The European parliament voted to elect Tonio Borg as the European Union鈥檚 new health commissioner on Wednesday, despite warnings from scientists and NGOs that his personal opinions would influence policy.
Borg, the foreign minister and deputy prime minister of Malta, will replace fellow Maltese John Dalli, who resigned after being linked to a Maltese businessman alleged to have sought money from the tobacco industry in return for influencing European tobacco legislation.
Borg is Catholic and is known for his conservative views on abortion, homosexuality and divorce. For example, he is a supporter of the currently being debated in the Maltese parliament. If approved at the end of November, the bill will prevent experimentation on human embryos, ban egg and sperm donation, and prohibit the freezing of embryos for IVF procedures other than in a few special cases.
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Under the bill, Maltese citizens would be forced to seek consent from a newly created public body before embarking on IVF treatment, and unapproved sperm or egg donation would be punishable with a fine of up to 鈧�23,000 and five years in prison.
EU hearing
On 13 November, Borg attended an EU parliament hearing to put forward his case for taking up the post of health and consumer policy commissioner. He said he would speed up the new anti-tobacco bill originally proposed by Dalli and put an end to animal testing for cosmetics by March 2013.
Borg assured the parliament that his personal views wouldn鈥檛 drive his policies. 鈥淓ach one of us has his own personal views. God forbid that we should all be regimented into thinking in one way.鈥�
He also told parliament that he would not interfere with research programmes already under way, including work on HIV/AIDS as well as stem cells, though he did not say whether he intends to renew their funding in future.
Some MEPs questioned Borg鈥檚 stance on abortion, recalling how he tried to incorporate the ban on abortion, even if the mother鈥檚 life is at risk, into Malta鈥檚 constitution. Borg replied: 鈥淭he laws on abortion are a matter of national law鈥� These are not matters within the competence of the Commission and the Union.鈥�
On Wednesday 386 MEPs voted in favour of Borg , with 281 voting against and 28 abstentions. Vittorio Prodi, a member of the European parliament鈥檚 committee on the environment, public health and food safety, said that despite Borg鈥檚 personal views, he believes the new commissioner will do a good job, working in the EU鈥檚 interest. 鈥淗e showed a lot of deference for the EU parliament,鈥� Prodi says.
Ethical issues
Dutch MEP Sophia in 鈥榯 Veld, of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe bloc in the European parliament, feels differently. 鈥淎 commissioner must not only attend to administrative practice but deal with ethical and political issues. So it is illogical to think that his personal views won鈥檛 count,鈥� she says.
NGOs campaigning for reproductive rights and stem cell scientists have also expressed concerns over Borg鈥檚 impending appointment, which still has to be formally approved by the European Council. 鈥淒espite commitments made at the hearing, our organisation鈥檚 strong objection to his nomination still remains,鈥� says Irene Donadio from International Planned Parenthood Federation, a non-profit body based in London.
Francesco Dazzi, head of stem cell biology at Imperial College London, says Borg鈥檚 election might have 鈥減rofound impacts鈥� on funding for stem cell biology and its therapeutic applications. 鈥淎lthough I do not dispute his technical skills, there is the risk that personal views, especially when radical in nature, will interfere with or slow down important projects which have already been endorsed by public opinion,鈥� he says.
