Newly installed European Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potocnik believes that scientists in European nations should be allowed to use surplus human embryos to create stem cells for research purposes, according to a German newspaper article.

Potocnik told the daily Rheinischer Merkur that his office "must be more preoccupied" with making it easier for scientists to use stem cells from surplus embryos resulting from infertility treatments. "At the very least, new EU guidelines setting minimum standards for dealing with surplus embryos should be brought into play," he told the newspaper.

Potocnik was unable to speak to The Scientist by deadline for this article. However, a spokeswoman did confirm that the commissioner had approved the quotes used by the newspaper.

The commissioner's stance on embryo research contrasts starkly with the position of current German legislation, which bans the use of surplus human embryos for production of stem cells.

Germany allows the import of human stem cells, but only if they were created before January 1, 2002, and legal experts believe German-based scientists who collaborate with colleagues outside of Germany who use newer stem cell lines could be criminally prosecuted.

Despite criticism from German scientists, the research ministry has repeatedly stood by its assertion that the current law, passed in 2002, is sufficient as long as German scientists are conducting only basic research.

Responding to the comments from the European Union's new top research executive, research ministry spokesman Florian Frank said the Germany regulations would not be changing at this time. "New guidelines do not happen just because a [European] commissioner says change it. It has to be done with the approval of member states," he said.

Frank said embryonic stem cell research is a highly emotional issue and that opposition is strong in several EU nations. "If the population does not agree with [embryonic stem cell] research on an EU level, then you will not get it," he said. "You must have broad public support on this issue."

Potocnik told Rheinischen Merkur that he would only support the use of human embryos left over from infertility treatments for producing stem cells, not planned production of embryos for research. "One thing is totally clear," the newspaper quoted him as saying. "We can never allow the specific production of embryonic stem cells for research purposes, because this would go beyond ethical boundaries."

Stephen Minger, a stem cell researcher from King's College London, told The Scientist of Potocnik's comments: "He doesn't know what he is talking about, to be honest." Minger, a US citizen who has worked in the United Kingdom for the past 8 years, explained that even in the United Kingdom, where scientists can legally use cell nuclear replacement if given a license to do so, surplus human embryos are always used for routine stem cell derivation.

"For example, my group isn't doing cloning, but we will continue to derive stem cells using donated embryos," Minger said. "We are not making embryos. There are plenty of what are considered to be spare embryos from IVF [in vitro fertilization]."

The use of cell nuclear replacement, which one group has been given permission to do, "really is a separate and unique category," Minger said.