Call on European Commission to Support Independent Science

Dozens of prominent scientists from all over the world are calling on the European Commission to support independent science in its next round of science funding, and to ensure maximum transparency and democratic input in deciding funding and research priorities.

The scientists want Europe's next round of public ressearch funding - Framework Programme 7 (2007 to 2013) - to establish broad funding criteria that put public interest ahead of 'wealth creation', and to include ethical and safety considerations before the research is funded. They are demanding a redistribution of the research budget away from industry and technology driven areas like genomics and information technologies towards sustainable agriculture, ecology and energy use in sustainable systems, and holistic health. In particular, they would like to see top priority given to scientists working with local communities to revitalize and protect traditional agricultural and healthcare systems.

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