After an initial week delay, last 9 July the Commission agreed on guidelines that will allow the funding of research involving the use of embryonic stem cells left over from, or extracted but not suitable, for fertility treatment.
The decision is likely to cause consternation in the European Parliament, which voted in April to ban the practice. This blanket ban however was not accepted by member states who asked the Commission to simply regulate its funding of such projects.
Under the Commission’s guidelines, money from Italy or Germany (where this kind of research is not allowed) may be funding research in other counties.
