Commission promotes open discussion on research ethics 

A conference entitled  'Research ethics committees in Europe: facing the future together' took place in Brussels on 27-28 January 2005. An initiative of the Commission, it brought together representatives of local and regional ethics committees in Europe to promote pan-European dialogue, better awareness-raising and understanding between researchers and regulators on matters of ethics.

In the opening session of the conference, the Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik said that "ethics does not oppose science", and called on the research ethics committees to discuss ethics in research in a "friendly spirit of tolerance". 

"It is difficult to be creative without freedom. Therefore, there should not be any limits for science," commented Pia Elda Locatelli, member of the European Parliament and rapporteur of the Parliament's contribution to the future of European research (FP7). She also underlined that there is a "profound necessity to talk and understand each other". 

According to Rainer Gerhold, Director of the Science & Society division in the Commission, the Brussels conference was a practical answer to a "bottom-up request", and the subjects (the role of research ethics committees, quality assurance, training etc.) had been planned by the researchers and the speakers themselves.