Draft Programming Document 2025-2027 : science, safe food, sustainability.
Date: 2024-02-09
Institutions: European Food Safety Authority
Subjects: European Food Safety Authority, food safety, health control, health risk, innovation, public health, scientific cooperation

Draft   
Programming  
Document 

20222025-2027Neither the European Food Safety Authority nor any person acting on behalf of the European 
Food Safety Authority is responsible for the use that might be made of the following information.

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2024

PDF 

ISBN 978-92-9499-658-9 

ISSN 2363-3980  doi:10.2805/845604        TM-AS-24-002-EN-N

© European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), 2024
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

mb231214-a3 

DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 
2025-2027 

Science, Safe food, Sustainability 

Adopted on 14 December 2023 

For EFSA’s Management Board  

[SIGNED] 

Aivars Bērziņš 

Chair of the Management Board 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Table of Contents 

Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... 2 

Foreword ................................................................................................................................... 4 

List of abbreviations .................................................................................................................. 5 

Strategic Foundation ................................................................................................................. 8 

Section I. General context ....................................................................................................... 10 

Section II. Multiannual programming 2024-2027 .................................................................... 17 

1. 

Multiannual programme 2024-2027() .......................................................................... 17 

1.1 Deliver trustworthy scientific advice and communication of risks from farm to fork. ..... 17 

1.2 Ensure preparedness for future risk analysis needs ....................................................... 27 

1.3 Empower people and ensure organisational agility ........................................................ 40 

2. 

Human and financial resources – Outlook for 2024-2027 ........................................... 45 

Section III. DRAFT Annual Work Programme Year 2025 ......................................................... 58 

1. 

2. 

Executive summary ..................................................................................................... 58 

Activities per strategic objective ................................................................................. 60 

2.1  Deliver trustworthy scientific advice and communication of risks from farm to fork. .. 60 

2.2  Ensure preparedness for future risk analysis needs .................................................... 65 

2.3  Empower people and ensure organisational agility ..................................................... 71 

Appendices .............................................................................................................................. 75 

Appendix A. —key performance indicators Multiannual targets ............................................... 76 

Appendix B. — DRAFT Plan for scientific questions to be closed in 2025 ................................. 87 

Appendix C — Projects per EFSA Strategic transformation priority and expected outcome ..... 89 

Annexes .................................................................................................................................. 94 

Annex I. Organisational chart for 2024 ................................................................................... 95 

1. 

2. 

Organisation and organisational chart ........................................................................ 95 

Post distribution ......................................................................................................... 96 

Annex II. Resource allocation per activity for 2024-2027 ....................................................... 97 

1. 

2. 

Financial resources per strategic objective ................................................................. 97 

Human resources per strategic objective .................................................................... 98 

Annex III. Financial resources for 2025 - 2027 ....................................................................... 99 

Revenues ............................................................................................................................. 99 

Expenditures ...................................................................................................................... 100 

Budget outturn and cancellation of appropriations 2023 .................................................... 104 

Annex IV. Human resources for 2025 - 2027 — quantitative ................................................. 105 

1. 

2. 

The staff population and its evolution ....................................................................... 105 

Multiannual staff policy plan for 2025-2027 .............................................................. 107 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

3. 

Recruitment forecasts 2025 following retirement/mobility or new requested posts  110 

Annex V. Human resources for 2025 — 2027 qualitative ....................................................... 111 

A. 

B. 

Recruitment policy .................................................................................................... 111 

Appraisal and reclassification/promotions ................................................................ 114 

C.   Gender representation .............................................................................................. 118 

D. 

Geographical Balance ................................................................................................ 119 

E.  

Schooling .................................................................................................................. 120 

Annex VI. Environment management .................................................................................... 121 

Annex VII. Building policy ..................................................................................................... 124 

Annex VIII. Privileges and immunities .................................................................................. 125 

Annex IX. Evaluations ........................................................................................................... 126 

Annex X. Strategy for the organisational management and internal control systems ............ 127 

EFSA’s Integrated ManAgement System and Control environment ..................................... 127 

Risk management at EFSA .................................................................................................. 131 

Annex XI. Plan for grant, contribution and service-level agreements .................................... 136 

Annex XII. DRAFT Work programme for grants and operational procurements for 2025 ...... 137 

Annex XIII. Strategy for cooperation with third countries and/or international organisations
 .............................................................................................................................................. 143 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

FOREWORD 

Welcome to the European Food Safety Authority’s programming document for 2024-2027, which 
outlines how we will implement our strategy in the medium and longer term.  

EFSA’s  Strategy  2022-2027  is  focused  on  staying  relevant  in  the  dynamic  and  increasingly 
complex  environment  in  which  we  operate.  Its  three  central  objectives  –  deliver  trustworthy 
scientific  advice  and  communication,  ensure  preparedness  for  future  risk  analysis  needs,  and 
ensure organisational agility – are the framework for all our planning and resource allocations. 

To implement our strategy, EFSA has designed a multiannual portfolio consisting of processes 
and projects and their underlying resource needs. The processes represent the bulk of our work, 
including our core business of providing scientific advice and risk communications. The projects 
are aimed at enhancing the core business along strategic transformation priorities: speed of risk 
assessment, preparedness for future risk assessment needs, and digital collaboration within the 
EU food safety system. 

Following  the  consolidation  of  EFSA’s  organisational  design  and  process  architecture  in  2023, 
the coming years will see a further prioritisation of our core activities. In 2024, EFSA will address 
more than 400 requests from risk managers for scientific advice on the evaluation of applications 
for regulated products, and around 200 requests on priorities relating to food and feed safety, 
animal health and welfare, plant health and human nutrition. 

To deliver  on our mission, we cannot solely rely on EFSA’s own resources, but need to move 
from occasional collaboration to long term partnerships. Whether at European or Member State 
level, such partnerships teamed with a One Health approach are critical to achieve EFSA’s and 
the EU’s bigger goals outlined, for instance, by the Green Deal or the Farm to Fork Strategy. 

We will therefore continue to promote and enable cooperation and partnership within and beyond 
the EU food safety system, also through our expert community, which will be growing again with 
the upcoming panel renewal in 2024. It is only by working together and by pooling resources 
and assets – knowledge, expertise, data, and methods – that the EU will continue to deliver the 
high standards of food safety for which it is renowned.  

Being  in  the  third  year  of  its  current  strategic  cycle,  EFSA  will  conduct  an  internal  mid-term 
review  of  its  strategy  in  2024  to  monitor  the  progress  made  on  the  implementation  of  the 
strategic  objectives.  The  review  will  take  stock  of  any  changes  in  the  internal  and  external 
context that may lead to an adaptation of the strategy. It will also support our external evaluation 
to be kicked off in 2024 and expected to be finalised by March 2026. 

Thanks to the mandate and resources given to us by the Transparency Regulation, and thanks 
to our investment in strong partnerships, we are in a good position to tackle the challenges and 
opportunities ahead – as this document demonstrates. 

Bernhard Url,  

Executive Director 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 

1S1A 

AIR 

AMR 

AOP 

API 

One Substance One Assessment 

Annex I renewal (authorisation of renewal programmes for pesticide 
active substances, according to Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009) 

Antimicrobial Resistance 

Adverse Outcome Pathway 

Application Programming Interface 

APPIAN 

Risk Assessment Case Management Solution 

ASSESS Department 

EFSA Risk Assessment Production Department 

BfR 

BIKE 

BIOHAW 

Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (1) 

Business Intelligence and Knowledge Exploitation 

EFSA Biological Hazards and Animal health & Welfare Unit 

BIOHAZ Panel  

EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards 

BMD 

CA 

CEN 

CEP Panel 

COM 

Benchmark Dose Model 

Contract Agent 

Communications Expert Network 

EFSA Panel on Food-Contact Materials and Enzymes and Processing 
Aids 

EFSA Communications Unit 

CONTAM Panel 

EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain 

CORSER 

EFSA Corporate Services Unit 

CRM 

CSS 

DAMA 

DCF 

DEEP 

DG ENV 

DG SANTE 

DOI 

doi 

ECDC 

ECHA 

Customer Relationship Management  

Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability 

Data Management and Data Analysis 

Data Collection Framework 

Data & Evidence Programme 

Directorate-General for Environment 

The Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety 

Declaration of Interests 

digital object identifier 

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control 

European Chemicals Agency 

ED criteria 

Endocrine Disruptors Criteria 

EEA 

EFSA 

EMA 

European Economic Area 

European Food Safety Authority 

European Medicines Agency 

EMPOWER Department 

EFSA Management Services Department 

ENABLE Department 

EFSA Risk Assessment Services Department 

(1)  German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

ENGAGE Department 

EFSA Communications and Partnership Department 

ENREL 

EPA 

ERA 

EU RAA 

EU 

EPA 3 

FAO 

FDP 

FEEDCO 

EFSA Engagement & External Relations Unit 

EFSA process architecture 

Environmental Risk Assessment 

EU risk assessment agenda 

European Union 

EFSA’s Process Architecture - version 3 

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations 

EFSA Front-Desk & Workforce Planning Unit 

EFSA Feed and Contaminants Unit 

FEEDAP Panel 

EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances Used in Animal 
Feed 

FIN 

FIP 

FPA 

ESFC 

FTE 

GLP 

GPS 

HCD 

HUCAP 

HPAC 

iDATA 

IMP 

IpChem 

IRMA 

ISA 

IUCLID 

JNS 

JRC 

KICs 

KNOW 

KPI 

LA 

MB 

MESE 

MFF 

MRL 

MS 

EFSA Finance Unit 

EFSA Food Ingredients and Packaging Unit 

Framework Partnership Agreement 

Former FSCAP - Solution for processing and validating new regulated 
products dossiers 

Full-Time Staff Equivalent 

Good Laboratory Practice 

EFSA Global Performance Services  

Historical Control Data 

EFSA Human Capital Unit 

Health Policy Agency Collaboration 

EFSA Integrated Data Unit 

Information Management Programme 

Information Platform for Chemical Monitoring 

Innovative Risk Assessment Methodologies Programme 

Individual Scientific Advisor 

International Uniform Chemical Information database 

Joint Notification Summaries 

Joint Research Centre 

Knowledge and Innovation Communities 

EFSA Knowledge, Innovation and Partnership Management Unit 

Key Performance Indicator 

EFSA Legal and Assurance services Unit 

EFSA Management Board 

EFSA Methodology and Scientific Support Unit 

Multiannual Financial Framework 

Maximum Residue Level 

Member State 

NDA Panel 

EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

NAM 

NGS 

NIF 

OECD 

PARC 

PLH 

New Approach Methodologies 

Next-Generation Sequencing 

EFSA Nutrition and Food Innovation Unit 

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development 

European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals 

Plant Health 

PPR Panel  

EFSA Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues 

PREV 

QPS 

RA 

RAL 

RAP 

REFIT 

RMP 

ROA 

SC 

SDWH 

SEA 

SNE 

SO 

SOP 

Sysper 

TA 

TBC 

TBD 

TR 

TS 

TSE 

TTC 

WGS 

WHO 

EFSA Pesticide Peer Review Unit 

Qualified Presumption of Safety 

Risk Assessment 

EFSA Risk Assessment Logistics Unit 

Risk Assessment Project 

European Commission regulatory fitness and performance 
programme 

Relationship Management Project 

Rapid Outbreak Assessments 

EFSA Scientific Committee 

Scientific Data Warehouse Project 

Stakeholder Engagement Approach 

Seconded National Expert 

Strategic Objective 

Standard Operating Procedures 

Système de gestion du Personnel (Human Resources Management 
System) 

Temporary Agent 

To be confirmed 

To be defined 

Transparency Regulation 

EFSA Transformation Services 

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy 

Threshold of Toxicological Concern 

Whole-Genome Sequencing 

World Health Organisation 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

STRATEGIC FOUNDATION 
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is an integral part of the EU food safety system, set 
up  in  2002  to  serve  as  an  impartial  source  of  scientific  advice  to  risk  managers  and  to 
communicate on risks associated with the food chain. EFSA provides the scientific basis for laws 
and regulations to protect European consumers from food-related risks – from farm to fork. 

Individual experts and competent organisations are EFSA’s main knowledge partners. To nurture 
these  relations,  the  Agency  cooperates  intensively  with  Member  States  risk  assessment 
organisations  via  the  Advisory  Forum,  the  National  Focal  Points  and  its  Scientific  Networks. 
Likewise, EFSA works with other EU Agencies, international organisations and risk assessors in 
third countries to increase outreach and joint food safety impact. 

The core of EFSA’s activities is to collect, appraise and integrate scientific evidence to answer 
questions  about  risks.  The  outcome  of  its  work  is  scientific  advice  to  risk  managers,  jointly 
produced  by  independent  experts  and  EFSA  staff.  The  transparency  of  EFSA’s  processes, 
together with its engagement activities, allows for interested parties to scrutinise the work and 
interact with the Agency in an open dialogue on equal terms. EFSA communicates about risks in 
the food chain independently and in a way that meets the needs of the audiences. Together with 
Member States partners EFSA builds the European Food Safety knowledge ecosystem, ensuring 
safe food as the basis for healthy diets and sustainable food systems. 

Our mission 

“Safety  in  the  food  chain  from  farm  to  fork  is  at  EFSA’s  core.  EFSA  contributes  to  protecting 
human  life  and  health,  taking  account  of  animal  health  and  welfare,  plant  health  and  the 
environment. EFSA will deliver independent and transparent scientific advice to policy makers, 
through cooperation with our partners, and in an open dialogue with society”. 

Our vision 

“Safe  food  and  sustainable  food  systems  through  transparent,  independent  and  trustworthy 
scientific advice”. 

Our values 

All of EFSA’s strategic objectives and operational activities are based on a set of fundamental 
values. These are: 

•  Excellence 

We deliver rigorous and reliable risk assessments, building on the latest scientific 
advancements. We communicate to meet the needs of our different audiences. 

•  Independence 

We ensure impartiality of our scientific outputs. Staff and experts, free of conflicts of 
interest, analyse data and apply methods objectively. Group decision-making allows for 
diversity and review among peers. 

•  Openness 

Our risk assessments and communications are accessible and understandable. They are 
produced via transparent processes, enhanced by an open dialogue with all interested 
parties. 

