23/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - 73 MEPs from various political groups have co-signed a letter with Peter Liese (EPP-ED, Germany) and Miroslav Mikolasik (EPP-ED, Slovakia) to Jose Manuel Barroso calling for there to be no EU funding for embryonic research (using human stem cells from embryos). The 73 MEPs include Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (Poland), Ursula Stenzel (Austria), Laszlo Surjan (Hungary), Maria Martens (the Netherlands), Ari Vatanen (MEP of Finnish nationality elected in France), Mario Mauro (Italy) and Margie Sudre (France). They call on the President of the Commission to take a clear stand with regard to such research in the process of adopting the 7th Research Framework Programme (FP7). The signatories argue underline that it is absolutely unacceptable that such ethically controversial research should be financed by EU tax-payers, given that destructive embryo and embryonic stem cell research is illegal in most EU Member States. In countries where such controversial research is legal, it may be funded by the EU under the FP6 as long as it respects certain ethical guidelines.