A revitalised European Group on Ethics and new technologies eyes the future
Following the appointment of a number of new members, the renewed European Group on Ethics in science and new technologies (EGE) meets for the first time in Brussels at the end of May. Top of the agenda is the election of a new president and vice president who will decide the group's schedule over the coming months. In an interview with CORDIS News, the group's current president, lawyer Noelle Lenoir, underlined the social and political importance and usefulness of the group's work. 'The group aims to help political decision makers and particularly the Commission to make the right decisions,' she said. 'This group is unique because it is really part of the decision making process. It doesn't have power as such but gives advice to EU institutions. We organise debates with people who can have a dialogue.' The EGE was established in 1991 under Jacques Delors' Commission, in recognition of the need to address ethical dilemmas associated with new techniques in biotechnology and a growing gap between Europe and the USA. In the USA, says Lenoir, the notion of 'sound science' was strong enough for researchers to continue their work without obstructions. But the diversity of cultures in Europe socially, culturally and politically complicates matters here. By 1998, Commission President Jacques Santer had asked the EGE to extend its remit to deal with new technologies at the European level, as the impact of issues like privacy and the Internet, novel foods and biotechnology had increasingly direct ramifications for the European citizens and society. 'The usefulness of the group is to see how we can organise meetings and discussions between all the stakeholders across Europe,' says Lenoir. 'We do not have the same attitudes as Americans. Sound science is not enough and there is a necessity to refer to social values such as the right of the individual.' The EGE has most recently produced opinions on ethical aspects of human stem cell research and use and on ethical issues of health care in the information society. It is currently working on a response to Commission President Romano Prodi's questions on patenting biotechnology and application to human stem cells. 'We will have to hear from a number of people including experts on patents and the history of patents,' says Lenoir, who is seeking advice from experts on both sides of the Atlantic and from Europe's own patent office in Munich. The EGE is also preparing to participate in a conference on good practices in environmental protection with respect to biotechnology, attended by the Swedish minister for education ad science, Thomas Östros, and hosted by the Swedish presidency of the European Union on 11 and 12 June in Umea, a town renowned for environmental protection. The EGE's members include lawyers, scientists and religious leaders who are selected informally by the Commission President. In an effort to try to reflect the views of as many sectors of society as possible, they include representatives of both the Protestant and Catholics churches, men and women, and people involved in the biotechnology sector and information and communication technologies sector. But Lenoir agrees her group cannot claim to speak for all of European society and therefore the EGE's role is to provide as much information as possible to decision makers so that they can make properly informed policy choices. 'We try to be useful by presenting a document that is easily useable - on law and the scientific state of the art - that is informative and simple and successful.' The EGE has benefited most recently from organising consultations and public hearings as well as hearings of experts, or competent Commission officials, she continues. Experts are appointed for written studies or just day groups and round tables are organised for up to 150 people including representatives from non-governmental organisations like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth as well as various religions. The EGE also organises visits to laboratories and meetings with members of the European Parliament. 'There are many divergences between people. Many people are aware that science must be supported as part of human dignity, but also that Europeans must have their say,' says Lenoir. 'I think this group is very much illustrative of what we could call the 'new governance', because of the contact between governance and with economic and ethics.' In this respect, she believes Europe is more flexible than the USA, where any attempt to impose legislative restrictions on research would meet a barrage of opposition. But the EGE's work demonstrates it is possible to bring together representatives concerned to discuss these issues, says Lenoir, who believes there is still room for improvement. For a start, she hopes the group will increase its use of the Internet. It is true that there is some loss of the 'personal' in Internet discussions, she says, but it is still very useful. 'I would like to see this developed further.' Lenoir also wants to increase links between the EGE and universities so that students - of science, law and the humanities - who are interested in its work can keep abreast of ongoing discussions. 'We have to transform the historical transformation of science into something that is integrated into society,' says Lenoir. 'It has to be integrated.' On the whole the EGE is happy with the Commission's follow up and response to its opinions. 'It's good that they don't always agree,' says Lenoir, although she says she would have preferred to have been more influential on the Commission's public health policy for food safety. 'I think public health is a great challenge for Europe,' she muses.