•  Accountability 

We serve the public interest, working to deliver improvements in food safety from farm to 
fork. We use resources effectively, responsibly and sustainably. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

•  Cooperation 

We see collaboration as the only way to master the complexities of the future. We invest in 
building long term partnerships for mutual benefit. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

SECTION I. GENERAL CONTEXT  

In  the  EU  food  safety  system,  the  European  Food  Safety  Authority  (EFSA)  contributes  to  the 
overarching objectives2 of the European Commission, particularly to achieve a high level of public 
health while enhancing the competitiveness of the European Union’s food and feed industry and 
favouring  the  creation  of  jobs.  It  does  so  both  directly,  by  safeguarding  public  health,  and 
indirectly, by strengthening consumer confidence in the food safety system. 

EFSA needs to ensure that it continues to deliver on its mission and tasks taking into account 
innovation  and  changing  citizen  expectations.  To  do  so,  EFSA  regularly  reviews  the  changing 
context, external (opportunities and threats) and internal (strengths and weaknesses), to define 
and  keep  updated  the  strategic  objectives,  and  related  expected  results  and  implementing 
actions.  This  includes  an  assessment  of  the  key  risks  and  mitigating  actions  and  controls,  to 
ensure the achievement of the set objectives. 

Strategic objectives 

EFSA Strategy 20273 has set the multiannual objectives and expected outcomes and operational 
results of the agency, spanning the years 2022-2027; the document also describes the changing 
context  that  led  to  the  definition  of  the  strategic  objectives,  and  includes  a  high  level 
implementation plan. EFSA’s strategy 2027 is built on three strategic objectives (SOs) that guide 
EFSA into the future: 

•  SO1: Deliver trustworthy scientific advice and communication of risks from farm to fork 

•  SO2: Ensure preparedness for future risk analysis needs. 

•  SO3: Empower people and ensure organisational agility. 

Integrated in the above strategic objectives, EFSA has set three strategic transformation 
priorities, where a relevant step change is considered crucial to bring about the expected 
results: 

1. 
Improve the speed of risk assessment, i.e., reducing the overall throughput time of risk 
assessment from receipt of a mandate until its publication. Work under this priority has so far 
focused  on improving the productivity  in the scientific  risk assessment, such as via  enhanced 
data analysis capabilities. EFSA, in cooperation with DG SANTE and the EFSA Panels invested in 
2023  in  initiatives  to  identify  more  accurately  the  main  root-causes  and  improvement 
opportunities  for  improving  the  speed  of  risk  assessment.  Preliminary  findings  indicate  that 
considerable  gains  could  be  achieved  by  reducing  rework  throughout  the  end  to  end  risk 
assessment process and revisiting the EFSA Panel model. Further analysis will continue in the 
course of 2024, leading eventually to activities implementing the identified improvements in the 
coming years. 

2. 
Increase preparedness for future risk assessment needs, i.e., increasing the share of risk 
assessments  that  are  ready  to  start  at  the  point  of  receipt  of  the  request,  addressing  timely 
evolving  regulatory  requirements  and  integrating  scientific/technological  developments  in  line 
with  expectations.  Activities  under  this  priority  have  been  focused  on  prioritised  themes  for 
exploration  and  development.  EFSA  has  revisited  in  2023  the  approach  for  managing  the 

2 

3 

https://ec.europa.eu/food/index_en 

EFSA Strategy 2027, https://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2021-07/efsa-strategy-2027.pdf   

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development of new capabilities, including the introduction of a stage-gate approach (strategic 
themes identification-exploratory research-development and introduction of capabilities in risk 
assessment)  and  the  strengthened  outward  focus  to  tap  into  the  available  expertise  and 
resources. 

3. 
Improve  digital  collaboration  within  the  EU  food  safety  system,  i.e.,  increasing  the  EU 
food safety system productivity through digital collaboration. Activities under this priority have 
focused on the development (direct or via leveraging the work of third parties) of platforms to 
share risk assessment assets – data, methods, expertise – across actors of the EU food safety 
system.  EFSA  has  worked  in  2023  to  further  clarify  the  strategic  options  in  this  area,  by 
considering its positioning in the ecosystem, its strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities 
brought about by leveraging digital collaboration in its remit of work. 

2024  will  be  the  third  year  of  the  EFSA  strategy  implementation,  which  was  focused  on  the 
integration and implementation of the requirements of the Transparency regulation. To this end, 
EFSA  will  carry  out  a  mid-term  review  of  its  strategy,  taking  stock  of  progress  made  and 
important  changes  in  the  external  and  internal  context,  before  proposing  updates  and 
refinements for the second phase of Strategy 2027 implementation (2025-2027) foreseen to be 
focused on the new EU policies. 

Changing context (external and internal) 

The  section  below  summarises  the  updated  changing  external  and  internal  context,  and  their 
implications to the EFSA strategic objectives and transformation priorities.  

THE BIG PICTURE  
The European food safety regulatory framework provides EU consumers with one of the safest 
food systems in the world. However, demographic changes, malnutrition and the rise  of non-
communicable  diseases,  climate  change,  the  depletion  of  natural  resources,  the  loss  of 
biodiversity  and  increasing  levels  of  contaminants  in  the  environment)  will  require  new 
approaches to food safety in the future. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, which has placed significant 
pressure on health systems across the EU, has also brought the role of science to the centre of 
the public debate on effective risk analysis. 

At a global level, the United Nations has adopted a transformative agenda for 2030 based on 17 
Sustainable  Development  Goals  (SDGs),  which  are  designed  to  stimulate  action  in  areas  of 
critical importance for humanity and the planet. At EU level, the European Commission has put 
forward  its  Farm  to  Fork  (F2F)  Strategy  for  a  fair,  healthy  and  environmentally  friendly  food 
system.  This  is  one  of  the  key  components  of  the  European  Green  Deal,  alongside  the 
Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. EFSA has already 
provided support with scientific advice during the implementation of the policies and preparation 
of legislative proposals, mainly in the areas of pesticides, nutrition, animal welfare and chemical 
risk assessment.  More  work is foreseen in the years to come in these areas, as  well as more 
broadly in the implementation of a framework for sustainable food systems, and in their sectoral 
legislative proposals, such as in the areas of food contact materials/recycling and new genomic 
techniques in plants. All these regulatory areas are followed up closely since they are expected 
to  have  variable  implications  to  EFSA,  such  as  with  new  tasks,  changes  to  risk  assessment 
modalities and processes, and, where relevant, new resources.  

In  2021  –  19  years  since  its  establishment  as  part  of  the  European  food  safety  regulatory 
framework – EFSA was charged with implementing the Transparency Regulation. Brought about 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

as a result of the changing expectations of civil society and the public at large, the Transparency 
Regulation4 strengthens EFSA’s role and places it on a more sustainable footing for the years to 
come. EFSA underwent a significant  organisational change during the preparations and in the 
first  years  of  implementation  of  the  new  requirements  (processes,  tools),  which  is  now 
considered  finalised.  The  implementation  of  the  new  confidentiality  requirements  as  per  the 
Transparency  Regulation  has  proven  to  be  particularly  challenging  in  terms  of  the  needed 
resource and time investment. The reforms required to bring the Transparency Regulation into 
effect  will  require  continuous  commitment,  resources  and  cooperation  from  EFSA  and  all 
organisations in the EU food safety system, in the public and private sector at a national and 
European level. It is only by working together and by pooling resources and assets (knowledge, 
expertise, data, and methods) that the EU will continue to deliver the high  standards of food 
safety for which it is renowned.  

EFSA  has  been  focused  successfully  over  the  years  to  maintain  a  high  level  of  quality  in  the 
provision of scientific advice, and an appreciation for its role towards harmonised approaches. 
This has been possible also in view of the continuous evolution of its remit via legislative changes, 
and with the increasing customer and stakeholder expectations, as well as the evolving scientific 
and  technological  landscape.  This  has  proven  challenging  however  in  meeting  also  the 
aspirations for relevant improvements in the areas of efficiency, i.e. towards improving the speed 
and volume of risk assessments production within EFSA and the EU food safety ecosystem; the 
“speed of risk assessment” has been defined as the number one priority area for transformation 
in the EFSA 2027 strategy, but with results expected to be visible only in the medium term. 

The evolving geopolitical context has resulted in increasing cost of energy and other resources, 
which  in  turn  have  led  to  higher  inflation  rates  negatively  impacting  the  availability  of  EFSA 
budget for operations. 

Last but not least, 2024 will be a year a transition for all the EU Institutions with the elections 
for  a  new  EU  Parliament  and  appointment  of  a  new  Commission;  EFSA  will  undergo  its  own 
transition as after ten years, 2024 is the year of transition to a new Executive Director. 

EVOLVING DIALOGUE WITH SOCIETY 

Trends such as the rise of populism, coupled with the democratisation of information in a highly 
interconnected,  global  environment,  affect  the  trust  of  citizens  in  institutions  and  the 
expectations that society places on regulatory science5. Within the EU, food safety information 
needs  vary  significantly  depending  on  socio-economic  factors  and  geography.  As  the 
Transparency Regulation indicates, more attention should be given to dialogue and  to consistent 
and clear messages about food-related risks.  

EFSA will need to keep pace with rapid advances in communication technologies and platforms, 
by building and maintaining networks  of food safety  communications professionals across the 
EU to harness the opportunities that these new advances offer.  

At the same time, the call for transparency emphasises the need for increased open dialogue 
with society. There must be transparent, widely available information that helps understanding 
of EFSA’s processes, as well as while preserving confidentiality where appropriate. This should 

4  

5  

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 chain 

Transdisciplinary scientific information, including risk/safety assessments, methods, tools, models and scientific 
advice, to support sound and transparent science-based policies 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

be complemented by engagement mechanisms that allow for interested parties and the wider 
public to contribute to EFSA’s work easily and in a balanced manner. 

FOOD SAFETY – INTEGRAL TO SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 

As the global population grows,  overall food demand is changing, and agriculture  and related 
land-use generate a considerable percentage of annual greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve 
the changes required to meet the SDG targets, it will be necessary to significantly transform our 
production  and  consumption  patterns,  producing  more  with  less  and  reducing  food  loss  and 
waste. 

This transformation will also likely require the development of alternative food and feed sources 
(e.g., insects and  cultured meat) and new production technologies that must be assessed for 
any risks they might pose to humans, animals, and the environment. The same applies to the 
assessment  of  risks  linked  to  the  introduction  of  circular  economy  principles  along  the  food 
supply  chain,  which  could  play  a  role  in  the  transition  to  more  sustainable  food  systems.  To 
achieve  sustainable  consumption  and  reduce  malnutrition  and  obesity,  changes  in  dietary 
patterns will also be needed.  

This  is  reiterated  in  the  EU  Farm  to  Fork  Strategy,  which  seeks  opportunities  to  facilitate  the 
shift to healthier diets and stimulate product reformulation. Sustainable production of safe food 
begins on farms. Therefore, plant health, an important part of EFSA’s mandate, is a cornerstone 
of food security and sustainable food systems. The International Year of Plant Health in 2020 
raised awareness of how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect 
the environment, boost economic development, and contribute to achieving the Sustainability 
Development Goals.  

Likewise, animal health and welfare are fundamental components of food safety. Safeguarding 
the health of animals reduces the incidence of zoonoses, supports the competitiveness of animal 
food production and contributes to the sustainability of rural communities. Specific attention will 
have to be paid to the fight against antimicrobial resistance, as this constitutes a major global 
public  health  threat.  Joint  efforts  of  all  actors  in  livestock  production  will  be  needed  to 
significantly reduce the use of antimicrobial substances. Animal welfare has in itself particular 
importance in the F2F strategy, also in view of its role as a driver for animal health. Achieving 
more sustainable aquaculture as well as seeking solutions for restoring soil health will need to 
complement these efforts. EFSA has already received new mandates  in the context  of animal 
welfare and will participate in an EU research partnership on animal health and welfare.   

Another  important  aspect  of  animal  health  is  the  role  of  animals  as  intermediate  hosts.  The 
SARSCoV-2  pandemic  has  demonstrated  again  the  need  for  assessing  risks  at  the  interfaces 
between  wildlife  habitats,  domestic  animals,  and  the  human  ecosphere  with  a  systemic 
perspective. Future risk assessments are expected to have to consider the impact of international 
trade,  human  movements,  and  climate  change  on  the  microbiological  risks  leading  to  the 
globalisation of food-borne diseases. 

In many ways, the arguments mentioned above demonstrate the necessity of applying a “One 
Health – One Environment” approach for safeguarding public health, animal health, plant health 
and  the  environment:  transdisciplinary  and  transboundary  cooperation  of  distinct  scientific 
domains  and  organisations  is  clearly  needed  to  address  the  complexity  of  the  tasks  at  hand. 
Integrated risk assessments (for example, considering human, animal and plant health or the 
environment in a combined way), as well as risk -benefit and risk–risk assessment, will provide 
risk managers with a more comprehensive evidence basis for public health policy decisions. In 
2023 progress was made with the setup of a “One health cross-agency task force” and a concept 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

paper on “One Health setting the scene for further exploring concrete opportunities to take the 
One health – One environment approach further. 

MAKING THE MOST OF THE FOOD SAFETY KNOWLEDGE ECOSYSTEM  
The  EU’s  Horizon  Europe  research  agenda  is  a  promising  tool  to  leverage  opportunities  for  a 
strengthened  risk  assessment  also  addressing  global  challenges.  It  will  also  help  to  drive 
research forward for the diverse areas of EFSA’s remit where the cost of generating new scientific 
knowledge can be very high. Funding programmes at Member State level will also contribute to 
the strengthening of the scientific evidence for risk assessment and risk monitoring. To this end, 
and in view of the challenges posed by increasing inflationary pressures on its budget, EFSA has 
been placing increased emphasis on forging partnerships and participating to projects relevant 
to  its  remit  that  are  funded  from  other  sources,  such  as  the  European  Research  Executive 
Agency. 

