Brussels, 20/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - Commenting on the vote in the British Parliament in favour of continuing research into embryonic stem cells and therapeutic cloning, Commissioner Philippe Busquin declared: "I am glad to see that parliaments and politicians are discussing research publicly and are thus giving science its proper place on the political agenda. Advances in genetics and in life sciences in general hold many prospects for improving our health and fostering our economic and social development in the next century. We need a dialogue between science and society in Europe on this progress in life sciences, the ethical questions raised, and how to responsibly use the research results". He the added: "The result of the vote in the British Parliament is an example of cultural diversities in Europe expressing themselves in a democratic way. The Commission has no intention to legislate or harmonise in the field of ethics, the Commission respects this diversity of cultures and points of view in Europe".
Busquin recalled that the research programmes of the Commission, that finance transnational projects to the tune of 600 million euro in the life sciences sector, respect the ethical values laid down by the Council and European Parliament. The 5th Framework-Programme for Research and Development (1998-2002) excludes explicitly all scientific work on techniques for reproductive or therapeutic cloning. In addition, the Commission systematically submits an ethical evaluation of all research proposals comprising ethical issues of whatever nature. In the preparation of future research programmes, the Commission intends basing itself on the opinion of the European Ethics Group. Notably the opinion on the ethical aspects of human stem cell research delivered on 14 November 2000. From 2001 onwards, programmes will enable research into adult stem cells to be funded, and the Commission intends to bring together all research laboratories having EU contracts in this field in order to study the implications of this opinion.