RESOLUTION (EU) 2022/1753 OF THE EUR OPEAN PARLIAMENT 
of 4 May 2022
with obser vations forming an integ ral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the 
implementat ion of the budget of the European Food Safety Author ity (EFSA) for the financial year 
2020 
THE EUR OPEAN PARLIAMENT ,
— having regard to its decision on disc harge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Food Safety 
Authority for the financial year 2020,
— having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,
— having regard to the opinion of the Committ ee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety ,
— having regard to the repor t of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0115/2022),
A.whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure (1), the final budget of the European Food Safet y 
Author ity (the ‘Author ity’) for the financia l year 2020 was EUR 103 023 255,80 , representing an increase of 27,60 % 
compare d to 2019, mainly because of an increase in operating expenditure linked to the Author ity; whereas the 
Author ity’s budget derives mainly from the Union budge t;
B.whereas the Cour t of Auditors (the ‘Cour t’), in its repor t on the annual accounts of the Author ity for the financia l year 
2020 (the ‘Cour t’s repor t’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Authority’s annual accounts are 
reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular;
Budget and financial management
1. Notes with satisf action that the budget monitori ng efforts during the financial year 2020 resulted in a budget 
imp lementation rate of 100 %, representing a slight increase of 0,01 % compared to 2019; notes, further more that 
the payment appropr iations execution rate was at 88,41 %, representing a decrease of 3,04 % compared to 2019;
Perfor mance
2. Welcomes the contr ibution of the Author ity to the safety of the Union food and feed chain, and its considerable 
efforts in providing risk managers with comprehensive, independent and up-to-dat e scientific advice on questions 
linked to the food chain, communicating clearly to the public on its outputs and the information on which they are 
based, and cooperating with interested parties and institutional partners to promot e coherence and trust in the food 
safety system ;
3. Highlights that, in 2020, the Author ity finalised 697 questions through scientifi c outputs, technical repor ts and 
suppor ting publications; welcomes the Auth ority’s timely suppor t to policy-maker s in providing scientific outputs 
follo wing on mandates given by Parliament, mainly in the areas of animal health and welf are, bee health, welf are of 
rabbits, animal transpor t and antimicrobial resistance including extern al scientifi c and event repor ts;
4. Highlights the impor tance of a responsible, ethical and up-to -date, science-based approach to impro ving animal 
welf are; welcomes in that rega rd the Author ity’s work on the preparation of the Farm to Fork strategy ;
(1)OJ C 114, 31.3.2021, p. 69.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 258/276 5.10.2022  
5. Recalls that, in 2020, Parliament adop ted two objections to extensi ons of approval periods of active ingredients used 
in pesticides whic h meet the cut-off criteria and should theref ore not be author ised for use in the Union (2); urges the 
Authority to speed up its assessment of all draf t review repor ts of active ingredients and to do all it can to speed up 
the reassessment process by the repor ting Member States in order to avoid any new extensions of hazardous 
pesticides, stresses that the backlog in reassessing biocides is of particular concer n as well and increased efforts are 
needed to resolve this;
6. Notes with satisf action that the Author ity is mov ing towards cutting-edg e technologies, incor porating new 
alternati ve methodologies and artificial intelli gence to supplement animal testing methods; recognises that the 
Authority along with European Chemicals Agency and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and 
five other agencies performe d stress tests of their information and communications technology (ICT) syste ms before 
launching full teleworking arrangements which gave further assurance on the functioning of the ICT systems before 
the mov e to compre hensive telew orking; encourage s the Auth ority to increase its efforts to protect animal welfa re 
even further and to promote the use of non-animal testing methods, also in its cooperation with other institutions;
7. Welcomes the compl etion of the Union summar y repor t on antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic and indicator 
bacteria from humans, animals and food, on which the Author ity collaborated with the European Centre for 
Disease Prevention and Control; highlights in this regar d the problem of the increasing resistance of these bacteri a 
to commonly used antibiotics;
8. Notes that the Auth ority uses key performance indicators (KPIs) in its compreh ensive performance-based 
manage ment approach to measure the added value provided by its activities, especially concer ning the shar ing of 