Efforts  made  in  cooperation  and  partnerships  with  ENVI  Agencies  and  food  safety  bodies  in 
Member States, as well as with international  organisations  and through relevant international 
liaison groups, will result in further economies of scale and more capacity to deliver on even the 
most complex regulatory science. Similarly, evolving towards joint systems, processes and tools 
with EU Agencies and Member States, such as in the “One substance One assessment” initiative 
under the EU Chemicals strategy, is expected to yield important efficiencies. Policy developments 
are taking place even faster through changes linked to new technologies, scientific knowledge, 
expertise and the exponential growth in the availability of data and information. EFSA has been 
closely cooperating with DG SANTE, ECHA, EMA and DG ENV during the preparation of legislative 
proposals under the Chemical Strategy for Sustainability and particularly the development of an 
EU Chemical data platform.  

EFSA relies on a large pool of scientific expertise to produce its risk assessments, provided by 
both its network of EU experts and its staff. While attracting the required expertise to EFSA from 
within the EU is a continuous challenge, the rich and diverse EU academic environment, coupled 
with  the  opportunities  offered  by  Horizon  Europe  and  Member  State  research  programmes, 
should foster the sustainability of the expertise needed for EFSA’s scientific work. EFSA is looking 
forward  to  the  renewal  of  its  scientific  Panels  of  experts  in  2024  and  is  preparing  a 
comprehensive  onboarding  package  to  mitigate  the  loss  or  productivity  due  to  the  transition 
effect.  In  addition,  the  ever  -  increasing  mobility  of  people  and  knowledge,  facilitated  by  the 
widespread use of digital technologies such as those that have emerged during the pandemic, 
also presents unique opportunities to be explored further. EFSA has been making good progress 
on  its  journey  towards  a  digital  culture  and  partnerships,  being  itself  one  of  its  strategic 
transformation priorities. However, the evolution of EFSA’s operating model towards the set-up 
of partnerships with competent Member State risk assessment bodies, key for the sustainability 
pillar  of  the  Transparency  regulation,  has  been  proven  to  be  a  complex  one  requiring 
considerable time and resources.  

HARNESSING NEW TRENDS IN DATA, TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE 

The volume of data produced in the world is growing rapidly, from 33 zettabytes in 2018 to an 
expected 175 zettabytes in 2025. Furthermore, the way in which data is stored and processed 
will change dramatically over the coming 5 years. By 2027, more than 50% of enterprises will 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

use industry cloud platforms to accelerate their business initiatives6. At the same time, there is 
an  increasing  amount  of  data  from  different  sources  (surveillance  and  controls,  and 
biomonitoring) that remain underexploited due to a lack of connectivity. While EFSA is already 
exploring approaches to manage and exploit big data sets, such as in whole genome sequencing, 
the  sheer  speed  and  complexity  with  which  data  relevant  to  its  risk  assessments  is  growing 
means  that  new  tools  and  approaches  are  urgently  needed  to  take  advantage  of  these  data. 
Access  to  real-time  data  from  monitoring  systems  in  the  food  chain  would  increase  EFSA’s 
capacity to define scenarios, refine risk assessments or measure the impact of emerging risks 
or new control methods.  

Cognitive  analytics  such  as  machine  learning  and  natural  language  processing  can  discover 
patterns and relationships in information from millions of texts, books, online articles and other 
sources  (e.g.,  social  media)  -  information  that  could  take  human  researchers  decades  to 
discover,  retrieve  and  digest.  Artificial  intelligence  (AI)  offers  great  opportunities  for  risk 
assessment but also challenges of an ethical and technological nature, recognizing the continued 
need for human expertise to ensure a human centric approach in applying AI. EFSA has already 
embarked  and  is  leading  together  with  other  EU  Agencies  an  initiative  to  explore  and  start 
reaping the benefits  of  AI in  risk assessment  but also more broadly in the various processes. 
Harnessing collaboration tools to enable co-creation of models and algorithms will position EFSA 
to be able to take advantage of the power of these capabilities. EFSA will have to navigate how 
to  manage  its  enhanced  responsibilities  towards  transparency  in  the  face  of  data  ownership 
concerns  from  Member  States  and  confidentiality  requests  from  applicants,  among  other 
considerations.  These  developments  have  also  captured  the  attention  of  regulators  who  have 
brought  forward  a  proposal  for  a  new  “cybersecurity”  regulation  bringing  strengthened 
requirements  in  the  EU  Institutions  and  with  implications  on  internal  cybersecurity  risk 
management, governance and control framework, and resources invested in this area. 

Finally,  the  development  of  scientific  methodologies  and  tools,  and  the  opportunity  to  refine 
existing  ones,  will  offer  new  approaches  for  risk  assessment  in  line  with  the  3Rs  principle 
(Replacement, Refinement, and Reduction) of animal testing. EFSA must continue to invest in 
harvesting  data  and  information  to  stay  abreast  of  evolving  scientific  methodologies  and 
research and develop adequate methodologies to assess new sources of potential food/feed risks 
such as new production technologies, all of which fall under EFSA’s transformation priority on 
preparedness  for  future  risk  assessment  needs.  Key  themes  for  exploration  and  development 
include supporting the implementation of the chemical strategy for sustainability; Develop risk 
assessment of combined exposure to multiple chemicals, across regulatory domains; Prepare to 
address risk assessment challenges associated with food and feed system innovations; Consider 
how microbiomes could be included in RA & develop tools; Develop risk-benefit approaches for 
chemical  and  biological  hazards  in  human  and  environmental  risk  assessment;  Develop  and 
integrate  new  approach  methodologies  (NAMs)  and  omics  for  regulatory  risk  assessment; 
Integrate  bioinformatics  and  cheminformatics  approaches,  technologies  and  data  into  next 
generation risk assessment; Develop Risk Assessment approaches to address One Health policy 
needs and in particular sustainable food and feed systems; Develop  and implement  systems-
based approaches for regulatory environmental risk assessment. 

6 Gartner, White Paper ‘ForgeRock (2021), Six Trends Driving the Future of the Cloud – A guide for identity and access 
management professionals’ (https://www.forgerock.com/resources/whitepaper/six-trends-driving-future-
cloud?adgroupid=117553609672). Accessed on 22/11/2022. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Investing in future preparedness by further developing methodologies to identify emerging risks 
globally  and  proposing  prevention  strategies  that  ensure  the  safety  and  sustainability  of  food 
systems is important; but also in conjunction to this, developing new  and agile processes for 
rapid assessments is needed to support policy action when incidents occur. These scientific and 
technological  developments  must  ultimately  contribute  to  the  evolution  of  regulatory  risk 
assessment in the EU. 

Strategy and Multiannual Work-programme Implementation 

EFSA’s  recently  updated  integrated  management  system  (IMS)  provides  the  framework  to 
ensure  the  achievement  of  the  agency’s  objectives  through  a  comprehensive,  yet  lean, 
governance,  risk  and  internal  control  framework  (Annex  X).    This  includes  a  set  of  key 
performance  indicators  (KPIs)  to  monitor  its  progress  at  expected  outcome  and  expected 
operational  result  level  (Appendix  A),  evaluations  (see  annex  IX)  and  qualitative  analyses  as 
well  as  more  detailed  internal  monitoring  of  EFSA’s  processes  and  projects  that  complement 
strategic and operational steering of the organisation.  

Within  this  context,  EFSA  implements  the  strategy  via  a  multiannual  portfolio  consisting  of 
processes and projects and the underlying budget and resource needs.  

•  The processes represent the backbone of EFSA (EFSA process architecture) and the bulk of 
EFSA’s  work  i.e.,  the  “business  as  usual”,  including  the  core  business  of  the  provision  of 
scientific advice, as well as the enabling and management processes that support it.  

•  The projects present in the EFSA portfolio are aimed at improving and developing the core 

business along the three Strategic transformation priorities.  

Three Programmes manage these projects:  

•  The Data & Evidence Programme (DEEP), with a focus on delivering fast and open risk 
assessments by optimising data and evidence management throughout the risk assessment 
process;  acquiring,  utilising,  and  disseminating  fit-for-purpose  data;  building  and  making 
available new, innovative, and inter-operable data services; collaborating with EFSA partners 
by means of collaborative/de-centralised data platforms. 

•  The Innovative Risk Assessment Methodologies Programme (IRMA), with a focus on 
ensuring scientific preparedness to face the  challenges coming from the evolving scientific 
knowledge and the policy/legislative requirements. IRMA is supporting the development and 
improvement  of  EFSA's  risk  assessment  methods  and  approaches  and  is  investing  in  the 
exploration of new scientific tools, such as new approach methodologies (NAMs), to ensure 
up-to-date and harmonised multidisciplinary risk assessment. 

•  The  Knowledge,  Expertise  and  Technology  (NEXT)  programme,  with  a  focus  on 
knowledge  exchange,  organisation  and  automation  to  provide  knowledge  management 
solutions  that  allow  to  derive  maximum  value  from  knowledge;  to  enhance  digital 
collaboration for preparedness and partnership building; to enable and apply trustworthy AI; 
and to increase RA capacity and expertise at EU level.  

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SECTION II. MULTIANNUAL PROGRAMMING 2024-2027 

1.  MULTIANNUAL PROGRAMME 2024-2027(7) 

The multiannual work programme describes the actions that EFSA plans in the medium and long 
term to implement its strategy. 

1.1 DELIVER TRUSTWORTHY SCIENTIFIC ADVICE AND 
COMMUNICATION OF RISKS FROM FARM TO FORK. 

Strategic  Objective  1  is  about  EFSA’s  core  business  –  risk  assessment  and  communication  of 
risks  related  to  human  health,  animal  health  and  welfare,  plant  health  and  the  environment. 
EFSA strives to deliver high-quality scientific advice to risk managers in partnership with Member 
States  and  ENVI  Agencies 8 ,  using  the  most  relevant  and  internationally  harmonised  risk 
assessment  approaches  and  engaging  with  stakeholders  and  the  public,  providing  clear  and 
accessible communication. 

The expected outcome of EFSA’s work programme in this area is increased relevance and 
improved reputation of EFSA’s scientific advice, supporting the decision-making process of 
risk  managers  at  EU  level  and  in  the  Member  States.  EFSA  will  achieve  this  via  transparent, 
actionable and trustworthy scientific advice, both in the area of general risk assessment for 
food and feed, plant health, animal health and welfare and nutrition and in the area of regulated 
products  risk  assessment,  which  takes  place  before  their  authorisation  to  enter  the  EU 
market.  Regulated  products  include  substances  in  food  and  feed,  food  contact  materials  and 
food-related recycling processes, processing aids, pesticides, genetically modified organisms, as 
well as the evaluation of the scientific substantiation of nutrition and health claims.  

Multiannual targets of the key performance indicators designed to monitor the expected outcome 
1.1 are presented in Table 5 in Appendix A. 

Communication of risks is the second pillar  of  EFSA’s mandate performed in parallel with risk 
assessment.  The  expected  outcome  of  EFSA’s  work  programme  in  this  area  is  increased 
relevance and improved reputation of EFSA’s risk communication by ensuring that risk 
assessment advice is useful, and actionable. This will be achieved through transparent, coherent, 
and trustworthy risk communication, delivered in partnership with EU and Member States risk 
managers, Member States risk assessors and other EU Agencies as well as through open dialogue 
with consumers, food and feed businesses, the academic community and other interested parties. 
As a result, EFSA’s risk communication products will benefit partners and stakeholders, as well 
as the public at large, improving the organisation’s reputation. 

Multiannual targets of the key performance indicators designed to monitor the expected outcome 
1.2 are presented in Table 6 in Appendix A. 

(7) 

This section covers the final 2022-2025 multiannual plan adopted by the MB in December 2021. 

8 Agencies that support the work of the European Parliament Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food 
Safety: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), European 
Environmental Agency (EEA), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA). 

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EOR 1.1.1: ASSESSMENTS FOR REGULATED PRODUCTS ARE DELIVERED WITH 
QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY. 

EFSA will continue working towards improving the quality (including timeliness) and the 
transparency on the risk assessment processing of regulated product dossiers. In accordance 
with the principles of independence and provisions of the Transparency Regulation, this will be 
achieved through the notification of studies and pre-submission advice, fit-for-purpose 
engagement and proactive disclosure of data, information and studies supporting applications 
and mandates, as well as the broader participation of Member State competent organisations 
in the preparation of EFSA’s risk assessments.  

The evaluation of dossiers for regulated products will still absorb a significant amount of EFSA’s 
resources allocated to scientific risk assessment. EFSA will continue to provide support to 
applicants and EFSA’s scientific panels and units will continue to develop and update guidance 
for applicants in the area of regulated products.  

EFSA will continue enabling all its partners and stakeholders to contribute to its scientific 
assessment processes by promoting dialogue and participatory processes, increasing 
transparency on assumptions and data used and uncertainties in outputs. Furthermore, EFSA 
embarked on a thorough root cause analysis of the end-to-end risk assessment process, 
aiming at identifying the bottlenecks in specific workflows that cause delays in risk 
assessment. Recommendations from this analysis are expected to result from 2024 onwards to 
follow up actions for the short, mid and long term, in close collaboration with DG SANTE, to 
ultimately improve the process efficiency and the throughput time of the risk assessment.  

EFSA will continue promoting dialogue with the scientific community and society at large by 
implementing targeted actions to support the quality of EFSA’s scientific outputs.  

Activities overview in the area9 

Area of work  

Main activities 

E2E Risk 
assessment 
process 
improvement 

Services to 
applicants 

−  EFSA will finetune the root cause analysis of the E2E RA process focusing on 
the  identification  of  interventions  that  will  improve  the  speed  of  risk 
assessment,  such as addressing specific causes of rework. Specific actions will 
be implemented afterwards, to be prioritised in the context of the multiannual 
planning process.  

− 

In parallel, the reflection on the future of the risk assessment operating model 
in close collaboration with DG SANTE will provide inputs for future intervention 
at policy level if deemed necessary. 

−  EFSA will continue  the  revision  of its administrative guidance  documents for 
regulated products to align to methodological developments and leverage on 
its  practical  experiences  implementing  the  requirements  stemming  from  the 
Transparency Regulation.  

−  EFSA  will  also  continue  to  offer  services  to  applicants  as  described  in  its 
services catalogue; in particular, in line with TR provisions EFSA will continue 
to offer all potential applicants and notifiers the possibility of receiving general 
pre-submission advice on the applicable rules to and the content required for 
submitting applications or notifications.  

