Human Brain project retains the confidence of the EU

The European Commission has responded to criticism from over 700 scientists and students about the €1.2 billion Human Brain Project, saying it is confident an ongoing evaluation of the project will properly address their concerns.

Earlier this month, scientists from all over Europe and beyond put their names to an open letter of protest to the European Commission about the project, questioning both its scientific validity and its governance, and threatening to boycott the flagship neuroscience research programme.

Robert Madelin, who is responsible for the European Commission’s digital agenda, responded directly to the open letter, under the heading, "No single roadmap for understanding the human brain".

“As a public authority for research, we take all such signals seriously,” he said. “We welcome the debate.”

There will be no direct intervention from the Commission into the scientific component of the project. “The exact scope of the project is a matter for the project itself, and that is the subject of the current public debate,” said Madelin.

But there will be an evaluation of the way the project is managed, something that was highly contentious among some of the scientists who signed the protest letter, in September. That review, overseen by “high-level and independent experts", will look at "the governance of the overall initiative”, wrote Madelin.

There were no specific promises but Madelin said, “I am pretty confident that the next months will see a satisfactory approach, even on the issues raised by the critics of the current project plans.”