Seven EU states to work together towards AIDS vaccine

Meeting in Paris, representatives from France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands – as well as the European Commission - said they would co-ordinate efforts and research to "accelerate the discovery of an AIDS vaccine", according to Le Monde. French health minister Philippe Douste-Blazy criticised the "fragmentation" of European AIDS research and said it was "insufficiently financed". Representatives from the seven countries said they would share the fruits of scientific research in this field. The meeting will allow Europe to speak with a single voice at a conference on the AIDS vaccine which takes place today (21 October) in Washington. Brussels warned last month that Europe's AIDS problem is worsening as the rate of new infections in some new member states are the highest in the World.