September 16, 2016

by Calum Mackichan, The European Plant Science Organisation

On 7th June, the EFSA office in Parma received a letter containing explosive material. Many publicly funded researchers reacted strongly to this incident.

On the 1st of July a group of organisations sent an open letter to Martin Schultz, the President of the European Parliament (EP), asking the members of EP to encourage society to respect independent science advice and to condemn physical attacks on scientists.

The latest updated letter, published on the 7th of September, is signed by 58 science organisations, societies, and academies.

On the 31st of August Martin Schultz replied to EPSO with a letter saying that “Such attacks can only be condemned strongly ..The European Parliament fully recognizes the crucial role of scientific research for our society and the need for independent evidence meeting the highest scientific standards”. 

The matter has been transmitted to the EPs Committees on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), and we now await their feedback.

Website: http://www.plantsci.org.uk

Published: September 16, 2016