Brussels, 05/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - To launch a public consultation on the future of biotechnology in Europe - a profitable and job-generating sector in which the European Union is dragging behind the United States - the European Commission adopted, on Tuesday in Strasbourg, a consultation document for all interested parties entitled "Towards a strategic vision of life sciences and biotechnology".
The document was announced by Margot Wallström, European Environment Commissioner, as she presented to the press the new Commission proposals aimed at relaunching marketing authorisations within the Union for genetically modified organisms (see EUROPE of 27 July, pp.5/6). It largely exceeds the framework of the questions and fears raised among the public concerning genetically engineered foodstuffs. The document reviews all the aspects of the biotechnology revolution - research, applications, ethical and societal implications, the environment, Europe's competitiveness, the position of the Union as a responsible and influential world actor, and the imperatives of improving communication on these new technologies, etc. The Commission considers the revolution to be a global reality opening new prospects for the protection of the environment, health, agriculture and food production, the production of energy and industrial applications not only in industrial countries but also in developing countries (industrial production of cheaper medicines in greater safety conditions, better adjustment of medicines and therapies to individual needs through genetic information, modification of plants and good crops so that they resist drought or for a more effective management of harvests, the biological cleaning of polluted sites, the development of energy sources and cleaner industrial processes).
The document gives a detailed panorama of the stakes involved, exposes certain avenues of reflection by the Commission and sets forth specific questions for which it particularly wants a response. Commenting on this initiative, Commission President Romano Prodi declares in a press release: "It is of strategic and long-term importance that Europe master the new frontier technologies, in particular the life sciences and biotechnology, and use them for the benefit of society. We must get our priorities right and plan for the future to ensure that Europe, over the next decades, takes its place at the forefront of the scientific and technological development. The issues at stake are broad and complex. They go far beyond the current focus on genetically modified foods and stem cells, important as these issues are. The Union needs a coherent forward-looking policy towards life sciences and biotechnology. (…) The public consultation now launched is part and parcel of our approach, leading to the Commission's policy paper at the end of the year. It should help us all develop coherent approaches that meet our fundamental objectives and concerns. We want to hear in particular from the ultimate decision makers - the citizens, consumers and patients. In the spirit of our new approach to Governance, I seek to encourage dialogue and involve all stakeholders in this crucial policy area. In this debate, we should all strive to avoid misleading simplifications and generalisations".
Mid-September, the document will be made available to the public on the Internet site of the Commission, at the address: http: //europa.eu/int/comm/biotechnology.
All parties interested are invited to make their comments before 23 November 2001 either by mail to the address: "Biotechnology, BREY, European Commission, rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium, or by fax to: + 32 2 295 76 37, or via e-mail to ec-biotechnology@cec.eu.int.
In order to enrich the debate, the Commission will also organise a conference on 27 and 28 September in Brussels, to which over 400 participants will be invited.
The results of this consultation will contribute to the work of the Commission, which plans to present a policy paper on this subject by the end of the year, probably in the form of a White Paper.