EFSA Management Board Supports Increase in Scientific Cooperation Funding for Member States

The Board adopted the 2011 work programme on funds for cooperation projects, which have nearly tripled in the past five years. Most of the funds are allocated to supporting risk assessment activities, such as the examination of authorisation dossiers, data collection and analysis.

Oct 22 2010 --- The European Food Safety Authority’s Management Board, including seven newly-appointed members has supported the continued increase in grants and contracts to fund scientific work with Member States and discussed EFSA’s communication strategy for 2010-2013. Board members re-elected Diána Bánáti as Chair and Sue Davies[ and Piergiuseppe Facelli[3] as the Board’s Vice Chairs.

Through its updated communications strategy, the European food safety watchdog aims to further increase awareness and understanding of EFSA’s independent scientific risk assessment advice among key target audiences and promote the coherence of the information it provides through strong cooperation with relevant authorities at national, European and international level. The Authority will also implement integrated, thematic communications programmes with Member States and stakeholders on issues reflecting consumer concerns and public health priorities.

As part of its annual work programme EFSA funds scientific work in Member States which help EFSA address an increasing workload and the complexity of its work while ensuring high quality. The Board adopted the 2011 work programme on funds for cooperation projects, which have nearly tripled in the past five years. Most of the funds are allocated to supporting risk assessment activities, such as the examination of authorisation dossiers, data collection and analysis.

EFSA Executive Director Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle reported to the Board on the main points raised at the Advisory Forum meeting of representatives of Member States in Malta in September attended by Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy John Dalli. The Advisory Forum supported a document from EFSA aimed at setting out its medium-term planning to help Member States gauge their future involvement in areas of interest in EFSA’s work and pool resources more effectively across the European Union.

Commissioner Dalli told the Advisory Forum that medium-term planning should encompass more involvement from Member States, and that EFSA cannot properly address its heavy workload without finding new ways of working and cooperating with national bodies. He also said EFSA needed to raise awareness of the need to maintain and develop expertise at national level to ensure that the EU system for risk assessment can be sustained.

Geslain-Lanéelle also noted the increasing allocation of resources to the evaluation of applications submitted for regulatory approval, such as GMOs, additives and health claims. She confirmed that EFSA will continue to improve its service to applicants while maintaining delivery of its general scientific opinions on major public health risks. “EFSA aims to do this by improving efficiency, better predicting short-term and medium-term priorities and boosting its risk assessment capacity through scientific cooperation,” she said.

The new Management Board of EFSA elected the new Chair and two Vice-Chairs.

The Board elected Professor Diána Bánáti, Director General of the Central Food Research Institute of Hungary. The Board also elected as Vice-Chairs, Sue Davies, Chief Policy Adviser at the UK Consumer Organisation “Which?” and Piergiuseppe Facelli, Head of International Affairs in the Italian Ministry of Health.

Professor Diana Banati has resigned from positions which may create a potential conflict of interests with EFSA activities.