Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I have been given the delicate task of presenting the report by Elisa Damião, who is ill and therefore cannot be here today, although she has been lucid and clear-minded enough to follow every step of this report which quite rightly, therefore, bears her name. I feel very moved to be presenting this report, I send my greetings to Mrs Damião and hope that she is able to return to Parliament as soon as possible, because she is a person of enormous political and parliamentary ability, as well as being a great citizen. Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the amazing progress that has been made in biology and in molecular genetics is fascinating and disturbing at the same time. Scientific knowledge has moved ahead at such a pace that we are now in a position radically to change not only the vegetal and animal world, but also, eventually perhaps, our own species. This represents a genuine sea change. The abilities of science and technology have now largely gone beyond the fictions contained in literary masterpieces such as Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ or George Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’. Nevertheless, if the truth be told, the visions contained in those works, of societies and human beings oppressed and dehumanised by the manipulation of science and technology, have fortunately not been fulfilled. The concern expressed by the broader public, however, with regard, for example, to genetically modified organisms and to cloning is a very clear sign, which the political, scientific and industrial world must heed. An initial response was drawn up by UNESCO when, in November 1997, by consensus it adopted the universal declaration on the human genome and human rights. However, of all the revolutions that have taken place in the realm of knowledge, that of molecular biology will, perhaps, be the greatest of all and it is genetics that will have the greatest implications in the economic, cultural and ethical spheres. Biotechnologies are part of the technologies of the future. The potential development of these gives us a glimpse of major changes in the coming years in the medicinal products, food, agriculture and environmental markets. Nevertheless, these technologies, in their practical applications, raise ethical and philosophical questions that are now part of today’s culture. Given their implications, there will always be pessimistic souls, as has always happened throughout history and throughout the history of science and technology, who see apocalyptic threats to humanity, awakening age-old fears and trepidation. We must combat those who exploit fears, ghosts and superstitions with a cautious but optimistic attitude towards science and realise that it must be inspired by high ethical standards and legal frameworks that, whilst encouraging intellectual freedom and scientific creativity, prevent excesses. The classical humanism expressed in the famous phrase of the philosopher Seneca stated that ‘man is sacred to mankind’. This classical humanism must inspire contemporary science and all citizens. The European Union has availed itself in recent years of a panoply of directives and regulations in the field of biotechnologies and science. Nevertheless, the many legislative acts that have been adopted constitute a genuine rag-bag, lacking a coherent, global and systemic vision of this vast sector. Some legislation that has been adopted has not been implemented and other legislation has been subject to derogations, moratoria and, even worse, numerous voids and grey areas. The global battle in the field of biotechnologies is, nevertheless, crucial. The United States clearly lead the field in this area. Nevertheless, the Lisbon Summit outlined an ambitious target for the EU for the forthcoming decade: to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world. How will this aim be achieved without a strong European commitment to biotechnologies? Europe is lagging behind the United States. Although the European Union has 1570 undertakings operating in this field and the United States has 1263, the fact is that these undertakings in the European Union employ 61 000 workers who produce a volume of business of EUR 42 billion, whereas in this same sector in the United States 162 000 workers are employed, producing the equivalent of EUR 365 billion. This is a summary, Mr President, of the cultural, political, legal and economic context into which the Commission communication fits. This is broadly supported by Mrs Damião’s report. In fact, the action plan and the strategy presented by the Commission resolve, with one wave of a magic wand, the diffuse nature, the incoherence and the shortcomings of the legal framework and of European policies in the field of biotechnologies. We will clearly not be able to achieve this with one wave of the wand, but they do point us in the right direction.

Political group: PSE