−  EFSA will continue to involve its stakeholders in the further development of its 
tools and guidance documents through discussion groups or concept papers — 
and  will  also  engage  them  via  e.g.  webinars  and  information  sessions.  In 

9 Updates of guidance documents and other activities in support to RA are now included in this section as process 
improvement initiatives (previously considered as development activities). 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work  

Main activities 

Dossier Intake 
and digital 
products 
enhancement 

Food additives 

particular, EFSA established a Technical Group TOOLS to engage with relevant 
users  of  tools  related  to  the implementation  of  the  TR,  which  will  regularly 
convene during the 2023-2024 period.  

−  EFSA will also continue to provide support to EC with the preparation of the 
fact-finding missions in the context of the audit of studies conducted under GLP 
or other quality standards.  

−  EFSA will continue the collaboration with ECHA  for further enhancing IUCLID 
for  the  dossier  ingestion  and  will  progress  to  boost  standardisation  of  input 
data,  to  make  them  easily  and  directly  accessible  for  further  analysis  by 
specialised data services, and by analysing the needs for extending the use of 
IUCLID to other food sector areas (FCM and beyond) and the impact on IUCLID 
software  and  the  E-Submission  Food  Chain  (ESFC)  Platform  in  collaboration 
with ECHA and SANTE. In close cooperation with the Member State Competent 
Authorities for pesticides and leveraging on the practical experience of the past 
years of dossier submissions in IUCLID, further development and optimisation 
of report generator functionalities, validation and filtering rules will take place 
in order to support risk assessors with their evaluations.  

−  EFSA  will  focus  its  work  on  the  re-evaluation  of  sweeteners,  while  the  re-
evaluation  of  the  remaining  approved  food  additives  is  likely  to  continue 
beyond 2024. 

−  The assessment of new food additives or proposed changes to approved food 

additives under Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008 will be carried out in parallel. 

−  EFSA will also complete opinions on the safe use of additives in food for infants 

and young children. 

Food flavourings 

−  The evaluation of remaining food flavourings will continue, as well as the work 

on new applications on flavourings.  

Food enzymes 

Food contact 
materials 

−  EFSA  will  continue  evaluating  the  old  applications 10  and  supporting  the 
European Commission in publishing the EU Positive List in the coming years. 
Furthermore,  a  significant  number  of  new  applications  for  enzymes  and 
extensions  of  use  has  reached  EFSA  in  2023  and  the  trend  is  expected  to 
continue.  The  multiannual  work  programme  for  their  evaluation  will  be 
revisited jointly with the Commission.   

−  EFSA  will continue  to assess the safety  of  substances subject to Article 5 of 
Regulation (EU) 10/2011 for plastic materials, articles in contact with food and 
recycling processes. As of 2024, EFSA will receive applications for some novel 
recycling  technologies  for  which  it  will  first  have  to  establish  how  to  draft 
specific new guidance documents per technology. 

−  EFSA will continue the re-evaluation of authorised substances identified as high 

priority, which include the ongoing work on styrene. 

−  Support will also be provided to the European Commission in the frame of the 

revision of the FCM regulation.  

Decontamination 
substances/treat
ments 

−  EFSA will continue to assess the safety and efficacy of substances other than 
potable water used to reduce microbial surface contamination from products 
of animal origin, upon receipt of specific applications. 

Feed additives 

−  The number of dossiers on feed additives increased to over 100 per year. Most 
of  these  dossiers  relate  to  new  applications,  but  the  number  of  renewals  is 
increasing. EFSA will continue working on incoming application dossiers as well 
as  outstanding  re-evaluations  of  feed  additives.  EFSA  will  also  deliver  an 
opinion  on  the  safety  for  the  consumer  of  selenium  when  used  as  a  feed 
additive following the lowering of the tolerable upper intake level for selenium 
by the NDA Panel in January 2023.  

10 Applications for enzymes currently marketed or intended to be marketed in the European Union (EU) during a 
submission period defined by EU legislation. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work  

Main activities 

−  The  update  of  the  FEEDAP  Panel  Guidance  documents  will  be  completed  in 

2024.  

Nutrition – 
Health claims, 
nutrient sources, 
allergens 

−  EFSA will continue to evaluate applications for health claims; the workload in 
this area will depend on the follow-up of the evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 
1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims.  

−  EFSA  will  also  work  on  applications  regarding  food  for  specific  groups, 
exemptions from  the  labelling of  food  allergens,  nutrient sources  and safety 
assessments for ‘other substances’ added to food. 

Nutrition – Novel 
foods 

−  EFSA will continue to assess novel food applications, for which the high volume 
of incoming applications is expected to continue in the coming years, as is the 
trend since the entry in application of the new regulation in 201811. 

GMOs 

Pesticides 

Animal by-
products 

−  EFSA will continue to deliver evaluations of applications mainly for the import 
and processing of GMOs for food and feed uses and for cultivation uses as well 
as the deliberate release of non food and feed GMOs. It is to be noted that a 
large  number  of  authorised  GMO  products  will  be  subject  of  renewal  as 
approaching 10 years of authorisation. 

−  The  number  of  questions  after  the  adoption  of  a  conclusion  on  active 
substances  risk assessment is increasing.  EFSA  is expecting additional tasks 
linked to the assessment of pesticides required to control serious dangers to 
plant health.-EFSA is collaborating with MSs and DG SANTE to implement the 
new data requirements on microorganisms used as pesticides (effective as of 
November 2022).  

−  EFSA continues the assessment of active substances following the guidance for 
assessing endocrine disruptive potential12 according to the legal requirements; 
based on the experience gained, it will progress towards an expert analysis of 
higher-tier risk assessment and study designs and incorporate the learning in 
assessment work. 

−  MRL applications under Article 6 of Reg (EC) No 396/2005 will be processed as 
per  monthly  mandate  receipt  with  an  expected  increase  in  complexity 
considering the  increase in non-approved  substances in  EU  for  which import 
tolerance requests also imply a complete toxicological assessment. 

EFSA will continue assisting the European Commission and Member States in 
the assessment of alternative processing methods for the processing of animal 
by-products,  including  the  assessment  of  the  endpoint in  the  manufacturing 
chain of fertilisers. 

Multiannual  targets  of  the  key  performance  indicators  designed  to  monitor  the  expected 
operational result 1.1.1 are presented in Table 7 in Appendix A. 

EOR 1.1.2 GENERIC SCIENTIFIC ADVICE IS DELIVERED WITH QUALITY AND 
EFFICIENCY.  

EFSA will continue working towards improving the quality (including timeliness) of its scientific 
advice related to the mandates received in the fields of biological and chemical hazards, animal 
health  and  welfare,  plant  health  and  human  nutrition.  Involvement  of  EFSA  partners  and 

11 Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on novel foods, 
amending Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) 
No 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1852/2001 

12 Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concerning the 
placing of plant protection products on the market and repealing Council Directives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EEC 

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stakeholders throughout different steps of the risk assessment process will be an integral part 
of EFSA’s risk assessment. In accordance with the principles of independence and transparency, 
and  next  to  the  regular  stakeholder  engagement  activities  this  will  also  be  achieved  via  the 
implementation of new sourcing/partnership schemes with specific partners. Further efforts will 
include  strengthened  mandate  preparation  with  EFSA’s  customers  and  the  implementation  of 
relevant cross cutting guidance, newly developed methodologies and improved data streams in 
close  cooperation  with  other  EU  RA  bodies,  EU  agencies,  Member  States,  stakeholders  and 
international organisations. Through its new centralised risk assessment production structure, 
EFSA  will  also  further  streamline  the  administrative  processes  in  support  of  the  scientific 
evaluation. 

Activities overview in the area13 

Area of work  

Main activities 

E2E Risk 
assessment process 
improvement 

−  EFSA will finetune the root cause analysis of the E2E RA process focusing on 
the  identification  of  interventions  that  will  improve  the  speed  of  targeted 
sub-processes. 

Biological hazards 

−  Work will continue on updates of the list of qualified presumption of safety 
(QPS)-recommended biological agents intentionally added to food or feed.  

Animal health 

−  Scientific  support  will  continue  on  the  investigation  of  multi-country 
foodborne  events  in  the  form  of  Joint  ECDC-EFSA  Rapid  Outbreak 
Assessments (ROA) and Joint Notification Summaries (JNS), as appropriate. 

−  Yearly European Union summary report on trends and sources of zoonoses, 
zoonotic agents and food-borne outbreaks, and antimicrobial resistance in 
zoonotic and indicator bacteria from humans, animals and food will continue 
to be delivered in collaboration with ECDC.  

−  EFSA will continue to provide support to Member States in risk assessment 
and  surveillance  relating  to  outbreaks  of  transboundary  animal  diseases 
such as African swine fever and avian influenza.  

−  Additionally,  risk  assessments  concerning  the  control  measures  and 
categorisation of animal diseases to support the new animal health law(14) 
will be provided. 

−  Support  will  also  be  provided  on  a  mandate  linked  to  the  EU4Health 
programme,  by  designing  and  coordinating  the  surveillance  system  under 
the  One  Health  approach  for  cross-border  pathogens  that  threaten  the 
Union. 

−  Under the Regulation on serious cross-border threats to health15, a role is 
foreseen  for  EFSA  (art.  10)  to  deliver  risk  assessments  in  the  case  of  a 
serious  cross-border  threat  to  health  referred  to  in  Article 2  of  this 
Regulation  where  that  threat  falls  under  the  mandate  of  EFSA.  In  this 
respect, EFSA may be involved – in differing degrees – in a range of tasks 
as per the Regulation:  

• 

Participation in the Health Security Committee (HSC);  

•  Contribution to the development of the Union prevention preparedness 

and response plan;  

13 Updates of guidance documents and other activities in support to RA are now included in this section as process 
improvement initiatives (previously considered as development activities). 

(14) Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council on transmissible animal diseases. 

15 Regulation (EU) No 2371/2022 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2022 on serious 
cross-border threats to health and repealing Decision No 1082/2013/EU (OJ L314, 6.12.2022, p.26-63). 

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Area of work  

Main activities 

Animal welfare 

Plant health 

Contaminants in 
food and feed 

•  Assessment of prevention, preparedness and response planning;  

•  Coordination of prevention, preparedness and response planning in the 

HSC;  

•  Recommendations on common temporary public health measures; . 

− 

In  this  context,  EFSA  is  working  closely  together  with  ECDC  on  the 
monitoring  of  avian  influenza  and  participates  in  the  Health  Security 
Committee (HSC) when relevant. 

−  The  EFSA  activities  will  focus  on  assessing  risks  relating  to  food-borne 
zoonoses, food hygiene, antimicrobial resistance, transmissible spongiform 
encephalopathies (TSEs). EFSA will continue delivering the yearly European 
Union summary report on TSEs. . 

−  EFSA will continue to perform risk assessments related to animal welfare in 
relation to the farm to fork strategy and the European Citizens Initiative ‘end 
the cage age’, in particular on turkeys and beef cattle. 

−  EFSA will deliver assessments on applications for new or modified stunning 

methods regarding animal protection at the time of killing. 

−  EFSA restarted its work to deliver the scientific opinions related to slaughter 

of horses and on-farm killing of horses and small ruminants. 

−  EFSA will continue to work on the high number of requests it has received 
for pest categorisation and RAs of new and emerging plant pests, following 
the implementation of the new EU plant health law(16) .EFSA will also work 
on the prevention of plant pest introductions and outbreaks with a particular 
focus  on  the  prioritisation  of  quarantine  plant  pests  and  provide  scientific 
and technical support to Member States’ surveillance programmes.  

− 

In addition, EFSA will support the assessment of derogation requests to the 
EU plant health law and commodity RAs required after the establishment of 
a  list  of  high-risk  plants  commodities,  with  a  steady  flow  of  dossiers  and 
requests throughout the period 2021-2026. 

in 

−  EFSA  will  continue  to  deliver  scientific  opinions  within  the  frame  of 
overarching  mandates  on  brominated  flame  retardants  in  food,  and  on 
arsenic 
food.  New  mandates  are  expected  on  environmental 
contaminants, process contaminants, heavy metals and naturally occurring 
toxins, and on the assessment of detoxification processes for contaminants 
in  feed.    EFSA  will  update  the  model  currently  used  to  estimate  animal 
dietary exposure to contaminants taking into account current animal feeding 
practices.  The  updated  model  will  generate  more  refined  animal  dietary 
exposure assessments and will ensure a more harmonized approach in the 
estimation  of  animal  dietary  exposure  across  different  regulatory  sectors 
(e.g. feed and contaminants). 

−  EFSA  will  continue  to  deliver  scientific  reports  on  dietary  exposure 
assessments to specific contaminants.  New mandates are expected for an 
update of the dietary exposure to dioxins (late 2023) and for the assessment 
of risks and benefits of fish consumption in relation to the presence of dioxins 
and other contaminants (late 2024). 

−  EFSA will participate in the framework of indicators foreseen in the chemicals 
strategy for sustainability; these indicators will monitor the success of the 
strategy  and  serve  as  drivers  for  the  elaboration  of  new  policies.  The 
contribution from EFSA will start with the data of food and feed contaminants 
of anthropogenic origin. The development of such indicators will be carried 
out under the auspice of a mandate from DG SANTE. 

(16) Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council on protective measures against pests of 
plants. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work  

Main activities 

−  EFSA  will  provide  technical  assistance  to  the  European  Commission  (DG 
AGRI) by preparing detailed scientific and technical information on several 
currently not authorised substances most frequently found in food and feed 
products certified as organic in accordance with Article 29(4) of Regulation 
(EU)  2018/848  on  organic  production  and  labelling  of  organic  products. 
EFSA’s  input,  with  support  from  ENVI  agencies  (i.e.  ECHA  and  EEA),  will 
contribute  to  a  report  by  the  European  Commission  to  the  European 
Parliament and the Council by December 2025 on the presence of products 
and substances not authorised for use in organic production, amongst other 
aspects. 

−  EFSA will continue working on the re-assessment of the risks to public health 
related to the presence of Styrene in plastic materials and articles intended 
to come in contact with food. EFSA will discuss with the DG SANTE whether 
further mandates need prioritisation. 

