European Dual-Use Procedures

摘要

The proposed shift in dual-use research oversight in the United States [(1); "U.S. agencies to start screening biomedi-cal proposals for dual use," D. Malakoff, News & Analysis, 6 April, p. 21] resembles the procedural concept applied by the European Commission Ethics Review and Audit system (2). For more than 10 years, research proposals funded by the European Commission (the largest research funding institution in Europe) have been systematically reviewed and audited for potential misuses in a dual-use context; if appropriate, safeguards to mitigate such risks have been introduced. The guidance document on minimizing the risks of misuse of research (3) provides a list of potential safeguards to reviewers and addresses the potential need to obtain export licenses in certain circumstances-a precaution that would have mitigated the problems related to the National Institutes of Health- financed Dutch H5N1 study (4).