regulations needed to minimize risks. The final report of the Working 
Group was submitted to the Executive Council of ESF in October 1976 and 
contained the following proposals: 
• that the U.K. Guidelines be adopted as the guiding principles for 
recombinant DNA research because of the greater degree of physical 
containment and flexibility offered; 
• that adherence to the Guidelines be voluntary and supervision a 
national responsibility; and 
• that a standing committee be established for the continued delib- 
eration of recombinant DNA issues. 
In response to the latter recommendation, the European Liaison Com- 
mittee for Recombinant DNA Research was created under the chairmanship of 
Professor Povl Riis. The objective of this Committee is to meet the 
needs of governments and the law on the one hand and of the scientific 
community on the other concerning the matter of safety procedures. The 
problem of disclosure of information was reviewed at a meeting in 
Strasbourg in March 1977, with representatives of EEC, EMBO , and NIH in 
attendance. Discussion centered on how to balance the need for disclo- 
sure of information in research protocols among nations (in order to 
implement uniform safety practices) with the need to protect proprietary 
and patent rights. 
In an effort to obtain more expert advice on this complex issue, the 
newly created Working Group on Legislation and Recombinant DNA Research 
met in London on June 22 under the chairmanship of Professor H. Hart. 
