2022
34th meeting – 9 June 2022 (via Webex)
The Advisors
- Discussed the ongoing scientific opinion on ‘Strategic crisis management in the EU’ and possible follow-up activities for their scientific opinions ‘Cancer screening’ (published 2 March 2022) and ‘A systemic approach to energy transition in Europe’;
- Exchanged ideas and are ready to begin work on the topic ‘Sustainable food consumption’ (working title) pending a mandate from Commissioner Gabriel (Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth);
- Reported on their recent exchanges with the chair and vice chair of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) and their agreement to strengthen synergies between the two advisory groups, particularly in the field of crisis management;
- Met with Sandrine Dixson-Declève, chair of the Expert Group on the Economic and Societal Impact of Research and Innovation (ESIR) and agreed to further explore areas of common interest and to discuss potential opportunities for collaboration and synergies;
- Met with Antonio Loprieno (Chair of the SAPEA board), Jacek Kolanowski and Moniek Tromp (Chair and Vice Chair of the Young Science Academies), and SAPEA representatives who informed about the progress of their work, exchanged ideas on potential immediate and long-term topics, informed about SAPEA’s staffing situation and its revision of quality guidelines.
Documents
33rd meeting – 2 March 2022 (via Webex)
The Advisors
- Discussed the ongoing scientific opinion on ‘Strategic crisis management in the EU’ and follow-up activities for their scientific opinions ‘Cancer screening’ (published 2 March 2022) and ‘A systemic approach to energy transition in Europe’.
- Exchanged ideas on potential future topics.
- Met with Antonio Loprieno (Chairman of the SAPEA board), Jacek Kolanowski and Moniek Tromp (Chair and Vice Chair of the Young Science Academies), and SAPEA representatives who informed about the progress of their work, exchanged ideas on potential immediate and long-term topics and updated participants on the successful response for the conference on ‘Scientific advice under pressure’ to take place on 27-28 April 2022 in Brussels.
Documents
2021
32nd meeting – 2 December 2021 (via Webex)
The Advisors
- Met with Jean-Eric Paquet (Director-General of DG RTD) and Joanna Drake (Deputy Director-General of DG RTD) and exchanged views on strengths and challenges of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors and possible ways towards an evolution of the scientific advice mechanism.
- Discussed ongoing topics ‘Strategic crisis management in the EU’ and ‘Cancer screening’.
- Exchanged ideas on outreach activities and possible options for engaging with international counterparts.
- Met with Antonio Loprieno (Chairman of the SAPEA board), Moniek Tromp (Vice chair of the Young Science Academies), and SAPEA representatives who informed about the progress of their work and about the conference of the Scientific Advice Mechanism on ‘Scientific advice under pressure’ to take place on 27-28 April 2022 in Brussels.
Documents
31st meeting – 16 September 2021 (via Webex)
The Advisors
- Met with Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, and exchanged ideas on possible avenues for future cooperation on foresight activities.
- Met with Patrick Child, Deputy Director-General of DG RTD, and exchanged views on strengths and challenges of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors and possible ways towards an evolution of the scientific advice mechanism.
- Discussed ongoing topics ‘Strategic crisis management in the EU’ and ‘Cancer screening’.
- Exchanged ideas on outreach activities and possible options for engaging with international counterparts.
- Met with Antonio Loprieno (Chairman of the SAPEA board), Jacek Kolanowski and Moniek Tromp (Chair and vice chair of the Young Science Academies), and SAPEA representatives who informed about the progress of their work and informed participants about its annual conference in April 2022 related to COVID-19 and crises more broadly.
Documents
30th meeting – 14 July 2021 (via Webex)
The Advisors
- Discussed ongoing topics ‘Strategic crisis management in the EU’ and ‘Cancer screening’ and recalled the hand-over of the opinion ‘Energy systems – A systemic approach to energy in Europe’ to Commissioner Gabriel on 29 June 2021.
- Exchanged ideas on outreach activities and synergies including possible modalities for an “alumni network” and for a Roundtable on science advice for policy.
- Met with Tarmo Soomere (chair of the European Science Advisors Forum (ESAF) and President of the Estonian Academy of Science) to exchange views about the work of ESAF and the Advisors’.
- Met with Antonio Loprieno (Chairman of the SAPEA board), Moniek Tromp (Deputy Chair of the Young Science Academies), and SAPEA representatives who informed about the progress of their work and exchanged views about the SAPEA successor grant agreement.