− 

In  collaboration  with  ECHA,  EFSA  may  continue  to  work  on  a  follow-up 
mandate  on  phthalates,  structurally  similar  substances,  and  replacement 
substances. The preparatory work under the 1st mandate has been concluded 
and the 2nd mandate is expected for 2024. 

Food contact 
materials 

Nutrition 

−  EFSA  will  review  its  Guidance  for  Risk  assessment  of  Novel  Foods  and 

GMOs 

continue investing on engagement with its stakeholders. 

−  Work will continue to review existing scientific evidence and provide advice 
on Tolerable Upper Intake Levels for vitamins and minerals and completing 
methodological risk assessment guidance. 

−  Safety  concerns  raised  by  MS  authorities  about  ingredients  added  to  food 
containing substances other than vitamins or minerals will be assessed by 
EFSA for potential risk to consumers. 

−  EFSA will deliver advice on possible new risks of microorganisms and animals 
developed using new genomic techniques and on the suitability of EFSA Risk 
assessment guidelines. 

− 

Following the discussion on the adequacy of the current regulatory GMO risk 
assessment framework for plants developed using new genomic techniques, 
EFSA  may  be  requested  to  review  its  RA  guidelines  and  support  the 
Commission  in  the  development  of  policy  action  on  plants  produced  by 
targeted mutagenesis and cisgenesis. 

Pesticides residues  −  The annual EU report on pesticide residues in food, enriched with informative 
data visualisations, will progressively include the probabilistic assessment of 
dietary  exposure  to  pesticide  residues  to  all  pesticides  listed  in  the  EU-
coordinated programme.  

−  EFSA  will  continue  supporting  the  European  Commission  regarding  the 
Codex  Committee  on  Pesticide  Residues  (CCPR  meeting).  In  addition,  the 
DG  SANTE  will  consult  EFSA  on  specific  questions  related  to  the 
implementation of Codex MRLs in the EU legislation. A more detailed work 
programme needs to be established. 

−  The  number  of  ad  hoc  requests  (Article  43  of  Reg.  (EC)  No  396/2005)  is 
expected to increase as a result of the outcome of the renewal process on 
the MRLs currently in place. 

− 

In turn, the number of expected reviews of existing MRLs under Article 12 
of  Reg  (EC)  No  396/2005  is  decreasing  since  there  are  not  enough 
substances that have finalised the renewal process that could be assessed. 
The reviews will continue in line with the plan agreed with risk managers, 
pending the provision of questions. 

Cross-sectorial risk 
assessment 

−  Mandates on cross-sectorial issues of relevance to different EFSA panels are 
expected  to  be  received.  Two  ongoing  mandates  are  currently  being 
addressed on the assessment of bromide and fluoride.  EFSA together with 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work  

Main activities 

the other ENVI agencies, will finalise the scientific report on the impact of 
the  use  of  azole  fungicides,  other  than  as  human  medicines,  on  the 
development of azole resistant Aspergillus spp., following a mandate SANTE 
sent in 2022. 

Risk assessment support activities 

Food additives and 
food flavourings 

−  New mandate  received on the monitoring  of  consumption and use of  food 
additives and food flavourings out of which, one targets the consolidation of 
state-of-the-art  knowledge,  by  extracting 
from  previous 
assessments and their publication in a structured database, while the second 
requests the development of a data collection and reporting system.   

findings 

−  The  monitoring  of  food  additives  and  food  flavourings  will  result  in  the 
generation  of  new  data  regarding  the  use  and  occurrence  of  these 
substances  in  food.  Therefore,  EFSA,  following  a  pilot  phase,  will  be 
requested to develop  a data collection  system  for  food additives and food 
flavourings as well as a database of structured information on the outcome 
of the risk assessments. EFSA will be requested to collect and analyse on a 
yearly basis the monitoring data, and to calculate the dietary exposure and 
report the findings in an annual report. 

Veterinary 
Medicinal Product 
Residues 

−  EFSA  will  continue  providing  scientific  assistance  to  the  European 
Commission  in  the  form  of  an  annual  report  on  the  results  from  the 
monitoring  of  veterinary  medicinal  products  and  other  substances  in  live 
animals and animal products. 

Multiannual  targets  of  the  key  performance  indicators  designed  to  monitor  the  expected 
operational result 1.1.2 are presented in Table 8 in Appendix A. 

EOR 1.2.1 AN AUDIENCE-FIRST APPROACH ENSURES QUALITY THROUGHOUT 
RISK COMMUNICATION.  

Through  its  communications,  EFSA  raises  awareness  about,  and  explains  the  basis  of,  its 
scientific  work.  EFSA  aims  to  provide  appropriate,  consistent,  accurate  and  timely 
communication  on  food  safety  issues  to  risk  managers,  stakeholders  and  the  general  public 
based on its risk assessments and scientific expertise.  

EFSA will continue to generate and use insights from social research, analyse the impact of its 
communication activities and focus on personalising user experience across its communication 
tools, accounting for cultural differences across the EU and extending multilingual approaches.   

EFSA  will  undertake  an  ambitious  programme  of  activities  for  risk  communications  in  the 
upcoming years, in response to the requirements for better coordinated risk communications set 
out  in  the  Transparency  Regulation.  EFSA’s  objectives  are  to:  broaden  access  to  –  and 
accessibility  of  –  our  communication  tools  and  platforms;  renew  our  focus  on  tailoring 
communication materials and contextualising messages for  our  various target audiences; and 
better meet the information needs of our target audiences in terms of the topics we choose to 
communicate about. These objectives fall under the ‘audience-first approach’, a guiding principle 
for EFSA’s risk communications for the Strategy 2027. 

 24 

 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Activities overview in the area 

Area of work 

Main activities 

Social  Research  & 
Communication 
Planning 

−  EFSA will carry out structured and systematic social research to inform the 
selection of topics for communication. A Eurobarometer survey on food safety 
will  be  carried  out  in  2025,  following  on  from  the  2022  edition.  This  will 
provide valuable information about risk perception across the EU.  

Digital Channels 
Management 

− 

In  2024,  EFSA  and  Member  States  will  continue  to  share  social  research 
findings on food safety topics of mutual interest, assisted by data repositories 
and visualization tools that EFSA has created.  

−  EFSA will invest in improving the experience of people who use  its website 
and other digital platforms,  creating  ‘personalised  journeys’  to  ensure that 
each user is able to access information efficiently based on  their individual 
preferences  and  needs.  EFSA  will  seek  to  expand  its  multilingual  policy  to 
include  new  content  types  (e.g.  social  media  and  multimedia)  in  all  EU 
languages, thereby increasing accessibility for EU citizens to EFSA’s activities. 
EFSA  will  continue  to  develop  tools  to  measure  the  effectiveness  of  our 
communications products, platforms and activities, enhancing the capability 
we have to do this in real-time.  

Multiannual  targets  of  the  key  performance  indicators  designed  to  monitor  the  expected 
operational result 1.2.1 are presented in Table 9 in Appendix A. 

EOR 1.2.2 COORDINATED RISK COMMUNICATION IS DELIVERED WITH THE 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION, MEMBER STATES AND ENVI AGENCIES.  

EFSA will support the EC in the development of the future General Plan for Risk Communication 
and  invest  accordingly  in  its  communication  channels  and  digital  platforms,  ranging  from  the 
evolution  of  the  EFSA  Journal  to  campaigns  delivered  to  EU  citizens.  The  Transparency 
Regulation  places  particular  emphasis  on  improving  coordination  and  coherence  of  risk 
communications among the various actors in the food safety system. In the years ahead, EFSA 
will seek to strengthen existing coordination mechanisms and networks (e.g. the Communication 
Experts Network) and fund capacity building initiatives for risk communications in the Member 
States via its Focal Point operational framework.  

Activities overview in the area 

Area of work 

Main activities 

Coordinated 
Communication 
Development 

−  EFSA  will  continue  to  develop  and  deliver  communication  products  and 
campaigns  in  cooperation  with  the  European  Commission,  Member  State 
competent  authorities  and  other  national  partners  to  raise  awareness  about 
food safety related topics. 

−  Between  2024-2027,  and  in  coordination  with  the  Commission,  EFSA  will 
undertake several activities in the area of crisis communications intended to 
improve preparedness and build capacity in EFSA and among its partners to 
deal  with  a  crisis.  This  will  include  hosting  simulation  exercises,  developing 
digital tools and platforms for use with EFSA’s partners in times of crisis, and 
establishing mechanisms to guard against fake news in the area of food safety.  

Digital Channels 
Management, 
Scientific Output 
publication 

− 

In the period 2024-2027, EFSA will strengthen the brand identity and functions 
of its digital platforms, including the EFSA website, the EFSA Journal, its social 
media  channels,  Open  EFSA,  and  common  platforms  such  as  IUCLID  that  it 
manages  with  partner  organisations.  This  will  be  carried  out in  parallel  with 
the  focus  we  will  place  on  creating  personalised  journeys  for  web  users 
described above.  

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work 

Main activities 

− 

In  line  with  the  emphasis  in  the  Transparency  Regulation  on  clarity  and 
accessibility of risk communications for people without a scientific background, 
in  2024  and  beyond  the  EFSA  Journal  will  roll  out  Plain  Language  and  Lay 
Summaries to accompany certain EFSA scientific opinions. It will also look to 
harmonise the publication of food safety risk assessments in the EU by offering 
the Journal platform to Member State competent authorities to publish their 
own scientific advice and other scientific outputs. 

Multiannual  targets  of  the  key  performance  indicators  designed  to  monitor  the  expected 
operational result 1.2.2 are presented in Table 10 in Appendix A. 

 26 

 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

1.2 ENSURE PREPAREDNESS FOR FUTURE RISK ANALYSIS NEEDS 

Strategic Objective 2 is about sustaining and developing EFSA’s core capabilities to ensure its 
long-term  relevance  and  reputation.  Strengthened  partnerships  within  the  food  safety 
knowledge ecosystem re crucial and will result in the identification of priority areas for knowledge 
sharing,  knowledge  development  and  capacity  building.  This,  in  turn,  will  allow  EFSA  to  be 
prepared with the methodologies, data and expertise needed for its future risk assessment and 
communication activities.  

The  expected  outcome  of  EFSA’s  work  programme  in  this  area  are  increased  risk  analysis 
capabilities  to  maintain  relevance  for  the  future  by  co-creating  and  making  available 
knowledge, expertise, methodologies and data, and by contributing to relevant aspects of the 
Horizon  Europe  programme  cycle.  This  will  be  done  in  partnership17 with  Member  States  and 
other EU Agencies, in cooperation with international and Third Country risk assessment bodies, 
and through open dialogue with risk managers, the wider scientific community/academia, and 
stakeholders.  The  quality,  comprehensiveness,  and  coherence  of  the  risk  analysis  capabilities 
and  the  efficiency  with  which  knowledge  is  generated  at  EU  level  will  benefit  partners  and 
stakeholders. EFSA and its partners will be able to address food safety challenges of the future. 

Multiannual targets of the key performance indicators designed to monitor the expected outcome 
2.1 are presented in Table 11 in Appendix A. 

EOR 2.1.1 HARMONISED RISK ASSESSMENT CULTURE, WITH THE NECESSARY 
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE, IS ENSURED AT EU LEVEL.  

EFSA aims to maintain and improve a harmonised risk assessment culture at EU level via the 
strengthening  of  its  external  relations  and  engagement  activities  with  EU  and  international 
cooperation  fora  and  channels,  through  shared  platforms  and  infrastructures,  as  well  as  of 
capacity  building  initiatives,  innovative  workforce  planning  and  sourcing.  EFSA  has  in  place 
cooperation  agreements  /  Memoranda  of  Understanding  with  the  ENVI  Agencies  ECDC,  ECHA 
and EMA, as well as the JRC, ensuring close regular collaboration. 

The  enhancement  of  digital  collaboration  within  the  EU  Food  Safety  domain  will  increase  the 
resilience  and  EU  food  safety  system  productivity.  The  NEXT  (Knowledge,  Expertise  and 
Technology) programme, is intended to deliver a digital collaboration framework in support of 
preparedness and partnerships, making possible  the co-creation  of knowledge assets and the 
effectively organisation, sharing and reuse of knowledge within EFSA and across the food safety 
ecosystem. The NEXT programme is also exploring the use of innovative methodologies, such 
as  cognitive  computing,  to  automate  knowledge  management  and  to  augment  access  to  the 
evidence that informs  scientific risk assessments.  

Activities overview in the area 

Area of work 

Main activities 

Capacity Building, 
Knowledge 
Organization, 
Strategic 
Competencies,  

−  EFSA relies on more than 600 scientific experts for the development of 
its scientific advice  as well  as  a network  of  1,500  experts. EFSA  will 
work in partnership with Member States (Advisory Forum, Focal Points, 
Scientific Networks, Art. 36 Competent Organisations and beyond), EU 
Institutions,  EU  organisations  (ENVI  Agencies,  and  reference 

17 Partnerships, based on trust and shared values, is considered by EFSA the most promising leverage to co-create the 
EU food safety knowledge ecosystem for delivering relevant scientific advice in the future. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work 

Main activities 

Definition of the 
Innovation & 
Transformation 
agenda  

Strategic 
Partnership & 
Community 
building,  
Strategic 
engagement,  

laboratories)  and  international  networks  and  forums  to  strengthen 
capacity  building,  co-develop  risk  assessment  methodologies  and 
reduce scientific divergences . 

−  The  following  capacity-building  activities,  aimed  at  increasing  the 
expertise  and  resources  available  to  EFSA  and  Member  States,  are 
planned from 2024 onwards: 

• 

The  use  of  the  EU  Academy,  a  repository  for  training  materials 
accessible to external participants.  

•  Assessment of a pilot for IUCLID training, launched at the end of 

2023.  

•  Update of the existing reserve list of Individual Scientific Advisors 

(ISA scheme). 

−  EFSA will contribute to increasing RA capacity and knowledge in the EU 
by continuing activities such as the EU-FORA Programme (reviewed in 
2021),  its  risk  assessment  Summer  School  and  training  courses 
(including support to those set under the EC Better Training for Safer 
Food  (BTSF)  programme)  as  well  as  the  organisation  of  scientific 
trainings.  

