Ethically Speaking [No. 5]

Abstract

The EGE is an independent, pluralist and multidisciplinary body, which advises the European Commission on ethical aspects of science and new technologies in connection with the preparation and implementation of Community legislation or policies. The role of the EGE has been increasingly recognised in community legislative acts, for instance in several directives. The Group has operated by discussing problems at internal meetings, by inviting leading experts from different countries to present scientific, legal or other relevant background information to the EGE, by commissioning special studies on problems relevant to what the Group is working on, and by organising roundtables on themes to be dealt with in the opinions. The latter meetings, to which stakeholders and interest groups are invited, have been especially important because they have provided a meeting place between the EGE and a wider audience.