Commission clarifies its ethical framework for research
When the Commission published its proposals for the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) on 6 April, many observers were keen to know how it would deal with ethical issues, such as whether or not to fund embryonic stem cell research. In response, the Commission has published a memo outlining its proposed approach to ethical issues under FP7, and clarifying the situation with regard to embryonic stem cell research under the current programme. According to the Commission, two specific passages in the FP7 proposals sum up its approach to ethical issues. First: 'Research activities supported by this Framework Programme should respect fundamental ethical principles, including those reflected in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The opinions of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technology are and will be taken into account.' Second, the proposals state that: 'All the research activities carried out under the Seventh Framework Programme shall be carried out in compliance with fundamental ethical principles.' As an example of how such an approach could be applied in practice, the Commission outlined its treatment of embryonic stem cell research under the current framework programme. In all cases, the EU strictly forbids funding for research that involves human reproductive cloning, the creation of embryos for research (or therapeutic cloning), or research that would alter the human genetic heritage. Furthermore, the EU will not fund a project in a particular Member State that involves research practices that are forbidden in that particular country. The Commission also refuses to fund projects that involve the derivation of stem cells from embryos directly, which would imply the destruction of a supernumerary embryo for the purposes of EU research. There is no element of FP6 that directly calls for projects involving any type of stem cell research, the Commission points out. When it does receive proposals from researchers wishing to make use of stem cells, priority is always given to those involving adult stem cells, which, it says, pose no ethical problems. The result so far under FP6 is that of the 25 projects involving stem cell research to be selected for EU funding, only two include a component on embryonic stem cells, which together amount to 0.002 per cent of the total FP6 budget.