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Policy

European Commission President Axes Science Adviser Position

Future of science advice to European Union’s executive branch remains unclear

by Laura Howes
November 18, 2014

The European Commission’s new president, Jean-Claude Juncker, has eliminated the post of chief science adviser to the commission, the executive branch of the European Union. But Juncker hasn’t yet established an alternative mechanism for getting science advice, which has left many wondering how the commission will ensure that science backs its policy decisions.

Anne Glover, a molecular biologist who held the science adviser’s job since it was created in 2012, announced in an e-mail last week that her position no longer exists. She will remain on the payroll of the European Commission until next year. While government science advisers are common in the U.S. and U.K., most European countries do not have an equivalent and instead rely on advisory committees or scientific societies.

“President Juncker now needs to clarify with urgency what alternative structures for scientific advice he plans to put in place,” says James Wilsdon, a professor of science and democracy at the University of Sussex, in England. “The wider agenda of improving the evidence base for European policy must yet prevail.”

Royal Society of Chemistry Chief Executive Officer Robert Parker echoes Wilsdon and others in calling for EU policy to be underpinned by scientific evidence. “We look forward to seeing how the commission ensures this is core to EU policy-making going forward,” Parker says.

A spokeswoman for Juncker says the president “was still thinking about how to institutionalize” scientific advice at the commission.

After Juncker’s election in July and before he assumed the presidency on Nov. 1, several advocacy groups lobbied him to dump the chief science adviser post. A key issue for the groups was the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Organizations, including the environmental group Greenpeace, wrote to Juncker, saying that Glover “presented one-sided, partial opinions in the debate … repeatedly claiming that there was a scientific consensus about their safety.” GMOs are a contentious issue in Europe, and several countries are pushing the EU to allow them to ban cultivation of genetically engineered crops.

After pushback from scientists and politicians, Juncker appeared to assure them that the role of chief science adviser would remain. But over time, his commitment to the role has appeared less concrete.

Glover is not giving interviews but indicated in a tweet that her firing was not because of her views on GMOs.

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