Brussels, 15/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission organised for Friday in Brussels a first meeting of national experts and researchers specialised in research on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE). The meeting comes in response to a request by the Research Council on 16 November (see EUROPE of 17 November, p.5). The expert group will examine the current state of progress of European research in this field and will propose different ways to improve its results, mainly through better coordination of research activities at national and Community level.
The Commission has made over EUR 50 million to research into TSE in the context of the European action plan for research on such diseases initiated in 1996. The Commission's Joint Research Centre is conducting scientific work on which political decisions taken by the latter on BSE will be based. The expert group includes researchers from all Member States as well as members of the ad hoc group on TSE, which answers to the Commission's Scientific Steering Committee. The group of experts will meet again on 16 February and should present a preliminary report at the end of the month of February 2001.