European Parliament
Paul Rübig (PPE-DE ),
in writing
We welcome the adoption of FP7. On the other hand we underline that the compromise found on funding of research using human embryos and human embryonic stem-cells does not reflect the position of the EPP-ED Group as fixed before the first reading in June. In a vote after discussion on many occasions, a big majority of the Group supported Amendment 319 by Niebler and others, who sought to fix a deadline. We regret that the European Parliament did not support this amendment, especially because only 19 votes more were needed for the necessary majority. The EPP-ED accepts that, according to the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, Amendment 319 cannot be tabled for the second reading. This does not change the position of the EPP-ED Group in this area.
We welcome the declaration of the Commission on Article 6 and we ask the Commission and the regulatory committee to bear in mind that almost 50% of the European Parliament voted for a more limited approach in this sensitive area. Therefore, we ask the Commission and the regulatory committee to approve a careful approach when implementing FP7 and the procedure prescribed in the Commission declaration.

