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European Parliament Plenary Session – September 2020
While Parliament and its Members were hopeful that the plenary session would return to Strasbourg this month, the significantly higher Covid‑19 health risks for the local population as well as Members and staff mean that the 14-17 September 2020 session will take place in Brussels. Continue reading
What is the European Union doing to protect air passenger rights?
The European Union (EU) has legislation in place to protect our rights when travelling by plane. The European Parliament has advocated a higher level of protection for many years, and in the context of the Covid‑19 pandemic, the European Commission has taken steps to ensure air passengers’ rights remain protected. Continue reading
Citizens’ enquiries on the conversion of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque
As early as 2019, the European Parliament opposed plans to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque. Furthermore, the European Parliament has repeatedly called for accession negotiations with Turkey to be suspended as a result of other matters related in particular to the situation of democracy and the rule of law in Turkey. Continue reading
Mapping the AI ethics initiatives terrain
While artificial intelligence (AI) applications are numerous, AI creates novel ethical challenges that threaten both users and non-users of the technology, including exacerbating existing inequalities and generating discrimination and bias. Continue reading
Digital contact tracing: Call for a stronger EU-wide approach
There is no trade-off between privacy and health in the context of contact tracing applications as, without citizens’ trust, no technology can deliver the expected outcomes. Continue reading
A crossroads of disciplines: How nanotechnology is revolutionising medicine
Nanotechnology, making it possible to manipulate matter on a ‘nano’ scale, emerged in the early 1980s. More recently, nanotechnology has become the intersection at which several scientific disciplines converge. Continue reading
From AI to zero-waste life – An A-Z of EPRS resources on 35 policy topics
It is often difficult to find brief and accessible analysis of today’s burning European Union policy issues among the enormous amount of material available. Continue reading
European Parliament Plenary Session – July 2020
The agenda for the July session – the last regular session before the summer, and likely the last in Brussels, with Parliament planning for a return to Strasbourg in September – opens with Council and European Commission statements. Continue reading
Artificial intelligence is revolutionising our future: opportunities and challenges
Artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to impact the future of almost every industry and all our lives. This is why it is highly important to keep Members of the European Parliament informed about the latest developments, as well as the challenges and long-term impacts of this technology. Continue reading
GDPR and AI: making sense of a complex relationship
The development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) tools should take place in a socio-technical framework where individual interests and the social good are preserved but also opportunities for social knowledge and better governance are enhanced without leading to the extremes of ‘surveillance capitalism’ and ‘surveillance state’. Continue reading
Artificial intelligence: From ethics to policy
The public service revolution expected from the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) simultaneously promises positive change and threatens negative societal impacts – we only need to mention ‘predictive policing’ to comprehend the potential for both service efficiencies and unintended consequences. Continue reading
New STOA study on artificial intelligence: How does it work, why does it matter and what can we do about it?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is probably the defining technology of the last decade, and perhaps also the next. Continue reading
75 years since the signature of the United Nations Charter
On 26 June 2020, the world marks 75 years since the United Nations Charter was signed by the 50 states attending the intergovernmental conference in San Francisco that opened in April 1945, as the war entered its final phase. Continue reading
Apply for a Robert Schuman traineeship in the EPRS
Written by Alec Vuijlsteke with Lisa Pschorn. If you hold a university degree you can still apply for a Robert Schuman traineeship in the European Parliament. The deadline is 30 June for a traineeship to start on 1 October. A paid traineeships will enhance your education and your vocational training. It will provide you with … Continue reading
STOA roundtable on digital sovereign identity
In the digital age, citizens need to manage a range of online identities that are linked to their offline identity. Continue reading
European Parliament Plenary Session – June 2020
It is (almost) back to ‘business as usual’ as Parliament meets again in plenary from Wednesday 17 to Friday 19 June 2020. Members will deal with a full agenda, including up to three voting sessions each day, using the alternative electronic voting procedure introduced since the coronavirus outbreak, which has now proven to run smoothly. Continue reading
European Parliament position on the Conference on the Future of Europe
Members of the European Parliament from the Constitutional Affairs Committee have warned that the Covid‑19 crisis has made the need for reform more crucial than ever. Continue reading
New STOA study on blockchain for supply chains and international trade
Blockchains combine several techniques – including encryption, consensus methods and distributed storage – to record transactions. Continue reading
Citizens’ enquiries on the composition of the European Parliament, following Court of Justice ruling on case C-502/19
The President of the European Parliament has recently received a large number of messages following the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union in case C-502/19, Junqueras Vies, of 19 December 2019. Continue reading
Citizens’ enquiries on the use of animals in scientific research
The President of the European Parliament has recently received a large number of messages calling on the Parliament to introduce a Europe-wide moratorium on the use of animals in scientific research. Continue reading
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