scientific information; note s further more that the Author ity uses other KPIs to enhance its budget management; 
note s that six indicators were delet ed and two were added in 2020;
9. Notes that the Author ity is committed to deliver its core business and in 2020 initiat ed the preparations for the 
imp lementation of Regulation (EU) 2019/1381 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3), aiming at 
developing new processes, reviewing staff structure, and leveraging its technology and information manag ement 
capabilities; note s also that in 2020 the Author ity was able to limit the impact of the pandemic on its performa nce, 
with only a slight fall in productivity , due to the Author ity’s technological readiness to switc h from a physical to a 
digital working environment early enough; further notes that in 2020 the Author ity was still developing its Strategy 
2027; calls on the Auth ority to repor t to the discharg e author ity on the developments in that regar d;
(2)European Parliament resolution of 26 November 2020 on Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1511 of 16 Octo ber 
2020 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 as regar ds the extension of the approval periods of the active substances 
amidosulfuron, bifeno x, chlorot oluron, clofentezine, clomazone, cyper methr in, daminozide, deltamethr in, dicamba, difenoconazole, 
diflufenican, feno xaprop-P , fenpropidin, fludio xonil, flufenacet , fosthiazat e, indo xacarb, lenacil, MCP A, MCPB, nicosulfuron, paraffin 
oils, picloram, prosulf ocarb, sulphur , triflusulfuron and tritosulfuron (OJ C 425, 20.10.2021, p. 87) and European Parliament 
resolution of 10 June 2021 on Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/745 of 6 May 2021 amending Implementing 
Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 as regards the extension of the approval periods of the active substances aluminium ammonium 
sulphat e, aluminium silicate, beflubutamid, benthiavalicarb, bifenazate, boscalid, calcium carbonat e, captan , carbon dioxide, 
cymo xanil, dimethomor ph, ethephon, extract from tea tree, famo xadone, fat distillation residues, fatty acids C7 to C20, flumio xazine, 
fluoxastrobin, fluroch loridone, folpet, formetanate, gibberellic acid, gibberellins, heptamalo xylog lucan, hydrolysed proteins, iron 
sulphat e, metazachlor , metr ibuzin, milbemectin, Paecilomy ces lilacinus strain 251, phenmedipham, phosmet, pirimiphos-methyl , 
plant oils/rape seed oil, potassium hydrogen carbonat e, propamocarb, prothioconazole, quar tz sand, fish oil, repellents by smell of 
animal or plant origin/sheep fat, S-metolac hlor , Straight Chain Lepidopt eran Pheromones, tebu conazole and urea (OJ C 67, 8.2.2022, 
p. 75).
(3)Regulation (EU) 2019/1381 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on the transparency and sustainability of 
the EU risk assessment in the food chai n and amending Regulations (EC) No 178/2002, (EC) No 1829/2003, (EC) No 1831/2003, (EC) 
No 2065/2003, (EC) No 1935/2004, (EC) No 1331/2008, (EC) No 1107/2009, (EU) 2015/2283 and Directive 2001/18/EC (OJ L 231, 
6.9.2019, p. 1).EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 5.10.2022 L 258/277  
10. Welcomes the efforts taken by the Auth ority to strengthen its collaboration with other Union agencies, notably 
focusing on the shar ing of knowledg e and best practices and looking into poten tial synergies through the 
establishment of netw orks in areas such as procurement planning, information and communication technologies, 
artificial intelligence, outward communication and human resources management; notes that the Author ity has 
under take n such activities with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the European Chemicals 
Agen cy, the European Medicines Age ncy, and the European Environment Agen cy;
11. Notes, with regar d to the follow-up obser vations to the 2019 disc harge, that the Auth ority strong ly agrees with the 
objective to digitalise Union agencies; notes that, in accordance with its 2027 Strategy , the Author ity aims to 
continue inve sting in the digitalisation of its processes and to moder nise existing IT infrastr ucture, to maximise 
collaboration and the exchange of kno wledge within and outside the Author ity, thereby ensur ing broader , more 
efficient and faster access to scientific intelli gence; further notes that the Author ity contr ibutes to the Commission’s 
digital strateg y, by participating in the Health Policy Agen cies and European Commission Collaboration (HPAC) 
initiative led by the Direct orate -General for Health and Food Safety , pursuing efficiency via synergies and 
collaborations in the deliver y of common digital solutions;
Staff policy
12. Notes that, on 31 December 2020 , the establishment plan was 97,46 % implemented , with five officials and 340 
temporar y agents appoint ed out of 354 posts author ised under the Union budget (compared to 320 author ised 
posts in 2019); notes that, in addition, 122 contract agents and 14 seconded national exper ts work ed for the 
Authority in 2020;
13. Invites the Commission to grant the Auth ority, in duly justif ied cases, the option of hiring contract agents in excess 
