Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-30-Speech-4-038"
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"en.20000330.3.4-038"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, European Patent No EP 69 53 51, granted by the European Parliament and concerning the genetic manipulation of human cells and human embryos has triggered understandable feelings of horror among the public. As soon as the course of events became known, my group tabled an oral question on the matter in order to obtain clarification of the questions of principle which had been raised and of the inevitable consequences. However, the question disappeared without trace in the course of this House’s business. Instead of the required answers, we have today received an explanation from the Commission which cannot be the last word as far as the European Parliament is concerned.
Why do I mention this? Quite simply because this dreadful patent and the run-up to it, together with the disappearance of a parliamentary question, show how we ought not to deal with biotechnology, that is to say in a careless and slipshod manner. That would lead to a disastrous situation in which the principles of the inviolability of the human being and of human dignity would be completely lost. Clearly, everything must be done in order to completely do away with Patent No EP 69 53 51 and any similar gaffes. Clearly we must move as quickly as possible to close the legal loophole constituted by the flawed European patent. Clearly, we must quickly create a route to independent patent jurisdiction which is open to everyone. Or do we want further to abandon a powerful authority to a form of self-monitoring which still does not even begin to operate satisfactorily?
Obviously, the development of biotechnology and of all new techniques must be subject to increased public supervision. In this way, the European Parliament is confronted with a special task requiring the preparation of an annual report on the work of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies. It is just as clear to my group and to myself that the genetic inheritance of humanity must remain common property and should not be sold off on the floor of the stock exchange.
We only use biotechnology in a responsible way when we respect its ethical limits and make the genetic code accessible to researchers throughout the world. Finally, it must be made unequivocally clear once and for all that our Directive on the Legal Protection of Biotechnological Inventions excludes not only the patentability of the human being, of parts of the human genetic make-up and of interference with the genome, but also forbids the cloning of human beings at all phases of their development. Moreover, everyone must adhere to this."@en1
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