77th Management Board meeting: Members share views on the EU’s General Food Law reform and are updated on activities in the fields of bee health and scientific cooperation
At its second meeting in 2018, in addition to the adoption of the favourable opinion on the final accounts for the financial year 2017, EFSA’s Management Board shared views on the EU’s General Food Law reform.
EFSA’s achievements and ongoing work in the fields of bee health and international scientific cooperation were also discussed.
Reform of EU General Food Law
EFSA’s Management Board shared views on changes proposed to the EU’s General Food Law. On April 11, the European Commission proposed a reform of the Regulation established in 2002, under which EFSA was created as an independent EU agency responsible for scientific advice on risks associated with the agri-food chain.
The plan follows a Fitness Check review published by the European Commission in January, confirming that the legislation was meeting its core objectives of ensuring a high level of protection for human health and the smooth functioning of the internal market.
Management Board Chair Jaana Husu-Kallio said: “We strongly welcome the proposal from the European Commission, which includes a number of important changes, particularly in the areas of transparency and more effective communication”.
“Our job as a Management Board is to act in the public interest and to ensure EFSA’s priorities are in line with its principal mission of delivering excellent science independently, also in the future”.
The Board also discussed plans to increase the responsibility of Member States, notably in the nominations of scientific experts.
Scientific Cooperation
Board members heard an overview of EFSA’s activities in the field of scientific cooperation, including joint projects agreed between EFSA and EU Member States, outcomes from the first Risk Assessment Research Assembly that took place in February and cooperation with international bodies such as the UN’s Codex Committees.
The overview also marked the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the EFSA Focal Points, noting their strategic contribution as a cornerstone of scientific cooperation with Member States and in communication activities across Europe.
External evaluation of EFSA
The Board Chair gave an update on the state of play of the third external evaluation of the Authority. The conclusions of the evaluation will be made public on EFSA’s website following the finalisation of the report, prepared by an external contractor. Based on the findings of the report, EFSA’s Management Board will adopt a series of recommendations at their meeting in October.
Bee health
The Board members were given an update on EFSA’s work in the field of bee health and the objective of developing an integrated approach, involving multidisciplinary scientific teams and stakeholders, to assess bee health in the context of multiple stress factors.
Board members were informed of recent activities including EFSA’s organisation of a scientific symposium at the European Parliament’s annual Week of Bees and Pollination last year, and the support to stakeholders over the past year in setting up an EU bee partnership that would collect and share data on bee health.
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Audiocast and documents
Welcome by the Chair
Adoption of the agenda
Board members’ ADoIs and ODoIs
Accounts 2017 financial year
EFSA’s external evaluation: State of play
Management Board opinion with regard to the EC proposal for amendment of the EU General Food Law
EFSA Performance Report
Update from the Scientific Committee
Implementation of the Strategy 2020: Scientific excellence and quality
Governance of scientific activities
EFSA’s work in the field of bee health
EFSA scientific cooperation
Update on the TERA project
Update on the MATRIX project
Third EFSA’s scientific conference
Implementing Rules of Staff Regulations
Amendments to Art. 36 list
Feedback from the Audit Committee
AoB