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EGE

The European Commission has provided the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) for a four-year period (2005-2009) with the mandate to give advise on ethical questions related to science and new technologies, either at the request of the Commission or on its own initiative. On this basis the EGE issues Opinions in connection with the preparation and implementation of Community legislation or policies. The Group is a neutral, independent, pluralist and multidisciplinary body, composed of fifteen experts appointed by the Commission for their expertise and personal qualities.

For every full Opinion to be issued by the Group, a roundtable is held before it is adopted, to which representatives of the institutions of the European Union, experts in the field, parties representing different interests, including NGOs, patients and consumer organisations and industrial stakeholders, are invited to participate in the debate.

In 2000, the EGE provided an Opinion “Ethical Aspects of Human Stem Cell Research and Use” (Opinion No. 15) that formed the basis for the strict ethical guidelines set up in the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) of the Commission to deal with human embryonic stem cell research. These were further specified in 2002 in the Opinion “Ethical aspects of patenting inventions involving human stem cells” (Opinion No. 16).

With FP7 now up and running, the Commission felt it was time to review the procedure and called on the EGE to provide an Opinion on the implementing measures required during the ethical review in the framework of the current system. As in FP6, funding of embryonic stem cell research will continue on a case-by-case basis. Certain areas will not receive any funding under FP7. These include human cloning for reproductive purposes, research intended to modify the genetic heritage of human beings which could make such changes heritable, and research intended to create human embryos solely for the purpose of research or the purpose of stem cell procurement.

In February 2007 the Commission has asked the EGE to provide an Opinion on how to improve the current ethical procedure for human embryonic stem cell research. EGE’s latest Opinion No. 22, “Recommendations on the ethical review of hESC FP7 research projects”, was published in June 2007.

For more information and to download the EGE's opinions on hESC research, please visit:

The European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies' Web Page