HOUSE OF COMMONS DEBATES

"It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it."
Joseph Joubert

"A man never tells you anything unless you contradict him."
George Bernard Shaw

With all the pomp, deference and carnage of the British politics, the House of Commons Session opens the debating part of EuroBiO 2008. Bringing together all three attendees for two hours of rapid fire, interactive exchanges and discussion, the session will explore six important debate topics and fire the EuroBiO spirit of debate and involvement.

To kick off the session, lead debaters will pitch six of the debates chosen through the EuroBiO web-based selection system. This list of six will be narrowed to three by a vote and by the chairman. Each of those three debate topics will go forward into a 30 minute debate.

The debates will be dynamic and partisan. You won’t have a chance not to take a position. You can be “for” the motion, “against” it, and you can even be a floating voter. But watch where you sit, because you may end up standing up for something you don’t believe in. In the hurly-burly of political machination, your stance on any issue may depend on who you are next to, not on who you are or what you actually think. Expect strong views, subtle message manipulation, and intrigue. Don’t expect tedious party lines. Any similarities to flip-flopping in proportionally represented democracies are entirely coincidental.

So where exactly do you stand in the following debates, and which of them should make it to the House of Commons session at EuroBiO 2008. Select six topics and register your interest now.

TOPICS FOR DEBATE
1	Axe the CAP and spend €50 billion a year instead on R&D The Common Agricultural Policy gets a €100 present each year from each European citizen.  FP7 gets €14
2	Only the weakness of the dollar prevents US entities owning European biotechnology US biotechnology is supported from research to the market
3	Industry self-regulation leads inevitably to nepotism Industry association rules create pseudo-regulatory clubs which argue for self-interest rather than public interest
4	Nationalism is the greatest enemy of biotechnology in Europe EU measure help biotechnology but they are obstructed, not enacted, or not enforced by Member State
5	Less than 10% of pharma industry spending on R&D is actually innovative Most of the R&D spend is devoted to clinical trial box-ticking
6	Biofuels are a green window-dressing Do biofuels really address climate change, reducing consumption, or increasing energy efficiency?
7	The European ideal gets in the ways of life science progress The strength of the European life sciences endeavour is unimportant compared with objectives such as peace, integration, democracy and monetary union
8	National research programmes truly promote European Research ideals Local science priorities reflect global needs and not historical funding patterns
9	Celebrity endorsement is vital for biotechnology and its products Film and soap stars can raise the profile of biotech, but are all the associations going to be positive?
10	Opponents of stem cell research should not be allowed stem cell treatments Choices should combine current values and future needs
11	Scientist always see the world exactly as it is Which is more real: a detailed understanding of a narrow field, or a broad context with no depth?
12	Engineers are the key to Europe's real biotechnology revolution Biology is interesting but Europe needs engineers to construct the new industries