−  EFSA  will  set  up  a  Knowledge  Organisation  Framework  (see  also 
community  management)  to  improve  the  discoverability  and  re-
useability of knowledge. The goal is to create a system that allows for 
information to be found and shared quickly and accurately. A project 
under the NEXT programme (see Appendix B) is mapping e structured 
and  unstructured  knowledge  generated  by  scientific  processes  and 
ecosystem partners, to improve sharing and efficiency.  

−  To tap into the knowledge available in society EFSA will further explore 
feasibility  of  engaging  communities  through  collaborative 

the 
crowdsourcing and citizen science. 

−  Building on the successful implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) 
in parts of the systematic review process, EFSA will further invest in 
the  implementation  of  AI  in  collaboration  with  other  EU  Agencies 
through  its  virtual  community.  The  roadmap  on  AI  for  evidence 
management in risk assessment will continue to guide the integration 
of human centric AI to enhance process efficiency through automation, 
enrich staff work with AI-driven knowledge tools, free up experts' time 
by managing repetitive tasks  and  leveraging  analytical  insights from 
vast  data  sets,  which  will  aid  in  areas  like  knowledge  management, 
foresight and detecting emerging risks.  

−  EFSA  is  proactively  seeking  opportunities  for  collaboration  and  

partnerships  

− 

 is  prioritising  partnerships  to  improve  the  speed  of  risk  assessment 
and 
its  risk  assessment  preparedness.  Potential  collaboration 
opportunities include the evaluation of novel food applications, refining 
scientific  recommendations  on  micronutrient  intake,  and  identifying 
emerging risks associated with food supplements. 

−  An increased EFSA budget will be available to support Member States 
projects  via  grants  and  other  financial  instruments.  Scientific 
cooperation tools will evolve to support the outsourcing of preparatory 
work to Member States. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work 

Main activities 

−  EFSA implements  a four-year (2023-2026) Partnership with  Member 
State Article 36  organizations to  provide support to EFSA in the risk 
assessment of food additives, food enzymes, food flavourings and feed 
additives, by way of preparatory work for draft scientific opinions which 
will be peer-reviewed by EFSA Scientific Panels (ANS, CEP, FEEDAP). 
A Framework Partnership Agreement has been established with three 
beneficiaries, two of which are cross Member State consortia and the 
third  one  from  a  single  Member  State.  This  partnership  is  the  first 
practical implementation by EFSA of Article 28 (5E) of Regulation (EC) 
178/2002, as amended (Transparency Regulation). 

−  A new Focal Point operational framework, including principal and tailor-
made  activities,  has  been  implemented  in  2023  to  intensify 
cooperation between EFSA and Member States. 

− 

In  the  context  of  the  revised  EU  policy  on  cooperation  with 
neighbouring  countries,  EFSA  will  continue  to  support  the  European 
Commission in the implementation of instruments and tools for data 
collection. Initiatives such as the Autumn Schools, co-organised with 
IPA countries will continue to support capacity building and knowledge-
transfer.  

−  With the financial support of EC, EFSA continues to implement the IPA 
agreement for  the period 2023-2026. DG  NEAR granted  a budget of 
EUR  1,150,000  for  the  implementation  of  the  new  Action  that 
commenced  on  1  August  2023.  IPA  III  Action  focusses  on 
strengthening risk assessment and communication competences and 
capacities  in  IPA  beneficiaries,  fostering  initiatives  that  focus  on 
harmonization  of  the  data  collection  methodologies,  as  well  as 
increasing  networking,  cooperation,  communication,  visibility  and 
integration at national, regional and EU-level. 

−  EFSA will continue to strengthen its cooperation with EU ENVI agencies 
—  (the  EEA,  the  EMA,  the  ECDC,  ECHA),  the  JRC,  the  European 
Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction — and Member States 
in  the  areas  of  data  sharing  and  structure,  scientific  methodology, 
expertise  and  research,  including  through  inter-agency  procurement 
procedures such as the recent procedure with EEA for the provision of 
Support to Integrated Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystems.  

−  EFSA will engage in a variety of new cooperation activities, related to 
the  European  Partnerships  on  assessment  of  chemical  substances 
(PARC) and on Animal Health & Welfare, as well as providing services 
to DG-AGRI under a Service Level Agreement for the preparation of a 
technical report on substances not currently authorised for EU organic 
farming.  

−  At the international level, EFSA will support the European Commission 
in  its  international  obligations,  such  as  at  CODEX  Alimentarius 
Commission  meetings.  EFSA  will  also  prioritise  multilateral  and 
bilateral  cooperation  through  international  liaison  groups,  through 
cooperation agreements with international organisations, such as the 
WHO, WOAH, FAO, IARC and the OECD and risk assessments bodies 
from  third  countries  and  through  scientific  technical  exchanges  with 
third parties. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work 

Main activities 

Community 
Management 

−  EFSA  is  implementing  a  community  management  framework  for 
enhanced engagement, leaner operations and digital innovation of its 
communities. The following activities will continue to be implemented 
in 2024:  

•  Support  to  the  creation  and  development  of  EFSA’s  new 
communities  by  assisting  Units  on  best  practice,  tools  and 
engagement methods. 

•  Manage  the  community  of  internal  coordinators  to  promote 
internal best practice and impactful results as communities.  

• 

Implement a Community Management toolkit developed to guide 
coordinators  throughout  the  community  lifecycle,  from  shaping, 
running, nurturing, monitoring and evaluation of activities. 

− 

In support of the new community framework, EFSA is implementing a 
Customer  Relationship  Management  (CRM)  system  which  enables  a 
centralised account management approach for optimal communication 
within EFSA stakeholders ecosystem. 

−  EFSA will continue working on the implementation of the community 
management framework and principles by setting up a tailored-made  
training  as  part  of  the  learning  catalogue,  to  support  competence 
development. 

Multiannual  targets  of  the  key  performance  indicators  designed  to  monitor  the  expected 
operational result 2.1.1 are presented in Table 12 in Appendix A. 

EOR 2.1.2 THE QUALITY AND SCALE OF CRISIS PREPAREDNESS AND THE 
IDENTIFICATION OF EMERGING RISKS IS IMPROVED.  

EFSA will continue to improve the quality of crisis preparedness and emerging risks 
identification by strengthening its foresight and horizon scanning capabilities, and by linking 
the early warning systems and data systems across the EU bodies, EU Agencies, Member 
States and international organisations such as WHO, FAO and WOAH18. Better coordination in 
media and social media monitoring and early warning communications will support these 
efforts.  

Activities overview in the area 

Area of work  

Main activities 

Environment 
Scanning and 
Strategic Options 
Definition 

−  EFSA  engages  with  its    stakeholders  to  gather  insights  into  scientific, 
technological, and societal dynamics to ensure EFSA’s preparedness. Through 
its environment scanning process, EFSA aims to stay abreast of cutting-edge 
innovations and technological advancements. The following activities will be 
continued or strengthened in 2024: 

•  Scanning  and  analysing  trends  and  drivers  of  change.  In  particular,  in 
relation to climate change, EFSA will support the European Climate and 
Health  Observatory  in  the  definition  of  the  Observatory  workplan, 
thematic  priorities  and  key  actions,  preparing  for  and  adapting  to  the 
impacts  of  climate  change  on  human  health,  providing  relevant 

18 World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work  

Main activities 

information on emerging risks and  proposing and building case studies 
(e.g. ciguatera). This will contribute to the implementation of the Article 
5 of the European Climate Law (‘Adaptation to climate change’) and of 
the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change. 

•  Refining risk ranking and surveillance methodologies for plant pests, and 

expand them to encompass animal health and welfare. 

• 

Profiling risks associated with Category A listed diseases from  the Animal 
Health Law, in addition to vector-driven diseases  

−  EFSA  will  contribute  to  the  finalization  of  the  proposed  collaborative 
framework  for  the  joint  drafting  of  rapid  risk  assessments  by  Agencies, 
including  ECDC,  EMA,  EFSA,  ECHA,  EEA,  EMSDA,  and  Europol,  under  the 
framework of Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 on serious cross-border threats to 
health. 

−  EFSA will deliver its crisis preparedness training modules in close collaboration 
with  the  Commission,  Member  States,  and  fellow  EU  Agencies/institutions, 
including HERA19.  

Emergency 
response 
management  

Data management  − 

International  collaboration  will  include  harmonised  data  collection  on  the 
geographical  distribution  of  vectors  of  human  and/or  animal  pathogens  in 
Europe  and  the  Mediterranean  basin,  and  the  planned  harmonised  disease 
surveillance of wildlife populations.  

−  EFSA  will  continue  to  improve  the  data  collection  on  animal  disease 
surveillance,  making  it  less  labour-intensive  for  both  Member  States  and 
EFSA.  

−  The existing dashboards developed in the context of the SIGMA 2.0 “Animal 
Health & Welfare data collection” projects, will become operational after 2024 
and will support the validation of submitted data. Predefined tables and maps 
will also be made available that could be used by Member States for their own 
purposes  (e.g.  presentations  at  meetings  of  the  Standing  Committee  on 
Plants,  Animals,  Food  and  Feed).  This  approach  is  already  in  place  for  the 
annual  data  collection  and  assessment  of  African  Swine  Fever  and  will  be 
extended  to  other  diseases  where  EFSA  has  a  mandate  from  the  European 
Commission (e.g. Avian Influenza).  

Multiannual targets of the key performance indicators designed to monitor the expected 
operational result 2.1.2 are presented in Table 13 in Appendix A. 

EOR 2.1.3 THE QUALITY OF SCIENTIFIC GUIDANCE AND METHODOLOGIES, 
WITH THE NECESSARY RISK ASSESSMENT CAPABILITIES IS IMPROVED TO 
ADDRESS FUTURE CHALLENGES. 

EFSA will develop and integrate new scientific developments focusing on NAM 20-based methods 
and the minimization of animal testing, innovations in food systems, data, and technology, and 
strive  to  follow  the  One  Health  approach.  EFSA  will  strengthen  its  involvement  with  Member 
States,  the  European  Commission  and  Services,  EU  Agencies  and  international  partners  in 
harmonising  cross-cutting  and  sectoral  guidance  and  methodologies  that  underpin  its  risk 
assessments.  EFSA  is  an  Associated  Partner  in  the  Horizon  Europe  co-funded  European 
Partnership  for  the  Assessment  of  Risks  from  Chemicals  (PARC)  that  is  expected  to  boost 
Europe’s  capabilities  to  develop  next-generation  chemical  risk  assessment  to  protect  human 

19 Health Emergency Response Authority 

20 New Approach Methodologies 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

health and the environment in the medium-long term. EFSA is becoming a partner in the Horizon 
Europe co-funded European Partnership on animal health and welfare (PAHW) and will evaluate 
how to best leverage on upcoming European Partnerships (e.g. OHAMR - European Partnership 
on One Health AMR). 

Driven  by  EFSA’s  strategic  transformation  priority  to  increase  preparedness  for  future  risk 
assessment needs, the Innovative Risk Assessment Methodology programme – IRMA - will: 

• 

facilitate  the  identification,  development  and  implementation  of  new  methodologies  for 
regulatory science to achieve consistently up-to-date approaches;  

•  strengthen  preparedness  for  new  types  of  assessment  driven  both  by  evolving 

scientific knowledge and by evolving legislation;  

•  enhance  the  harmonization  of  Risk  assessment  methodologies  to  improve  efficiency  and 

consistency across domains. 

•  ensure  EFSA  is  taking  into  account  the  latest  developments  in  food/feed  production   to 

effectively anticipate emerging risks and respond rapidly to crises.  

Activities overview in the area 

Area of work  

Main activities 

Methodology 
management  

−  EFSA will continue to support its Units and Panels in different methodological 
aspects in risk assessment as well as ensure correct implementation of cross 
cutting guidance documents i.e. genotoxicity, evaluation of nanomaterials, or 
in  the  application  of  the  benchmark  dose.  Guidance  development  on  read-
across approaches is set for publication in 2025. 

−  EFSA,  MSs  and  DG  SANTE  started  a  comprehensive  analysis  of  the  existing 

Guidance Documents in order to produce a multiannual plan of revision. 

−  EFSA  and  its  Scientific  Committee  will  continue  to  work  on  the  following 

methodological aspects: 

•  develop and maintain web-applications to facilitate statistical analysis . 
• 

develop  the  TK  plate  platform  with  trainings  for  EFSA  staff  and  experts 
delivered in 2024.  

•  work  on    implementation  of  the  cross-cutting  guidance  for  the  risk 
assessment of nanomaterials and on the harmonised methodologies for the 
characterisation of uncertainties in scientific assessments.  

• 

• 

 finalise  the  guidance  on  appraising  and  integrating  evidence  from 
epidemiological studies. 

initiate the revision of the guidance on the Margin of Exposure approach for 
substances which are genotoxic and carcinogenic.  

•  work on a Guidance for RA of microorganisms used in the agri-food chain. 

• 

continue  to  update  its  guidance  for  addressing  risk–benefit  analysis  and 
prepare  a  guidance  on  the  regulatory  use  of  biomarkers  of  effect  in  risk 
assessment.  

−  The  following  activities  have  been  included  in  the  work  programme  of  the 

Scientific Committee : 

• 

• 

Evaluation of “natural” materials and food components (for use in FCM)  

Establishment/application of relative potency factors (RPFs) - need to 
develop criteria for deriving RPFs-  

•  Development of a guidance to support the assessment of in vitro mode of 

action studies  

•  Benchmark dose modelling of epidemiological data 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work  

Main activities 

Methodology 
development – 
Chemical RA 

Methodology 
development - 
Environmental 
RA 

•  Refinement of the allergenicity risk assessment in food and feed products 

derived for biotechnology products 

−  One  of  the  key  projects  for  EFSA  is  the  implementation  and  further  method 
development for the cumulative risk assessment of pesticides, for which in 2021 
EFSA and SANTE published a dedicated action plan21. This activity will serve as 
a basis  for the elaboration of  new  cumulative  assessment groups from  2022 
onwards  and  assess  associated  risks.  In  2022  a  roadmap  for  action  on 
combined exposure to multiple chemicals was delivered. This  will enable the 
development of new projects implementing a harmonised approach to assess 
human  health  risk  resulting  from  both  non-dietary  and  dietary  exposure  to 
multiple chemicals by 2027. The development of a methodology for non-dietary 
cumulative risk assessment will be initiated in 2024. 

