At the end of a hard year Europe’s leaders are grappling with familiar problems—how to revive gasping economies, what to do about the Russian menace. But a quieter source of discontent is also bubbling up: Europe’s scientists. The continent of Galileo and Darwin is not about to cast off its glorious heritage. But the boffins have two recent causes for concern.
One is over the role of science in European policymaking. Three years ago Anne Glover, a Scottish molecular biologist, became the EU’s first chief scientific adviser. She could also be its last. Her mandate expired, along with the previous commission’s, and Jean-Claude Juncker, the new president, has not seen fit to renew it. Not in office long enough to absorb the diplomatic habits of Brussels insiders, Glover was notably outspoken on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), describing opponents as suffering from “a form of madness”. That was too much for green NGOs, who called for her head in a letter to Juncker. Some saw in this the seeds of Ms Glover’s downfall.
Europe’s agonies over GMOs illustrate the problems that arise when science is not well integrated into policymaking. Despite repeated studies finding no risk to human health from the consumption of GMOs, just one such crop (a form of maize) is cultivated in the EU, and in only a handful of countries. Under a new proposal countries will even be able to deny farmers the right to purchase GM seeds that have been approved at pan-European level.
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