of the establishment plans, for a limited period of time and without exceeding the Auth ority’s agreed annual budget 
envelope; considers that such flexibility would speed up the reduction of the cumulated backlog of work and the 
belated compl etion of ongoing dossiers owing to a lack of human resources; insists that those contract agents 
obviously need to compl y with the Author ity’s independence rules;
14. Considers that it is the role of the Author ity to look actively for high-level exper ts and convince them to take part in 
its work, by ackn owledging the relevance and reliability of their peer -reviewed research when conducting its own 
scientific analysis in line with Article 8(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council (4);
15. Notes the gender balance within the Author ity’s senior manag ement members, with three out of five (60 %) being 
women; notes with concer n the gender unbalance within the Author ity’s manag ement board with 12 out of 15 
(80 %) being men; notes the gender balance within the Author ity’s overall staff, with 285 out of 467 (61,03 %) 
being women; asks the Commission and the Member State s to take the importance of ensur ing gender balance into 
account when nominating their members to the Agen cy’s administrative board;
16. Notes that the Auth ority continued its activities and was able to deliver its work programme despite the COVID-19 
pandemic; note s, however , that the Author ity’s budget under went chang es with a decrease of commitments and 
payments appropr iations by EUR 5 000 000 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on missions, training, 
energy supplies, maintenanc e and the cancellation of physical meetings; notes that the Author ity corresponding ly 
exper ienced a decrease in revenues due to the epidemiologic situation;
(4)Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concer ning the placing of plant 
prot ection products on the market and repealing Council Directives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EEC (OJ L 309, 24.11.2009, p. 1).EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 258/278 5.10.2022  
17. Notes that the Author ity welcomes the discharg e author ity’s recommendation and is fully awar e of the need for 
bette r geographical balance within its organisation, notably including citizens of the Member States that acceded to 
the Union in 2004; notes that the Auth ority is currently promoting a series of target ed initiatives to increase its 
attractiveness and improve its nationality balance; note s that the Auth ority is in particular focussing on increasing 
its visibility with the suppor t of the Communication and Cooperation Depar tment, the EU Agencies Network, as 
well as other internatio nal agencies and partner organisations; notes that the Author ity is also working on a 
target ed dissemination of its vacancies to under -represented countr ies to enlarg e the pool of applicants through the 
use of Link edIn, job boards and the suppor t of our national Focal Points; calls on the Author ity keep the disc harge 
author ity update d on the developments in that regard;
Procurement
18. Notes that the Author ity was involved in the Networ k of Procurement Officers (NAPO), contr ibuting signif icantly to 
the implementation of its 2020 work programme, launc hing and signing seven inter -agency procurement calls 
in 2020, resulting in an estimat ed saving of EUR 2,1 million to the Union budget; notes that the Authority led 
seven out of nine inter-agency procedures with EUR 2,4 million estimated savings in total; welcomes the 
Authority’s continuing collaboration with other Union agencies such as the European Chemicals Age ncy, the 
European Centre for Disease Control, the European Medicines Age ncy, and the European Environmental Agen cy to 
identify oppor tunities for joint procurement on common scientific topi cs; calls on the Author ity to repor t to the 
disc harge author ity on the developments in that regar d;
Prev ention and management of conf licts of interes t, and transparency
19. Acknowledg es the Author ity’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to secure transparency , prevention and 
manage ment of conf licts of interests, and whistleblowe r prot ection; regrets that the Author ity does not publish the 
curriculum vitaes of its staff members online; encourages the Auth ority to take measures in that rega rd;
20. Encourages higher transparency towards stak eholders especially from the non-go vernmental organisation 
community ; suppor ts the Auth ority’s strateg ic objective to further foster partnerships with other agenci es, as well 
as with intern ational organisations and third countr ies, towards an One Health Union ecosystem, while continuing 
its engag ement with its stakeho lders and the public through appropr iate platf orms and fora, whic h should result in 
further economies of scale;
21. Recognises the efforts of the Author ity to alleviate concer ns in relations to conf licts of inter est of its emplo yees; 
note s that conf lict of interest standards can be further strengthened;
22. Notes that in 2020 the Auth ority identif ied and manag ed 31 conf licts of inter est at the level of annual declarations 
