THE FUTURE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN EUROPE

At the end of September '96, the Club de Bruxelles held a conference ( ''The Future of Biotechnologies in Europe'') to discuss the present de velopment and the future of biotechnology in Europe. The meeting was i ntended to serve as a forum for the preparation of the 5th EU framewor k (''Inventing Tomorrow''), which is currently being set up under the leadership of Edith Cresson. The aim of the conference was to underlin e the necessity of concentrating and reorganizing research in the fiel d of biotechnology, thus focusing future research activities in order to secure Europe's competitiveness in the world market. The conference was attended by 350 participants from all over Europe, representing a cademia, industry, environmental organizations and consumer groups. Le ctures were held by representatives from academic and industrial resea rch and a variety of work groups of the European Parliament. The speak ers and participants were mainly chosen to promote the dialogue betwee n the different groups. The objectives were the creation of a common b asis for further debate in the field of biotechnology and the preparat ion of future consent. Once again, this conference emphasized the need to inform the public as a prerequisite for the acceptance of biotechn ology and its various aspects.