Documents
29th meeting – 11 May 2021 (via Webex)
The Advisors
- Thanked Paul Nurse and Carina Keskitalo, whose mandates end on 15 May 2021, for their invaluable work.
- Welcomed Jacek Kolanowski and Moniek Tromp, current chair and deputy chair of the Young Science Academies (YASAS) as permanent observers to the plenary meetings.
- Elected Nebojsa Nakicenovic as new deputy chair of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors as of 16 May 2021.
- Discussed ongoing topics ‘Energy systems – A systemic approach to energy in Europe’, ‘Strategic crisis management in the EU’ and ‘Cancer screening’.
- Met with SAPEA representatives who informed about the progress of their work and exchanged views about the SAPEA successor grant agreement and about prioritising top-down topics.
- Discussed their role in the science-advice-for-policy ecosystem and possible involvement of former Chief Scientific Advisors in some areas of their work.
Documents
28th meeting – 15-16 March 2021 (via Webex)
The Advisors
- Met with Stephen Quest, Director-General of the Joint Research Centre, and exchanged information about their respective work and ways to further strengthen cooperation.
- Discussed ongoing topics ‘Energy systems - A systemic approach to energy in Europe’; ‘Strategic crisis management in the EU’ and possible future topic ‘Cancer screening’ and ‘5G- Health aspects of electromagnetic fields’.
- Exchanged views on possibilities of synergies within the ecosystem of science advice for policy and of activities on lessons learned for science advice in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
- Met with SAPEA representatives, who informed about the progress and efforts towards transparency and inclusiveness in the identification process of experts and discussed ongoing work on ‘Strategic crisis management in the EU’ and the importance of optimising collaboration by focussing on relevant topics for which there is clear policy need.
Documents
27th meeting – 19 January 2021 (via Webex)
The Advisors
- Discussed ongoing topics ‘Crisis prevention, preparedness, response and resilience’ (working title) ‘A systemic approach to the energy transition in Europe’ and candidate topics: ‘Cancer screening’ and ‘5G’.
- Met with SAPEA representatives, who presented selected chapters of their third periodic report with focus on key performance indicators, communication and outreach as proxies for the impact. SAPEA and the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) expressed particular interest in the work on the topic of ‘Crisis prevention, preparedness, response and resilience’.
Documents
2020
26th meeting – 17-18 November 2020 (via Webex)
The Advisors
- Met with Jean-Eric Paquet, Director-General for Research and Innovation, who thanked the leaving Advisors - Rolf Heuer (former chair), Pearl Dykstra (former deputy chair), Elvira Fortunato and Janusz Bujnicki (former members) - for their excellent work. Mr Paquet also welcomed the three incoming Advisors - Maarja Kruusmaa, Alberto Melloni and Nebojsa Nakicenovic.
- Met with Kestutis Sadauskas, Director for the Circular Economy & Green Growth in Directorate-General for Environment and exchanged information on the scientific opinion on ‘Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment’, delivered to Commissioners Gabriel and Sinkevičius on 14 December 2020.
- Discussed recently delivered, forthcoming opinions, and ongoing work: ‘Improving pandemic preparedness and management’, ‘Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment’,, ‘A systemic approach to the energy transition in Europe’, advice on the wider opinion on ‘Crisis resilience, preparedness and response’ (working title) ‘Transforming the future of ageing’, and possible future topics: ‘Cancer screening’ and ‘5G’.
- Met with Sierd Cloetingh (member of SAPEA board), who presented the SAPEA model for the review of scientific evidence, as well as ideas for an improved model under the framework programme Horizon Europe.
Documents
25th meeting – 24-25 September 2020 (via Webex)
The Advisors
- Met with Sandra Gallina, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety and exchanged information on ongoing and possible future work with focus on their joint scientific advice on ‘Improving pandemic preparedness and management’
- Met with Christiane Woopen and Siobhán O’Sullivan, chair and vice chair of the European Group of Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE); Janusz Bujnicki, expert from the Warsaw International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, and discussed progress of and next steps towards the forthcoming publication of their joint scientific advice on ‘Improving pandemic preparedness and management’, expected in autumn 2020.
