Sound advice

The EU’s ethics advisory group hopes to tackle a hotbed of controversy in science policy, its chairwoman Christiane Woopen tells Amanda Stringfellow.

After months of uncertainty, the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) has been relaunched. Its aim? To advise the European Commission on science and technology policies with implications for ethics, society and fundamental rights.

At the helm of the 15-scientist group is Christiane Woopen, a gynaecologist-turned-medical ethicist and former chairwoman of the German Ethics Council. Speaking to Research Europe from her office at the University of Cologne—where she is a professor of ethics and theory of medicine—Woopen’s voice brims with enthusiasm as she describes the potential scope of the group. “We’re dedicated to contributing strongly to urgent issues and to promoting the interests of the European people in a value-based debate,” she says.