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EU one-year moratorium on stem cell research
The European Union Council of Science Ministers has reached an uneasy compromise with the European Parliament on the funding of embryonic stem cell research within the Sixth Framework Research programme. While approving the Framework on 30 September, the Council unexpectedly added a rider that introduced a one-year moratorium on the use of EU funds to support embryonic stem cell research. Vehement objection from the Parliament’s Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, which questioned whether the Council’s decision was legal, resulted in negotiations that led to a compromise: “further provisions on the funding of research activities involving the use of human embryos and human embryonic stem cells will be established before the end of 2003, on the basis of a new proposal (based on an in-depth ethical, technical and political study) from the European Commission and in consultation with the European Parliament”. In the meantime, Sixth Framework money can only be used to fund embryonic stem cell work that involves existing cell cultures, and any proposals for such work will have to be approved by a regulatory committee.