- Discussed forthcoming and ongoing topics: ‘Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment’, ‘A systemic approach to the energy transition in Europe’, ‘Transforming the future of ageing’, ‘Improving pandemic preparedness and management’, advice on the wider topic of ‘crisis resilience’ (working title) and possible future topics: ‘Cancer screening’ and ‘5G’.
- Exchanged information with Reinhard Hüttl, Chair of the SAPEA Board, about the academies’ COVID-19 related work, including SAPEA’s possible additional scientific services and progress with the abovementioned ongoing and candidate topics
Documents
24th meeting – 10 June (via Webex)
The Advisors
- Met Peter Piot, special advisor to EC President Ursula von der Leyen; Christiane Woopen, chair of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) and Janusz Bujnicki, member of the Group on prevention, counteracting and combating COVID-19 in the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education and discussed their forthcoming statement on scientific advice to European policy makers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Adopted their opinion on ‘Adaptation to health effects of climate change in Europe’ and discussed ongoing topics ‘Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment’ and ‘A systemic approach to the energy transition in Europe’.
- Exchanged information with Reinhard Hüttl, Chair of the SAPEA Board, about the academies’ COVID-19 related work and progress with the abovementioned ongoing topics.
Documents
23rd meeting – 11-12 May 2020 (via Webex)
The Advisors
- Welcomed incoming member of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors, Eva Kondorosi, Research Director, Institute of Plant Biology, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre of Excellence, as of 16 May.
- Thanked Janusz Bujnicki for his work as member of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors and welcomed his continued work as an invited expert.
- Met Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans and exchanged information about their activities in providing scientific advice to the European Green Deal.
- Met Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel and Professor Peter Piot, special advisor to EC President Ursula von der Leyen, informed about their published and ongoing scientific advice and exchanged ideas on future collaboration with Professor Piot in support of exit and recovery from the present COVID-19 crisis.
- Met Director-General Jean-Eric Paquet and exchanged information about current research and innovation activities related to COVID-19 and future collaboration with Peter Piot.
- Discussed forthcoming and ongoing topics ‘Adaptation to climate change-related health effects’, Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment’, ‘A systemic approach to the energy transition in Europe’ and COVID-19 including the forthcoming Statement on scientific advice to European policy makers during the OCVID-19 pandemic.
- Exchanged information with Reinhard Hüttl, Chair of the SAPEA Board, about the academies’ COVID-19 related work and progress with the abovementioned ongoing topics.
Documents
22nd meeting – 18 March 2020 (via Webex)
The Advisors
- Discussed ongoing and forthcoming topics ‘Towards a Sustainable Food System’, ‘Climate Change and Health’ ,‘Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment’ ,‘A systemic approach to the energy transition in Europe’.
- Exchanged information with Reinhard Hüttl, Chair of the SAPEA Board, who informed the meeting about SAPEA’s outreach activities and the Young Academies’ interest in contributing to the Scientific Advice Mechanism.
- Recalled the co-ordinated Coronavirus response by the European Commission, Member States, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The Advisors welcomed the establishment of a scientific advisory panel to the Commission and noted that though the Advisors’ role is not to provide scientific advice during epi-/pandemics, they are ready to contribute to subsequent analysis and considerations of proactive future measures. The Advisors expressed strong support for global initiatives to make coronavirus and COVID-19 related publications and supporting data immediately accessible to support the ongoing public health emergency response efforts, and in the spirit of EU open access policy.
Documents
21st meeting – 3-5 February 2020
The Advisors
- Discussed ongoing and forthcoming topics, including A systemic approach to energy in Europe, Towards a sustainable EU food system, Transforming the future of Ageing, Climate change and health and Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment.
- Met Reinhard Hüttl, Chair of the SAPEA Board, and discussed SAPEA’s strengthening of their relationship with the European and national young academies.
Documents
2019
20th meeting – 10-11 December 2019
The advisors
- presented their draft-final 4-year report describing their achievements to Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel and Vice-President for Inter-institutional Relations and Foresight, Maroš Šefčovič.
- informed the Commissioner and Vice-President about ongoing and planned topics, and discussed areas for further co-operation.
