EURECNET is a network that brings together national Research Ethics Committees (REC) associations, networks or comparable initiatives but also other bodies relevant in the field of research involving human participants like National Ethics Councils and the European Commission's ethical review system. Such a network forms the infrastructural basis to promote awareness of specific working practices of RECs across Europe, to enhance the shared knowledge base of European RECs, to support coherent reviews and opinions and to meet new challenges and emerging ethical issues. The central objective of EURECNET as a Coordinating Action is to foster the already existing network of European REC networks.

In particular, the contribution of EURECNET aims at five different levels:

• fostering a sustainable infrastructure for European RECs to promote exchange and cooperation and to allow for international cooperation
• gathering information on RECs in Europe to build a basis for mutual exchange
• collecting and evaluating training materials for REC members to enhance the quality of review
• conducting capacity building to facilitate the development of national REC networks
• identifying emerging ethical issues to develop common solutions for challenges posed by new technologies and scientific methodologies.

The EURECNET Project is a consortium of twenty European research facilities which has been established in March 2011 and is being funded by the European Commission under Framework Program 7 (FP7). It is coordinated by the German Reference Centre for Ethics in the Life Sciences (DRZE). Following already existing efforts, especially efforts within a previous project (see: EUREC Archive), one of its primary objectives is to foster a sustainable infrastructure for European RECs. In order to achieve this aim in 2011 a EURECNET secretariat has been set up which, aside from managing and coordinating the project as a whole, is responsible for managing the communication of the project partners with the European Commission and for making available the project's interim and final results to the public. Further information is provided by an Electronic Newsletter and a Printed Newsletter.