of interests pertaining to extern al exper ts; notes that the Author ity decided to exclude one exper t from membership 
of the Author ity’s scientifi c group; calls on the Author ity continue its efforts in identifying and managing conf licts 
and pote ntial conf licts of inter est and to keep the disc harge author ity informed;
23. Notes, with regard to the follow-up obser vations to the 2019 disc harge on the European Ombudsman’s case that the 
Authority is consider ing the development of internal procedures for preventing access to conf idential information 
when it is notified that a member of staff is moving to another job outside the Author ity after the end of service; 
calls on the Author ity to repor t on the developments in that regard;
COVID-19 response and business continuity
24. Notes that the Auth ority continued its activities and was able to deliver its work programme despite the COVID-19 
pandemic; note s, however , that the Author ity’s budget under went chang es with a decrease of commitments and 
payments appropr iations by EUR 5 000 000 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on missions, training, 
energy supplies, maintenanc e and the cancellation of physical meetings; notes that the Author ity corresponding ly 
exper ienced a decrease in revenues due to the epidemiologic situation;EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 5.10.2022 L 258/279  
25. Acknowledg es the statement of the Author ity that its governance and work programme structure remained fully 
operational despite the restr ictions and conf inement due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that the Author ity 
continued its activities and was able to deliver its work programme; ackn owledges the chang es that were made to 
the Auth ority’s budget, with a decrease of commitments and payments and a corresponding decrease in revenues, 
follo wing a detailed SARS-CO V-2 impact assessment analysis that was conduct ed by the Author ity in cooperation 
with the Direct orate-Gen eral for Health and Food Safety ;
Inter nal control
26. Notes that the Author ity has performe d an assessment of its intern al control system s for the repor ting year and 
concluded that, overall, all intern al control components and principles were present and functioning as intende d; 
welcomes that the Authority never theless identif ied a number of measures that will be taken to further strengthen 
the manag ement of sensitive information, the Author ity’s process archit ecture, the process management 
methodology , and risk manage ment and intern al control;
27. Notes that the internal audit service performe d an audit on the assessment and adopt ion of scientifi c outputs in the 
food ingredients and packaging domain and in October 2020 issued its final repor t to the Author ity; notes that the 
internal audit service concluded that although the process for assessing and adopting scientific outputs under the 
food ingredients and packaging domain is overall adequately designed, effective and efficient, one very impor tant 
audit obser vation was issued regar ding the weakness in the effective and timely implementation of the re-evaluation 
of food additives and enzymes;
28. Notes that in October 2020 the internal audit service started an internal audit on the Author ity’s procurement and 
grant award procedures; note s that the audit, which covers the procurement and grant award procedures finalised in 
the years 2019 and 2020, was published in the first semester of 2021;
Other comments
29. Notes the Author ity’s efforts to ensure a cost-eff ective and environment-fr iendly working place; notes the 
Authority’s adoption of structural and plant solutions aimed at reducing energy , wate r consum ption and CO2 
emissions;
30. Notes the Author ity’s efforts to use social media platf orms as a primar y tool to disseminate its communication 
mater ial to reac h stake holders and citizens; notes that the Authority’s social media activities achi eved strong results, 
with a year-on-year increase of follo wers on its social media accounts of almost 30 % compare d to 2019; notes that 
the Author ity continued to implement its social science roadmap in 2020, which provi des the Author ity with a 
bette r understanding of citizens ’ risk percep tions and information needs, and in turn allows for a more targe ted and 
imp actful risk communication; further notes that the Author ity continued to inve st in its website and digital 
publications, with specifi c impro vements delivered in 2020 that included the migration of the hosting of the 
Authority website to Amazon Web Services’ cloud, as well as an upgrade to the Drupal 8 content manag ement 
system; calls on the Author ity to repor t on the developments on its communication strateg y and digital transition;
31. Refers, for other obser vations of a cross-cutting nature accompan ying its decision on disc harge, to its resolution of 
4 May 2022 (5)on the perf ormance, financia l management and control of the agencies.
(5)Texts adopt ed, P9_T A(2022)0196.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 258/280 5.10.2022