Are socio-economic, political and ethical issues taken into consideration in the EU approach to sustainable agriculture?
The selection process for research projects is a peer-review system. Independent experts evaluate the projects, including an ethical assessment of the proposals. They evaluate the level of awareness regarding the ethical and social implications of the research and also on the basis of whether projects respect fundamental ethical principles, the ethical framework for research under the 6 th FP, international codes and national legislation of the country where the research is carried out. When necessary or when the proposal is dealing with sensitive issues a specific ethical review can also be undertaken. This system applies to all areas, including sustainable agriculture. In addition, the 6 th FP promotes the integration of the analysis of the ethical, legal and social aspects into research projects under “Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health” as well as for “Food safety and quality” projects. The relevance, quality and level of integration of these aspects are also asse
