INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION, 1959-79 429 



series of other publications relating to international cooperation and 

 country programs. Particularly helpful were two publications on the 

 People's Republic of China, sponsored by the subcommittee and pre- 

 pared bv Dr. Langdon Crane and Leo A. Orleans, experts on China 

 in the Library of Congress: "A Study of Science in China," and an 

 "Annotated Bibliography on Science and Technology in China." 



COUNCIL OF EUROPE CONFERENCE IN 1975 



From November 12 to 14, 1975, Congressman Mosher served as the 

 congressional member of the U.S. group attending the Fourth Parlia- 

 mentary and Scientific Conference of the Council of Europe, held in 

 Florence, Italy. The Conference was a follow-on to the Lausanne 

 Conference in 1972, at which the Science Committee had been repre- 

 sented by Congressman Symington. 



There were 140 parliamentarians, scientists, and government 

 officials from 18 countries who attended the Conference. Among the 

 participants in the Conference as a delegate was Hon. Emilio Q. 

 Daddario, a former subcommittee chairman on the Science Committee 

 while a Member of Congress, and at the time Director of the Office of 

 Technology Assessment. Also taking part in the Conference was Dr. 

 John D. Holmfeld, at that time staff director of the Domestic and 

 International Scientific Planning and Analysis Subcommittee. 



The theme of the Florence Conference was "Science and the Future 

 of Man in European Society." In his concluding observations on the 

 Conference, Mosher noted the "lively discussion" stimulated by 

 Daddario's paper on technology assessment, which resulted in one of 

 the Conference recommendations that analytical forecasting capabil- 

 ities be made increasingly available. Mosher also noted the favorable 

 evidences of international cooperation in space research through the 

 European Space Agency, and recent cooperative efforts in the field of 

 energy research and development. 



Mosher' s report was refreshing in that it did not repeat the usual 

 cliches about "mutually beneficial exchange of views" which form 

 the boilerplate of all too many international conferences. Mosher 

 commented: 



Throughout the conference, there was an air of frustration concerning the virtual 

 impotence of European parliaments to take initiatives, marked by a bit of envy of 

 the U.S. Congress. * * *. I came away from the conference with renewed faith in 

 the U.S. system of democratic government and in the "checks and balances" pro- 

 vided by our Constitution. Despite occasional false starts, inefficiencies and divided 

 opinions, the U.S. Congress has demonstrated a willingness to tackle the problems 

 looming in the future with confidence in our scientific and technological capabilities 

 to meet the challenges ahead. 





