WRITTEN QUESTION E-1133/00

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(11 April 2000)

Subject: White Paper on Food Safety and the European Food Authority

The White Paper on Food Safety (COM(1999) 719 final) was published in January 2000. Chapter 4 is concerned with establishing a European Food Authority (EFA). Chapter 5 considers legislation on food safety.

Many EU Member States have made massive cutbacks in the public funding of scientific research in recent decades. As a result, scientists are partially dependent on industry for funding of their research. This position of dependence can impair the credibility of researchers and the advice which they give (section 41).

1. In what way will the Commission guarantee the independence of European scientists?

2. Does the Commission accept the proposal to establish a ceiling on the private funding of scientific research? If so, in what way will the Commission set the maximum and minimum levels of private and public funding, respectively? If not, does the Commission believe that private funding has no effect on the independence of scientist?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-1125/00, E-1133/00 and E-1134/00 given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(21 June 2000)

The Honourable Member has raised a series of questions in response to the Commission's proposal to establish a European food authority (EFA) as set out in the white paper on food safety. As part of the consultation process, the Commission invited comments on the EFA proposal with a deadline for comments of 30 April 2000. The Commission is currently evaluating these comments in preparation for the legislative proposal announced in the white paper.

The white paper emphasises the importance of networking with Member States and the need to work in close collaboration with their national agencies. It also stresses the important role that the EFA will have in gathering and analysing information that would allow it to take a pro-active approach to the identification of emerging hazards and, where possible, the avoidance of crisis.

Scientific co-operation is the common used term for the procedure established under Council Directive 93/5/EEC of 25 February 1993 on assistance to the Commission and cooperation by the Member States in the scientific examination of questions relating to food(1). It is one of a number of networks that have been established under Community legislation to gather information or to provide assistance to the Commission on matters related to food safety. The Commission is reflecting on the future organisation and resourcing of these networks in the EFA context to ensure their optimum efficiency.

The Commission has attached great importance to the independence of the scientific committees and their members. Article 6(1) of Commission Decision 97/579/EC of 23 July 1997 setting up scientific committees in the field of consumer health and food safety(2) stipulates that the members of the committees shall act independently of all external influence. In order to ensure such independence, members make three separate declarations of all their interests that could be considered prejudicial to their independence: a declaration of interest as part of the original expression of interest (application) to become a member of a scientific committee; an annual declaration of interest, and a declaration of any particular interest which could be regarded as prejudicial to the expert's independence in respect of an item on the agenda of a meeting of the committee. As the Commission has indicated in its communication Towards a European Research Area(3), the Community's investments in research & development, both public and private, are lagging behind those of its major competitors. The question of setting ceilings on any component of research expenditure does therefore not arise. In any case, the Commission considers that the provisions mentioned above are such that should conflicts of interest arise, they

would not compromise the objectivity of the committees. In practice the committee decides on a case by case basis on the extent of a member's participation in the work. A member who is not able to act independently is not invited to be rapporteur or chairman and may not seek to influence conclusions. Declarations of interest are recorded.

Since November 1997, when the Commission's scientific committees were reorganised under common internal management, the opinions expressed by the committees have been made publicly available on the internet, generally within three working days of their adoption. All the opinions of the scientific committees issued since that time can be found on the Commission's Europa server:

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dg24/health/sc/index_en.html.

(1) OJ L 52, 4.3.1993.

(2) OJ L 237, 28.8.1997.

(3) COM(2000) 6 final.