEIT, 4 October 2018, Budapest The Chair announced that a STOA delegation was authorised for up to three Panel members at a time when

the precise date was unknown. Two Panel members had expressed an interest in participating in thisdelegation: STOA Chair Eva KAILI and First Vice-Chair Paul RÜBIG.

She then informed Members that, since the final date of the event overlapped with a plenary session (OctoberI), the EIT3 would pay special attention to the participating Members’ travel schedules when planning theirspeaking slots. Moreover, an update letter would be sent by the Chair to the EP President.

The Chair announced that, as there were no objections, the Secretariat would continue with the organisation incooperation with the participating Members, and she would update the President on the changes made.

7.5. STOA delegation to Jordan, 28 October - 1 November 2019 The Chair announced that a STOA delegation was authorised for up to three Panel members. Two Members

had expressed an interest: Eva KAILI and Paul RÜBIG. However, the timing of the visit, as originallyplanned, was no longer appropriate.

The Chair announced that, as there were no objections, she would inform the President that STOA would preferto postpone this delegation to a later time.

8. Presentation of the outcomes of the Technology Assessment study ‘Technological Innovations in the Fieldof Offshore Gas Operations in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Environment and Safety Considerations’

The Chair welcomed Nestor FYLAKTOS, project leader, who would present the interim results of the study,and the Director of the Cyprus Institute, Professor Costas PAPANICOLAS, for an introduction.

Mr PAPANICOLAS took the floor and introduced the Cyprus Institute (CyI). He presented figures onCyprus’ leading position in the use of EU funding (Horizon 2020 and FP7) per researcher and facilities(EEWRC4, PROTEAS5 and Cy-Tera, the high-performance computing facility for Cyprus).

He summarised the goal of the study as follows: To assess risks and technologies for Eastern Mediterraneanoffshore gas exploration and to propose policies for mitigating the risks. He stated that this ‘meta-study’ didnot provide an analysis of difficulties in implementation, a comparative analysis of competing technologies,cost estimates for implementation of various proposed policies or a time estimate for implementation.

Taking the floor, Mr FYLAKTOS thanked the Panel and summarised the key points to be covered in thepresentation: the study scope and limitations, searching for hydrocarbons in the region, the risk frameworkused, technological innovations and policy recommendations.

He explained that the scope of the project strictly concerned upstream operations and explained that thewaters in the region suffered from low nutrient availability and primary production, due to lack of freshwater. He further explained that, in spite of this, the Mediterranean had a high level of biodiversity that wasunder threat from the high population density and industrial infrastructure in the region.

He then presented the three main stages of upstream gas extraction operations: identification and preparation(licensing, gravimetric and seismic surveys, marine transport), well design and construction (rig installation,well drilling and completion) and production (platform installation and operations).

He went on to present risk factors of the various phases focusing on the platform operations phase (dischargesto sea, planned flaring or venting of gas, release of greenhouse gases (GHG), discharges to sea) and the latesttechnological developments in this domain (data mining and machine learning to perform analysis, e.g. rateof flow and temperature, on larger sets of data, remote operation centres, industrial Internet of Things).

He then presented the three groups into which the study’s policy options were placed: direct improvementsof Environment, Health and Safety (EHS), Data Sharing and Collaboration and GHG emissions.

He suggested an agreed test protocol for BOP6 stacks and environmental assessment that would comply withDirective 2013/30/EU and would be extended to the rest of the Eastern Mediterranean, to ensure compliancewith the same standards. He proposed a comprehensive environmental profiling of the area prior to drilling.

3 European Institute of Innovation & Technology4 Energy, Environment and Water Research Center5 Platform for Research, Observation and Technological Applications in Solar energy6 Blowout preventer

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Addressing the issue of data sharing, he proposed that open-access platforms should be established, arguingthat this would be a necessary step towards improving efficiency and lowering costs.

He then proposed the creation of a multidisciplinary policy and technology centre in the region, as currentlypolicy advice on EHS issues is not coordinated and some states lack expertise.

He went on to address the issue of GHG emissions and proposed a charge on production companies to fundgas interconnection infrastructure, as physical energy systems were mostly isolated.

As potential barriers to the study’s proposals he mentioned: lack of cooperation between countries andcompanies, political and legislative differences in the region that could be difficult to harmonise, and theculture of secrecy of oil and gas companies.

-He finally summarised the study’s conclusions and thanked the Panel. The Chair thanked the speakers, gave the floor to Neoklis SYLIKIOTIS, MEP and Lead Panel Member for

this project, and thanked him for proposing the study. Mr SYLIKIOTIS thanked Mr PAPANICOLAS and Mr FYLAKTOS for their high quality work. He stated

that the recent discovery of natural gas in the economic zone of Cyprus offered promising prospects for thereinforcement of the energy supply of the EU, however, that extraction activities were complicated and risky,given the geological, environmental and geopolitical challenges.