− 

− 

In addition, the update of the OECD MetaPath database for the incorporation of 
pesticide residues data will be finalised and corresponding data will be published 
on the EFSA Knowledge junction. 

In 2022 a roadmap for action for the establishment of a European Partnership 
to  advance  system-based  environmental  risk  assessment  (PERA)  was 
delivered.  In  2023  a  call  for  proposals  was  launched  to  support  this  activity 
over  the  next  4  years.  If  successful,  this  Framework  partnership  agreement 
(FPA) will address the following four areas:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

characterisation  of  the  exposure  of  plant  protection  products(PPPs)  in 
different environmental matrices;  

characterisation of the hazards to terrestrial non-target organisms (NTOs) 
among different levels of biological organisation, and across species;  

collection  and  evaluation  of  methodologies  and  tools  (e.g.  mechanistic 
effect models) for regulatory risk assessment and  

exploring  the  integration  and  interconnection  of  data  from  different 
sources, methods, tools and objectives via the development of a common 
platform for risk assessments. 

−  The roadmap for action on advancing the ERA of chemicals for insect pollinators  
provides  recommendations  how  to  address  the  current  and  future  ERA 
challenges for insect pollinators by 2030 under the FPA mentioned above. 

−  Regarding the ERA of pesticides, the work on developing methods for assessing 
bee  health  will  continue  in  support  of  guidance  development,  through  the 
further development, testing and calibration of the ApisRAM model. In parallel, 
the work on bees will be extended to cover pollinators in general. 

−  Regarding  the  ERA  of  feed  additives,  EFSA  will  develop  a  model  to generate 
more refined exposure estimates of predicted environmental concentrations of 
feed  additives  in  sediment  under  sea  cages  when  a  feed  additive  is  used  in 
marine  aquaculture.  Within  this  context,  collaboration  is  ongoing  with  ENVI 
agencies such as EMA and ECHA to address common needs for more refined 
exposure models in marine aquaculture. 

−  EFSA  plans  to  start  key  new  developmental  activities  in  2024  in  the 

Environmental RA area:  

• 

• 

toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics (TKTD) model development for the long-
term risk assessment for birds 

thyroid  disruption  in  wild  mammals  and  amphibians:  identification  of 
adverse outcomes in the context of adverse outcome pathways. 

•  Development of EU scenarios for risk assessment for non-target organisms 

•  Development of a stepwise approach for risk assessment of pesticides of 

low concern 

21 EFSA-SANTE Action Plan on Cumulative Risk Assessment for pesticides residues. 

 33 

 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work  

Main activities 

Methodology 
development – 
NAMs and “-
omics” 

Methodologies 
management - 
Data 
requirements 

−  EFSA  activities  on  microbiome  will  continue  in  2024.  Two  thematic  grants 
reviewing  and  appraising  the  state  of  the  art  in  the  field  and  providing 
recommendations  on 
in 
human/domestic  animal  and  environmental  risk  assessments  have  been 
completed in December 2023. Further discussion on possible ways forward will 
start in 2024.   

consider  microbiomes 

feasibility 

the 

to 

− 

in 

In 2024 EFSA will publish a roadmap for action on the application of -omics and 
bioinformatic  approaches 
risk  assessment  which  will  provide 
recommendations for implementing OMICS approaches in regulatory science. 
In 2022 a roadmap for action on New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) in risk 
assessment  was  published  with  the  goal  to  reduce  animal  testing  in  risk 
assessment  of  chemicals  in  food  and  feed.  NAMs-produced  data  are  more 
directly  applicable  to  human  safety  assessments  and  can  also  enhance 
environmental assessments. In the area of transcriptomics EFSA will deliver a 
tool  prototype  that  allows  to  interpret  transcriptomics  data  and  deliver 
toxicogenomics  quantitative  information  that  can  be  readily  used  to  support 
risk assessment of chemicals.  

−  By  2024  EFSA  will  finalise  a  roadmap  for  action  on  advancing  aggregated 
exposure  to  chemicals  in  the  EU.  This  roadmap  aims  to  i)  develop  a  cross-
cutting  methodology  and  supportive  data  streams  for  aggregate  exposure 
assessment  to  chemicals  for  the  EU  population  and  ii)  develop  frameworks, 
guidance and physiologically based kinetic models for exposure reconstruction 
to bridge external and internal exposure to chemicals via forward and reverse 
dosimetry. 

−  EFSA will continue to collaborate with EMA in developing a web-application that 
will allow for harmonized dietary exposure  assessment across the regulatory 
domains  of  pesticide  residues,  biocides,  veterinary  medicines  and  feed 
additives.  

−  EFSA will identify and prioritise needs in terms of monitoring and surveillance 
data  for  chemical  risk  assessment  through  identification  of  data  gaps  in 
previous  opinions  and  consultation  with  the  relevant  scientific  units.  The 
outcome  will  include  proposals  for  modifications  to  existing  data  generation 
pipelines and recommendations for new data generation  and opportunities for 
data harmonisation and data sharing. 

−  EFSA  will  validate  and  apply  a  standardised  workflow    for  deriving  reliable 
human  reference  points  and  health-based  guidance  values  (HBGVs)  using 
cutting edge in-vitro approaches, namely Organ-on-chip (OoC) platforms and 
multiple OMICs endpoints .  

−  Work will continue in data management to support the EU plant health RA, i.e. 
on the global database on host plants of Xylella, the database on EU apple pests 
and  the  project  on  environmental  data  management  for  biological  risk 
assessment 

Multiannual targets of the key performance indicators designed to monitor the expected 
operational result 2.1.3 are presented in Table 14 in Appendix A. 

EOR 2.1.4 PREPAREDNESS FOR FUTURE REGULATORY AND POLICY NEEDS 
ADDRESSING THE EU FARM TO FORK, BIODIVERSITY AND CHEMICALS 
STRATEGIES IS ENSURED 

EFSA continues to prepare for future regulatory and policy actions stemming from EU Farm to 
Fork, Biodiversity and Chemicals strategies by undertaking exploratory studies and projects. 
EFSA will advocate for relevant topics of regulatory interest to be included as priorities for EU 
co-funded research programmes particularly the EU research and Innovation framework 

 34 

 
 
  
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

programme Horizon Europe. Jointly with ENVI Agencies, EFSA will propose solutions that 
support simplification, cost savings and improved regulatory predictability, such as for example 
the “One substance-one assessment” approach.  

EFSA is engaged in the European Green Deal and will continue to explore effective scientific 
contributions to its implementation. EFSA will work in close cooperation with other EU Agencies 
and identify opportunities to follow together a One Health approach, maximising each other’s 
competences and resources.  

Activities overview in the area 

Area of work   Main activities 

Strategic 
engagement 

−  EU  Chemicals  Strategy  for  Sustainability  and  One  Substance-One 

Assessment  

• 

• 

• 

• 

EFSA is fully engaged with the implementation of the Chemicals Strategy for 
Sustainability (CSS)22, and is devoting resources to several Working Groups23 
established by the European Commission. Within CSS, the One Substance-
One  Assessment  (1S1A)  is  of  particular  interest  to  EFSA,  owing  to  the 
foreseen direct impact on its operations.  

The results of the Procurement study aimed to  map the data requirements 
and  risk  assessment  methodologies  across  different  pieces  of  chemicals 
legislation  under  the  remit  of  EFSA,  ECHA,  EMA  and  the  two  SANTE  RA 
committees were delivered in November 2023. The report will be analysed in 
depth  and  discussed  mainly  with  ECHA/EMA  and  the  EC  to  build  the  next 
steps and decide if and where harmonisation would be advisable.  

EFSA will contribute to the design and the establishment of a repository of 
health-based limit values, in which the EFSA’s OpenFoodTox will play a major 
role. 

EFSA will continue to support the EC on the preparation of legislative pieces 
supporting the 1S1A such as  

o 

o 

o 

o 

the re-attribution of tasks,  

legislation  on  Data,  which  would  include  provisions  to  increase  data 
interoperability, data dissemination and data re-use,  

the  establishment  of  an  EU  Common  data  platform  on  chemicals,  a 
framework on chemical indicators and on emerging chemical risks, 

the  revision  of  the  CLP  and  the  REACH  legislation,  as  well  as  the 
forthcoming ECHA Basic Regulation. 

−  Other One Health policy needs 

•  Work will continue on the enhancement of the ‘One Health’ system with ECDC 
(two interoperable systems) for the collection and analysis of whole-genome 
sequencing  (WGS)  data  from  human  and  food/animal  isolates  to  support 
foodborne outbreak investigation.  

•  EFSA  has  carried  out  a  number  of  methodological  development  activities 
aiming at contributing to the One Health policy needs, such as on cumulative 
risk  assessment  and  environmental  risk  assessment,  which  are  described  
under  expected  operational  result  2.1.3.  Additional  work  will  depend  on 
further explorations with DG SANTE and other EU Agencies.  

22 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The European Green Deal. Available online: 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52019DC0640 

23 Safe and sustainable chemicals, Generic Risk Approach, Endocrine disruptors, Mixtures, One Substance-One 
assessment (1S1A), Indicators and Research & Innovation  

 35 

 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work   Main activities 

•  ENVI  agencies  have  established  in  2023  a  cross-agency  task  force  on  One 
Health to discern what can be done together in terms of e.g. capacity building, 
framing research needs for RA, engagement with stakeholders. This work will 
continue in 2024 with EFSA is chairing this task force throughout the year. 

−  EU research needs 

•  EFSA will continue to set up cooperation clusters with EU Agencies, reference 
laboratories and Member States, in close collaboration with the Commission 
services to strengthen the identification and take-up of research priorities by 
funding  bodies.  EFSA  will  provide  support  in  setting  up  a  coordinated 
surveillance  system  under  the  One  Health  approach  for  cross-border 
pathogens that threaten the Union. EFSA will be guiding the prioritisation of 
selected diseases along with a multi-step coordination with MS (and relevant 
stakeholders) for designing an EU surveillance system for emerging zoonoses. 
which will be followed by the collection of the resulting data by EFSA allowing 
for a new assessment of surveillance priorities in an iterative manner. This 
will be done in coordination with other agencies such as ECDC according to 
the One Health spirit. 

•  EFSA will continue its cooperation with selected Horizon Europe partnerships 
in  EFSA’s  remit  such  as  PARC,  the  One  Health  Antimicrobial  Resistance; 
Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare; Environmental Observations for a 
sustainable  EU  agriculture;  and  the  Sustainable  Food  Systems  for  People, 
Planet & Climate. 

Following requests from the Commission, EFSA, will manage the launching of 
verification  studies,  ensuring  that  the  objectives  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2019/1381 on transparency, sustainability, preparedness, and robustness are 
met. 

Multiannual targets of the key performance indicators designed to monitor the expected 
operational result 2.1.4 are presented in Table 15 in Appendix A. 

EOR 2.1.5 WIDER ACCESS TO, AND BROADER EXPLOITATION OF, DATA AND 
ANALYTICS IS ACHIEVED.  

EFSA constantly aims at a maturity level of data management that will allow for a wider access 
to data and analytics and provide the tools for broader data exploitation.  

Building on the work of the Information Management Programme (2015-2021), the new Data 
& Evidence Programme (DEEP) will continue to support EFSA risk assessment by acquiring, 
utilising and disseminating fit-for-purpose data, and by building and making available new, 
innovative and inter-operable data services in collaboration with EFSA partners by means of 
collaborative/de-centralised data platforms. Its activities are mainly driven by the strategic 
transformation priority to increase the speed of the risk assessment process and the 
transparency of its scientific outputs by providing access to evidence. The high-level key 
actions that the programme aims to fulfil are:    

• 

• 

• 

• 

Strengthen  data  governance  and  data  partnership  in  collaboration  with  EU  Member 
States, European Union institutional partners and international organizations 

Improve data quality, interoperability, discoverability and usability 

New Data Streams are used to improve risk assessment 

Deliver data analysis services including AI enabled innovative analytics 

 36 

 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

• 

Ensure  wide  and  timely  use  of  open  food  safety  data  by  digital  platform-based 
collaboration and EU One Health Ecosystem 

The key actions are set out in more detail into five themes (collaborative data platforms, 
support risk assessment, new data streams, data products and services, open-interoperable 
data). 

Activities overview in the area 

Area of work 

Main activities 

Strategic 
engagement in 
Data 
management 

Data collection 
initiatives 

Data 
management - 
Scientific and 
technical advice  

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

The negotiation between EFSA and WHO to amend, and therefore broaden, 
an  existing  data  sharing  agreement  between  the  two  organisations  is 
expected to be finalised in 2024. 

EFSA will continue to participate in data-exchange  networking  groups, with 
data  owners  in  the EU  Member  States  (e.g.  the  ChemMon  -  Chemical 
Monitoring network and zoonoses network, Advisory Forum Discussion Group 
on DATA (AGoD) and data-driven tailor made specific agreements under the 
new  Focal  Point  operational  framework),  European  Union  institutional 
partners (e.g. Health Policy Agencies Collaboration/HPAC) and international 
organizations  (e.g.  WHO,  WOAH)  and  stakeholders  (Discussion  Group  on 
Chemicals). 

EFSA will promote collaborative data projects stemming from HPAC, AGoD, 
EU-CDPC governance group and IPCHEM Module Coordinators group.  

EFSA  will  continue  to  support  Member  State  data  providers  in  transmitting 
data to EFSA and will continue to streamline its annual data collections that 
underpin its scientific advice and the annual EU summary reports on zoonoses 
and food borne outbreaks, surveillance for avian influenza in poultry and wild 
birds  in  the  EU,  AMR,  whole  genome  sequencing,  pesticide  residues, 
veterinary medicinal product residues and TSEs.  

EFSA  will  continue  to  engage  with  European  and  international  partners  to 
maintain  and extend  the  use  of  the  EFSA’s  FoodEx2  food  classification  and 
description system to improve data interoperability. .  

In  2024  EFSA  will  publish  a  roadmap  for  action  on  quantitative  risk 
assessment and data collection in animal welfare. This roadmap will provide 
recommendations to overcome the knowledge and data gaps on the rearing 
conditions  and  welfare  state  of  farm  animals  in  the  EU  and  implement  a 
quantitative assessment methodology by 2030. 