- exchanged information on on-going and future work with MEP Eva Kaili, Chair of the Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) Panel
- adopted the scoping paper: ‘Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment’
Documents
19th meeting – 24-25 September 2019
The advisors
- delivered their scientific opinion Scientific advice to European policy in a complex world to Commissioner Moedas (Research, Science and Innovation) and discussed with him ongoing and future topics
- took stock of candidate topics about biodegradable plastics, data governance, and energy
- confirmed the candidate topic Climate Change and Health and discussed it along with Towards an EU Sustainable Food System and Transforming the Future of Ageing
- welcomed Sierd Cloetingh (President of Academia Europaea and Chair of the SAPEA Board) with the SAPEA Evidence Review Report Transforming the Future of Ageing
Documents
18th meeting – 14-15 May 2019
The advisors met
- Carlos Moedas (Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation) and Vladimir Šucha (Director-General for Joint Research Centre) to discuss the forthcoming report Making Sense of Science for Policy under Conditions of Complexity and Uncertainty as well as the JRC’s report 'Understanding our Political Nature'
- Sir Patrick Vallance (Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Government) and exchanged views and experience on scientific advice
- Anne Bucher (Director-General for Health and Food Safety) to discuss Plant Protection Products and New Techniques in Agricultural Biotechnology
- Sir Andrew Haines (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Professor of Environmental Change and Public Health) who presented the recent EASAC report 'The imperative of climate action to protect human health in Europe' in the context of the advisors’ planned work on Climate Change and Health
- Sierd Cloetingh (President of Academia Europaea and Chair of the SAPEA Board)
Documents
17th meeting – 22-23 March 2019
The advisors
- presented a preview of the final scientific opinion on Microplastics to Karmenu Vella (Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries)
- took stock of the candidate topics Climate Change and Health, and of the ongoing topics Towards an EU Sustainable Food System, Transforming the Future of Ageing and Making Sense of Science Under Conditions of Complexity and Uncertainty
- discussed the impact of their opinion on Cybersecurity with Roberto Viola (Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology)
- examined possibilities for cooperation with the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER)
Documents
16th meeting – 12-13 January 2019
The advisors
- met Dr Mona Nemer (Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government of Canada). She participated in the discussions on Environmental and Health Risks of Microplastic Pollution, and the preparations of the upcoming G7 roundtable on microplastics (13 February 2019, Washington)
- decided to establish a scientific opinion on Transforming the Future of Ageing
- agreed on the scoping paper for the topic Towards an EU Sustainable Food System
- took note of follow-up of the published scientific opinion Authorisation Processes of Plant Protection Products in Europe
- discussed ongoing work on Making Sense of Science under Conditions of Complexity and Uncertainty, the candidate topic Climate Change and Health and possible follow-up activities related to their statement on gene editing
Documents
2018
15th meeting – 4-5 December 2018
The advisors
- welcomed Commissioners Phil Hogan (Agriculture and Rural Development and Research) and Carlos Moedas (Research, Science and Innovation) to discuss the topic Sustainable Food Systems
- discussed their ongoing work on Microplastic Pollution, including the forthcoming session at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting, February 2019, and a meeting organised with the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Canadian Government, Mona Nemer, Scientific Advice Cooperation on Micro-plastics Pollution
- Met a representative of the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries on the continuing impact of the scientific opinion Food from the Oceans
Documents
14th meeting – 10-11 October 2018
The advisors
- met Vladimir Šucha (Director-General for Joint Research Centre) to discuss the ongoing topic Making Sense of Science under Conditions of Complexity and Uncertainty
- discussed the statement on gene editing with Anne Bucher (Director-General for Health and Food Safety)
- discussed potential scientific advice on Sustainable Food Systems and the work following the publication of their opinion on Microplastic Pollution
Documents
13th meeting – 9-10 July 2018
The advisors
- welcomed Nicole Grobert to the group as replacement for Cédric Villani. She was appointed by Commissioner Carlos Moedas in April 2018.