He then enquired whether oil companies of the European Union (EU) Member States systematically appliedEU rules on offshore safety extraction when drilling in non-European zones of the region, especially in theIsraeli economic zone and reiterated the importance of the study.

Christian SCHWARCK, a representative of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP),took the floor and stated that the Offshore Safety Directive (OSD) was due to go under review this year andthat companies themselves would have to assess risks and propose the most effective techniques to reducethose risks. He explained that the IOGP did not believe in a ‘tick-box procedure’ of prescriptive mitigationmeasures, as accidents were more likely. He urged countries in the region to join Cyprus in its very activeparticipation in the implementation of the OSD. He mentioned that Israel, Lebanon and Egypt attendedyearly meetings of the EU Offshore Authorities Group and that a new EU initiative was in place led byEuropean Commission’s DG Environment, the Hydrocarbons BAT7 Guidance Document, for thedevelopment of the best techniques for a range of offshore environmental issues. He informed the Panel thatthe first draft had been published and that an EU-wide consultation was underway. He suggested that allstakeholders in offshore safety should have a look at the document and send their input to the Commission.

He further questioned the need to broaden the scope of a typical environmental impact assessment to coverthe entire Eastern Mediterranean as legislation was location-specific. He requested clarification on why suchan initiative would be of importance and how the researchers would go about encouraging greaterparticipation from non-EU countries in offshore safety.

Mr PAPANICOLAS noted, in his view, the need for a harmonised assessment strategy was obvious, giventhat there were countries that did not communicate with each other in the region and that reports were oftennot shared. He explained that, beyond the scope of offshore drilling, climate impact and technologicalintrusions needed to also be discussed.

Mr SYLIKIOTIS took the floor and suggested that Cyprus, as an EU Member State, could play a specialrole in establishing broader cooperation and that, using its knowledge on technology and data, it couldestablish a regional agreement equivalent to that of the countries of the North Sea.

The Chair took the floor and asked whether the researchers had any indication of the number of dangerousand non-dangerous platforms in the Mediterranean.

Mr FYLAKTOS answered that it was difficult to quantify this. He stated that, in his view, facilities neededto be reviewed. He further explained that, although the oil and gas industry had come a long way, challengeshad increased as drilling was taking place in deeper waters within more challenging environments.Moreover, he mentioned that unconventional drilling operations were again becoming mainstream in otherparts of the world (shale gas, tight gas).

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The Chair took the floor and announced that, if there were no objections, the study would be finalised takinginto account the comments made by Members and it would then be published on the STOA website and widelydistributed within and outside the Parliament.

9. Other business The Chair proposed that the STOA Panel’s formal name be changed from the current ‘Science and

Technology Options Assessment Panel’ into ‘Panel for the Future of Science and Technology’, which wouldbetter reflect its role and aspirations, as they had evolved in recent years. Moreover, the proposed new namewould be more comprehensible from the science-media point of view, and easier to understand for academia,journalists and policy-makers. The Panel endorsed the proposal.

The Chair then drew Members’ attention to the fact that the STOA Annual Report 2017 had been distributedin the meeting. She announced that, as there were no objections, the report would be sent to the EP Bureau, andwould also be posted on the STOA website and widely distributed within and beyond the EP.

10. Date and Place of Next Meeting The Chair announced that the next Panel meeting was scheduled for Thursday, 5 July 2018, at 9:15 a.m. in

the same room (LOW N1.4). She then noted that this meeting would feature a presentation of the outcomes of the Technology Assessment

study ‘Technological innovation for humanitarian aid and assistance to the most vulnerable people’.

The meeting closed at 10:44.

ANNEXList of participants

STOA Panel membersMs Kaili, Mr Rübig, Mr Ehler, Ms Jazlowiecka, Ms Schmidt, Ms Swinburne, Mr Sylikiotis.

Other MembersMr Buchner, Mr Marvrides, Mr Papadakis.

Scientific Foresight Unit (STOA)Mr Karapiperis, Mr Pataki, Mr Kritikos, Ms Tanova, Mr Plese.

Other participantsMr Hiller (DG EPRS), Ms Ecker (Assistant to Mr Rübig), Ms Michail (Assistant to Mr Sylikiotis), Ms Laing(Assistant to Ms Moody), Mr Tziapouras (Assistant to Mr Hadjigeorgiou), Mr Ide-Kostic (LIBE Secretariat),Mr Kalburov (JRC), Mr Corsi (European Patent Office), Mr Ioannides (Permanent Representation of Cyprus),Mr Odysseos (Permanent Representation of Cyprus), Mr Seltz (EuroScience), Mr Schwarck (IOGP).