Brussels, 12/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - The EU-US Biotechnology Consultative Forum held its first meeting, on Tuesday 12 September, in Brussels. This complex and particularly irritating issue for the partnership between the EU and the United States, was examined from its many aspects by twenty experts, headed by two eminent personalities co-chairing the work: European Ruud Lubbers, former Netherlands Prime Minister and currently Professor on Globalisation and Sustainable Development at the University of Tilburg, and American Cutberto Garza, Chair of the US National Academies Insitute of Medicine's food and Nutrition Board.
The careful assessment made covered the risks and benefits of modern biotechnologies, not only from the point of view of health, security, food safety and the environment, but also economic development. Horizontal issues, such as the role of the science, the ethical implications, consumer information, public perceptions, risk analysis and intellectual property rights were also on the agenda of discussions which were mostly held via electronic means (mail and Internet).
At least three other meetings will be held in Brussels and Washington. Created during the last transatlantic summit, at the initiative of President Romano Prodi and US President Bill Clinton, the Forum is expected to forward the results of its work to its representatives, which would facilitate better mutual comprehension on both sides of the Atlantic. The European Commission will soon make complementary information, including the list of participants, available to the public on its website: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/external relations/index en.htm