Following yesteday's vote in the European Parliament's Environment Committee that saw MEPs unanimously back amended draft legislation on clinical trials on medicinal products for human use, GUE/NGL MEP Alda Sousa praised the adopted proposal for being a significant improvement on the Commission's original draft.

“Although the adopted European Parliament report is not perfect, unlike the proposal made by the Commission it does not ignore the ethics committee and promotes transparency of results,” commented MEP Sousa, the shadow rapporteur on the Willmott dossier for the Group.

The approval of this report is a clear and unanimous political defeat for the European Commission who wanted to facilitate flexibility and liberalise the practice of clinical trials in the European Union without effective ethical control or any regard for medical standards.

Throughout months of discussions on the dossier, the GUE/NGL group fought for the introduction of compulsory approval of clinical trials by the Ethics Committees in accordance with the principles contained in the Declaration of Helsinki (a statement that defines ethical principles for medical research on people), the respect and obligation for informed consent and transparency of the results (including the obligation to publish, even if inconclusive).

GUE/NGL Press contacts:
Emily Macintosh +32 470 85 05 08
Gay Kavanagh +32 473 84 23 20
David Lundy +32 470 85 05 09