- discussed potential own-initiative topics, including Micro and Nano Plastics and Sustainable Food Systems
- took stock of ongoing topics and discussed follow-up of published scientific opinions Novel Carbon Capture and Utilisation Technologies and Authorisation Processes of Plant Protection Products in Europe
Documents
12th meeting – 27 April 2018
The advisors
- exchanged views with Jean-Eric Paquet (Director-General for Research and Innovation) on the work of the group
- presented a close-to-final scientific opinion Novel Carbon Capture and Utilisation Technologies to representatives of the Commission Directorate General for Climate Action and the cabinet of Miguel Arias Cañete (Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy)
- discussed progress on the scoping papers, Making Sense of Science under Conditions of Complexity and Uncertainty and Transforming the Future of Ageing
- took stock of preparatory work in relation to Micro and Nano Plastic Pollution
- took note of the European Court of Justice’s ruling concerning new techniques of mutagenesis in relation to their explanatory note on New Techniques in Agricultural Biotechnology
Documents
11th meeting – 31 January 2018
The advisors
- provided an update on progress with the opinion on Authorisation Processes of Plant Protection Products in Europe to the Commissioners Carlos Moedas (Research, Science and Innovation) and Vytenis Andriukaitis (Health and Food Safety)
- discussed progress on the Novel Carbon Capture and Utilisation Technologies topic with representatives from SAPEA
- planned their participation in July 2018's European Science Open Forum (ESOF), where they will hold a joint session with the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies
- proposed to work on a scientific opinion about how to provide good science advice to policymakers.
Documents
2017
10th meeting – 30 November 2017
The advisors
- delivered their scientific opinion Food from the Oceans to Carlos Moedas (Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation) and Karmenu Vella (for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries)
- formally received the first SAPEA Evidence Review Report from SAPEA, which informed the scientific opinion onFood from the Oceans
- discussed progress with SAPEA representatives on Carbon Capture and Utilisation Technologies and Authorisation Processes of Plant Protection Products in Europe
- presented the draft scoping papers for two possible own-initiative topics on the use of evidence for science advice to policy, and health in an ageing society
Documents
9th meeting – 5 September 2017
The advisors
- discussed progress with ongoing topics Food from the Oceans, Authorisation Processes of Plant Protection Products in Europe and Novel Carbon Capture and Utilisation Technologies
- Followed-up their scientific opinion on Closing the gap between light duty vehicle real-world CO2 emissions and laboratory testing
- Exchanged views on areas of common interest with the European Commission’s Regulatory Scrutiny Board and European Parliament’s Science and Technology Options Assessment Bureau.
Documents
8th meeting – 27-28 June 2017
The advisors
- met representatives of the SAPEA Consortium to discuss ongoing topics Food from the Oceans and Authorisation Processes of Plant Protection Products in Europe
- adopted a scoping paper on Carbon Capture and Utilisation Technologies
Documents
7th meeting – 23-24 March 2017
The advisors
- delivered the scientific opinion on Cybersecurity in the European Digital Single Market to Carlos Moedas (Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation)
- welcomed Karmenu Vella (Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) to discuss their ongoing work on Food from the Oceans
- adopted a scoping paper on Authorisation of Plant Protection Products in Europe, a request from Vytenis Andriukaitis (Commissioner for Health and Food Safety).
Documents
6th meeting – 30-31 January 2017
The advisors presented draft findings from their work on Cybersecurity in the European Digital Single Marketto Commissioner Carlos Moedas and Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip, responsible for the Digital Single Market.
Documents
2016
5th meeting – 24-25 November 2016
During the meeting, the advisors approved scoping papers on 2 new topics: Food from the Oceans and New Techniques in Agricultural Biotechnology.
Documents
4th meeting – 28 September 2016
The advisors discussed ongoing topics concerning vehicular CO2 emissions measurement and cybersecurity, together with new possible topics.
Documents
3rd meeting – 25 July 2016
The advisors discussed
- progress on the 2ongoing topics closing the gap between light duty vehicle real-drive CO2 emissions and laboratory testing and Cybersecurity in the European Single Market
- requests received from Vytenis Andriukaitis (Commissioner for Health and Food Safety) for scientific advice on the forthcoming evaluation of pesticides legislation and for an explanatory note on new breeding techniques
Documents
2nd meeting – 17 March 2016
The advisors
- discussed their first two topics closing the gap between light duty vehicle real-drive CO2 emissions and laboratory testing and Cybersecurity in the European Single Market
- welcomed Commissioners Moedas (Research, Science and Innovation) and Navracsics (Education, Culture, Youth and Sport), together with the presidents of five European Networks of Academies Euro-CASE, EASAC, ALLEA, FEAM, Academia Europaea)
Documents
1st meeting – 29 January 2016
During the meeting, the 7 leading scientists who form the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors
- met Carlos Moedas (Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation) and Andrus Ansip (Commission's Vice-President for the Digital Single Market)
- agreed that cybersecurity would be one subject for the group's scientific advice
- decided to examine CO2 emissions from cars, specifically to explore future policies regulating the measurement of CO2 to better reflect normal driving conditions