eurec Newsletter 2011/1
2
Imprint
This newsletter is published by:
EUREC secretariat c/o Deutsches Referenzzentrum für Ethik in den Biowissenschaften
(German Reference Centre for Ethics in the Life Sciences)
Bonner Talweg 57
53113 Bonn
Germany
Secretary General:
Dr. Dirk Lanzerath
Phone: +49-228-3364-1930 Fax: +49-228-3364-1940
Editor:
Dr. Minou Friele
Phone: +49-228-3364-1945
Fax: +49-228-3364-1940
mentioned above, as a funda-
mental requirement for any
such approval.
The terms on which research
ethics committees work on a
national level differ considera-
bly, for instance in terms of
their responsibilities and institu-
tional shape and affiliation. In
some Member States research
ethics committees are responsi-
ble for the assessment of the
overall project, whereas in oth-
ers they are only responsible for
the assessment of specific parts
of a project. In some Member
States RECs are only entitled to
assess specific areas of medical
research, such as clinical drug
trials or basic research, whereas
in other Member States they are
responsible for the assessment
of all kinds of medical research.
There is even more variety in
terms of their institutional shape
and affiliations:
RECs may be linked to adminis-
trative bodies, to public health
institutions, to faculties of medi-
cine, to research institutions, to
hospitals or, although rare, to
medical associations.
In spite of this diversity there is
considerable interest in the es-
tablishment of networks of re-
search ethics committees – on a
national as well as on an inter-
national, at least a European,
level – as this may allow RECs
to find common solutions for
common problems and to en-
large their competence as dia-
logue partners in contact with
the above mentioned organiza-
tions and institutions.
In some States networks already
exist on a national level. A Eu-
ropean network of research eth-
ics committees, however, is still
lacking. In order to fill this la-
cuna, the European Commission
granted a three-year-project to
build up such a network called
EUREC, organized within the EC
funded project EURECNET. Its
central objective is the harmoni-
zation - not equalization – of
REC’s work and the formation
and/or continued education of
persons who are becoming or
already are members of a REC.
EUREC brings together national
REC associations, networks or
comparable initiatives, the Fo-
rum of National Ethics Commit-
tees (NEC Forum), and other
bodies relevant in this field and
the European Commission’s eth-
ical review system. By doing so
it helps forming the necessary
but currently missing infrastruc-
tural basis to promote aware-
ness of specific working prac-
tices of RECs across Europe, to
enhance the shared knowledge
base of European RECs, to sup-
port coherent reviews and the
development of opinions, and to
meet new challenges and
emerging ethical issues. For
further information click on:
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