By Brian Johnson - 25th July 2006
The EU has agreed to continue funding embryonic stem cell research after reaching a compromise deal that will forbid European cash being used for projects that destroy human embryos.
Opponents of embryonic stem cell research, led by Germany won a specific pledge that European money from the forthcoming €50bn seventh research framework programme (FP7) would not be used for research that involved the destruction of human embryos.
The compromise came at the end of a gruelling and passionate televised debate by EU ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday.
Germany led a coalition of mainly Catholic countries, including Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania and Malta, that argued that with the current set-up, they would end up indirectly paying for embryonic stem cell research in other EU countries that is banned or severely restricted at home.
“The EU science programme must not be used to offer financial incentives to kill embryos,” said Germany’s science minister, Annette Schavan.
“The destruction of embryos to create stem cell lines is not something we can support,” added Austria’s minister Elisabeth Geherer.
But Europe’s pro research camp, headed by the UK warned that stem cell research had the potential to cure a number of degenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
“It would be morally unacceptable to withhold these advances from patients,” said the UK’s Lord Sainsbury.
“I hope that none of you ever need treatment which does not yet exist for dementia and Alzheimer’s,” said Portugal’s minister Jose Mariano Gago, during heated debate.
While the compromise bans EU funding to remove stem cells from embryos, scientists will still be allowed to work on embryonic cells obtained from other sources.
The final compromise text said the exclusion of EU funding would not prevent “subsequent steps” involving the use of human embryonic stem cells.
EU science and research commissioner Janez Potocnik said the compromise deal should pave the way for a second reading agreement of FP7 by the European parliament in the autumn.
“I am happy with the agreement reached today. I am ready to work closely with the parliament on its second reading,” said Potocnik.
Chair of Monday’s debate, Finnish industry minister Mauri Pekkarinen also welcomed the outcome.
“I consider this a crucial step in the decision-making process for the next research framework programme,” said Pekkarinen.
“We took a slight risk in deciding on the organisation of an extraordinary meeting but it was worth it”.
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