Scientific and technological exchanges between Europe and Japan - Follow-up to the 6th Parliamentary and Scientific Conference (Tokyo-Tsukuba, 3-6 June 1985)
Recommendation 1028
(1986)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 31 January 1986 (28th Sitting) (see Doc. 5510, report, of the Committee on Science and Technology). Text adopted by the Assembly on 31 January 1986 (28th Sitting).
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
1. Having further examined the conclusions of the 6th Parliamentary and Scientific Conference (appendix to Order No. 427 (1985)), notably in the light of the Council of Europe Panel on Europe-Japan Relations (Strasbourg 1982) ;
3. Accepting the view of the 6th Conference that world political stability and the health of the world economy depend — subject to balanced world development and constructive North-South dialogue — on the vitality of exchanges in trade and technology on all three sides of the great trilateral system which links the societies of Western Europe to those of North America and of Japan and the Pacific basin ;
4. Considering that Japan-Europe is by far the weakest link in this system, and that efforts to expand trade and to redress trade imbalances by the governments of Western Europe and Japan should be matched by preferential measures, agreements, exchanges and projects in technology and research ;
5. Persuaded that such action would be in the longer-term interest of all the trading partners of the OECD area, and indeed beyond — balanced flows of trade in times of rapid technological change being only sustainable in the medium term on the foundations of balanced exchanges in technology ;
6. Noting that by the start of the present decade Japan had already become the world's third-largest centre of technological development, and is accordingly regarded today in many parts of the world as a source of possible inspiration for the blending of high technology and longstanding cultural traditions ;
7. Believing that Japan and Europe share many of the same perceptions and have a common geopolitical interest :
7.1 in strengthening their autonomy of action in a world heavily influenced by the state of relations between the two superpowers ;
7.2 in sustaining an open international trading system against the threats (internal as well as external) of protectionism, of technological nationalism and isolationism ;
7.3 in access to raw materials, in energy policy, in the stability of East-West relations and in meeting the deep needs of the developing countries ;
7.4 in directing science and technology to environmental problems, both for protective measures and for a better understanding of the functioning of ecological systems ;
7.5 in preserving and renewing their respective cultural heritages in response to scientific and technological advance ;
8. Noting further that Japan and Europe share common concerns in regard to the implications of science and technology for democracy and human rights :
8.1 on how best to arrange for advice and information to groups of parliamentarians having to prepare decisions on issues with a high scientific and technological content ;
8.2 on how best to exploit the new technologies of communication and information so as to achieve a reasonable balance between, on the one hand, representative democracy at the level of national parliamentary institutions and, on the other, more immediate modes of public consultation and participation in the decision processes of governments and of regional and local authorities ;
8.3 on what criteria to observe in seeking to derive benefits from advances in genetic science, in embryology and in understanding of the human brain, while ensuring respect for the private sphere and autonomy of the individual person ;
9. Wishing to direct attention to the views expressed at the 6th Conference that advances in specific branches of physics and mathematics, and their application in other disciplines, would seem to be giving rise to a new conception of the nature of scientific understanding of the universe — a conception which opens new horizons for dialogue, mutual understanding and convergent development between the civilisations of East and West,
10. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe :
a convey to the Japanese Government its acknowledgement of the role played by Japan in ensuring the success of the 6th Parliamentary and Scientific Conference, together with the text of this recommendation ;
b develop exchanges with the Japanese Government on specific items of the programme of work being dealt with by its Steering Committee on the Mass Media and its ad hoc Committee on Progress in the Biomedical Sciences ;
c devise special funding mechanisms — in partnership with the Japanese Government, the Commission of the European Communities, the European Science Foundation and the Standing Conference on University Problems — so as partially to offset the burden which would otherwise fall on research councils, scientific academies and engineering institutions in taking steps to improve the two-way flow of scientists, scholars and students between Western Europe and Japan ;
d invite the Japanese Government and those governments of its member states which are taking part in the work of the European Space Agency to take advantage of the opportunities for enhanced technological interchange which should arise from their combined participations in the United States Manned Space Station Project ;
e instruct its Council for Cultural Co-operation :
10.5.1 to pursue its important work of expanding educational and cultural contacts with Japan ;
10.5.2 to address itself to the problem of renewing the methods of teaching of science and technology in the societies of Western Europe, and — in the light of the considerations set forth in paragraph 9 of this recommendation — to the related need for projecting a more realistic image in the public mind of the nature of science as an integral part of Europe's cultural heritage.
