EU urged to follow US on stem cell funding

Prior to a meeting of the Competitiveness Council, Brussels, 24 July 2006 last-minute efforts to impose greater restrictions on European Union funding for stem cell research were under way ahead of a vote on the controversial science. In the event, Political agreement was reached on the Seventh Research Framework Programme at the extraordinary meeting of the Competitiveness Council. Funding for stem cell research was among the issues debated. The outcome is that FP7 will now be able to fund stem cell research, subject to strict ethical principles, regulations and methods.