EFSA will continue its efforts towards more openness through the continued 
publication  of  digital  objects  (e.g.  datasets  and  models  supporting  EFSA’s 
scientific assessments) on its Knowledge Junction. An increasing number of 
web applications of specific models linked to guidance documents or relevant 
for stakeholders will be made available on a specific web platform (R4EU). In 
addition,  EFSA  will  develop  open-access  dietary  exposure  tools  in  other 
regulatory domains such as novel foods. 

EFSA  will  run  a  two-phase  survey  to  assess  1)  the  frequency  of  the 
consumption  of  different  fish  species  and  other  seafood  by  consumers  in 
different  MSs;  2)  whether  the  consumers  are  aware  of  the  presence  of 
contaminants  in  specific  fish  species  and  other  seafood;  3)  whether  the 
consumers are aware of the existence of consumption advice for limiting the 
consumption of specific fish species and other seafood due to the occurrence 
of mercury; 4) whether the consumers take into account the Member States’ 
advice. The timeline for delivering a scientific report detailing the outcome of 
this survey is set for 31/12/2025. 

EFSA  will  provide  technical  support  to  the  European  Commission  in  the 
rebuilding of the IRASFF - Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed System. This 
will include the adoption and use of two EFSA’s standards: the harmonized 
terminologies FoodEx2 and PARAM and the SSD2 data model.    

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work 

Main activities 

DEEP - 
Collaborative 
data platforms 

DEEP - Support 
risk assessment 

DEEP - New data 
streams 

- 

- 

EFSA  will  progress  with  the  Rebuild  Data  Project,  which  is  focused  on 
modernising  the  EFSA  data  collection  system  with  tools  co-created  with 
Member States. 

The  SEED  (Spatial  Explicit  Environmental  Data  for  the  integrated  spatial 
analysis in risk assessments) project will complement the action of the Rebuild 
data  project  to  lay  the  foundation  for  the  connection  and  the  utilization  of 
climate data for EFSA Plant risk assessment for EFSA Biological Hazard risk 
assessment and for GMO applications. 

-  OpenFoodTox3 will be extended to 2025 to contribute to the standardisation 
of toxicological end-points in IUCLID format in order to integrate the collection 
of  this  information  in  the  risk  assessment  process.  Through  the  CORSA 
(Collaborative Secure Risk Assessment Production) project EFSA will ensure 
that the access to dossier data and the collaboration to build the opinion will 
be simple, fast and secure . 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

The  MOS  (Meeting  Organisation  System)  project  will  improve  the  efficient 
collaboration with experts, and aims to modernise the process and tools for 
meeting and event organisation management.  

EFSA will deliver the final wave of its EU Menu project that was established in 
2011 to collect more harmonised European food consumption data for use in 
dietary exposure assessments to food-borne hazards and nutrients. Building 
on  this,  EU  Menu  phase  2  is  rolled  out  to  ensure  continued  collection  of 
European food consumption  data using the most  up  to date methodologies 
and availing of the digital tools for data collection.  

The  effort  in  continuing  the  collection  of  food  consumption  data  will  be 
complemented  by  the  development  of  an  open-access  European  food 
composition database (initiated in 2022) to enable more up to date estimates 
of energy and nutrient intakes to be calculated for European consumers. This 
will serve the needs to estimate upper levels of nutrients in foods as well as 
any related future questions within the remit of nutrition. In addition, EFSA 
will  develop  a  European  Environmental  Footprint  of  Food  database  as  a 
preparatory measure to assess the environmental impact of diet. 

EFSA will continue the piloting of the extension of the exposure methodology 
applied in the human field to the animal field by collecting feed consumption 
data  and  elaborating  an  exposure  model  that  can  take  advantage  of  these 
data.  

EFSA will finalize the cumulative assessment groups (CAGs) predictions based 
on Comparative Toxigenomics Database (CTD), to determine if using public 
omics data would yield similar/comparable results. 

EFSA  will  begin  the  implementation  of  a  multi-OMICs  and  inter-species 
workflow to derive human reference points and health-based guidance values 
(HBGVs)  from  quantitative  in  vitro  data.  Selection  of  data-rich  substances, 
needed for the calibration of the models, will be completed. 

-  New  collection  of  data  will  be  performed  to  acquire  reliable  quantitative 
consumption  of  pollen  by  bees  to  better  protect  them  in  the  EFSA  risk 
assessment of pesticides. 

DEEP - Open 
Interoperable 
data 

- 

 A new project will be initiated (Data Outreach project) to implement a new 
portal exposing application programming interfaces (APIs) to allow access to 
EFSA data and evidence using machine-to-machine interfaces. Interfaces will 
be  built  to  allow  automatic  transfer  of  EFSA  metadata  and  data  to  the 
European Union Open Data Portal, EU Common Data Platform on Chemicals, 
IPCHEM  portal,  the  Knowledge  Junction  of  EFSA  public  datasets.  EFSA  will 
continue to engage with the European partners as well as JRC to increase the 
visibility  of  European  chemical  monitoring  data  on  the  EU  Common  Data 
Platform on Chemicals and the IPCHEM portal and with the Publication Office 
to increase the visibility of EFSA’s data to the data.europa.eu (formerly the 
Open Data Portal) 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Multiannual  targets  of  the  key  performance  indicators  designed  to  monitor  the  expected 
operational result 2.1.5 are presented in Table 16 in Appendix A.  

 39 

 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

1.3 EMPOWER PEOPLE AND ENSURE ORGANISATIONAL AGILITY 

Strategic  Objective  3  is  about  managing  and  enabling  EFSA’s  operations.  EFSA  will  focus  on 
attracting  talents  and  developing  people,  organisation,  culture,  services  and  tools  to  increase 
efficiency  of its  operations. Strengthened institutional partnerships  will ensure alignment with 
higher-level strategies and goals and increase cooperation and effectiveness. 

The expected outcome of EFSA’s work programme in this area is improved reputation of 
EFSA  as  an  accountable  institution  and  an  attractive  employer.  EFSA  and  its  staff  will 
guarantee the efficient implementation of its strategy and entrusted resources, through effective 
governance, management, and enabling services, inspired by its five core values. This will be 
done  in  close  partnership  with  EU  Institutions.  Continually  demonstrating  accountability24 and 
efficiency to the EU Parliament, Council and the European Commission will  further strengthen 
the  organisational  reputation.  EFSA  will  empower  its  staff  and  invest  in  talent  management, 
attracting expertise to support the implementation of its Strategy.  

Multiannual targets of the key performance indicators designed to monitor the expected outcome 
3.1 are presented in Table 17 in appendix A. 

EOR 3.1.1 STAFF ENGAGEMENT IS INSPIRED BY EFSA’S VALUE SYSTEM.  

Efforts focusing on competency management and talent development, promoting a culture of 
agility, accountability, trust, and care are expected to inspire employee engagement and, more 
broadly, improve the attractiveness of EFSA as an employer.  

EFSA will scout, source, develop and deploy competencies, by engaging with and aligning a 
diverse, committed and high-performing workforce to EFSA’s mission and culture, and to the 
needs of the Strategy 2027.  

Activities overview in the area 

Area of work 

Main activities 

Talent Pools, 
Competency 
development 

-  Roll out the Learning & Development Plan supporting the EFSA Strategy 2027 
with  focus  on  the  consolidation  of  new  capabilities.  The  main  learning 
interventions  i.e.  Leadership  Development  Programme  and  “Let’s  go  Beyond 
Digital” programme will focus on Culture Essentials, Leadership Essentials and 
Digital Essentials, aiming at further evolving EFSA as a learning organisation at 
individual (skills and behaviours), team (knowledge sharing, collaboration and 
issue-solving)  and  organisation-wide  level  (capability  improvement,  talent 
engagement and alignment to strategy).  

- 

- 

Furthermore,  EFSA's  leadership  development  efforts  will  aim  to  establish  a 
culture of clarified accountabilities (e.g. goals setting, performance indicators, 
etc.) underpinned by robust and clear governance.  

EFSA  will  continue  leveraging  and  promoting  new  ways  of  working  fostering 
autonomy,  accountability,  digital  dexterity  and  an  agile  culture;  Setting  up 
working environment and processes conducive to collaboration, innovation and 
knowledge-sharing. 

Onboarding, 
Performance 

-  EFSA  is  investing  in  an  enhanced  selection  and  onboarding  experience  for 
employees and experts through a revised programme that will be concluded in 

24 Accountability is at the foundation of EFSA’s culture and means that each individual staff member is willing to accept 
responsibility for their actions: serving the public interest with integrity and striving to increase the value we deliver to 
the society. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work 

Main activities 

Management & 
Staff 
Engagement 

2024.  This  will  further  feed  into  the  upgraded  performance  management  of 
EFSA’s statutory and contingent workforce. 

-  Optimize EFSA’s human capital and nurture staff engagement, by adopting an 
even  more  deliberate  recognition  framework  whilst  pursuing  succession 
planning  aligned  to  2027  Strategy  ambitions/competency  needs,  supporting 
growth and retention of internal talents and implementing activities to increase 
EFSA’s attractiveness for skilled staff. Dedicated efforts are aimed at continuing 
the positive trend in EFSA Diversity & Inclusion initiative with specific focus on 
disabilities, nationality balance, well-being and mental health. 

Multiannual  targets  of  the  key  performance  indicators  designed  to  monitor  the  expected 
operational result 3.1.1 are presented in Table 18 in Appendix A.  

EOR 3.1.2 USER SATISFACTION AND EFFICIENCY OF ENABLING SERVICES IS 
ENHANCED.  

EFSA  aims  at  high  quality  enabling  services  that  result  in  enhanced  user  satisfaction  and 
efficiency  by  investing  in  technological  infrastructure,  methods  for  digital  collaboration,  and 
initiatives to make processes more efficient and services more user-friendly. 

EFSA will ensure via a partnering approach the provision of best-in-class enabling services and 
solutions in support to the core business. 

Activities overview in the area 

Area of work 

Main activities 

Digital services, 
Continuous 
improvement 

Review of EFSA 
decisions 
Management 

- 

- 

Implement  initiatives  focusing  on  making  processes  leaner  as  well  as 
integrate  developments  in  technological  infrastructure  and  digitalisation,  to 
standardise,  streamline  and  automate  the  activities  currently  performed  to 
the fullest extent. 

In  the  context  of  the  revised  EFSA  governance  and  decision-making 
framework introduced in 2022, EFSA will review and, where applicable, revise 
the service level agreements for its digital services. The services provided to 
external stakeholders will be prioritised and included in service improvement 
initiatives. 

-  Optimize  resources  by  further  exploring  outsourcing  possibilities,  while 

ensuring high quality defence of EFSA public interest prerogatives. 

Legal Partnering/ 
Advice 

-  Review  and,  where  necessary,  revise  standard  operating  procedures  to 
ensure easy access by users. Explore digital opportunities to professionalise 
the repository and search of legal knowledge and advice. 

Competing 
Interests 
Management 

- 

- 

Further optimise the IT tool developed in 2023 aimed at supporting the whole 
validation  processing  of  Declarations  of  Interests  to  further  enhance 
automatization of the process targeting sustainability and leaning.  

Enhancing  the 
light  of  the 
recommendations of the ex-post evaluation carried out in 2023 of the EFSA 
Policy on Independence. 

independence  regulatory 

framework 

in 

Strategic 
Outsourcing 
Decisions 

-  Optimize financial tools (procurement, grants, remunerated external experts’ 
scheme, etc.) and instruments to increase success rate of calls (e.g. market 
analysis,  pre/post  launch  engagement  activities  etc.)  and  to  foster 
participation and engagement of MSs in EFSA’s activities. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work 

Main activities 

Contract 
Management 

Content 
sanitisation, 
Confidentiality 
assessment, 
public access to 
documents (PAD) 

Financial Services, 
Logistics services, 
People services, 
Site & Facility 
services 

-  Maximise  internal efficiency  as  well  as  value  for  money  throughout  the  full 

contract management and execution lifecycle. 

-  Consolidate  and  develop  confidentiality  and  public  access  to  document 
services  in  line  with  modern  business  practices  e.g.  exploring  outsourcing 
opportunities  of  technical  activities  (e.g.  sanitisation)  or  updating  and 
developing tools to support the processing. 

- 

- 

- 

Enhance  efficiency  of 
the 
implementation  and  access  to  documents  workflow,  leveraging  on  best 
practices and on automated tools supporting the processing. 

the  confidentiality  assessment  and  of 

Evolve  towards  a  full-service  management  approach  by  further  integrating 
the provision of transactional and non-transactional services.  

Further  integrate  and  increase  efficiency  of  transactional  services  including 
the full life cycle of mission, event and meeting organisation, whilst moving 
towards a concept of hospitality management. 

-  Continue the implementation of the building revamp initiative that will 

conclude in 2025 to ensure that EFSA building and spaces are upgraded to 
meet the new hybrid working modality (mixing remote and in-presence 
activities). 

Multiannual  targets  of  the  key  performance  indicators  designed  to  monitor  the  expected 
operational result 3.1.2 are presented in Table 19 in Appendix A.  

EOR 3.1.3 OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE IS ENSURED  

EFSA’s  operational  performance  will  be  ensured  by  an  integrated  and  lean  system  for 
management and governance, adequate internal control and assurance, an embedded results-
based  approach,  and  quality  management  powered  by  continuous  improvement.  The 
implementation of Strategy 2027 is supported by updated process and technology architectures 
as well as the new organigramme. 

Activities overview in the area 

Area of work 

Main activities 

Audit & RMIC 
(Risk 
Management and 
Internal 
Control), 
Strategy, 
Planning & 
Analysis, Quality 
Management & 
Continuous 
improvement 

-  EFSA will adopt  and implement  the Accountability  Policy that  will  describe  the 
overarching  governance  of  EFSA  to  ensure  legality  and  regularity,  quality  and 
performance, and safety and security. 

-  An overarching effort is the integration and streamlining of EFSA’s management 
systems towards a set of unified objectives. This aims to underpin accountability, 
considering  all  applicable  EU  (e.g.  Financial  Regulation)  and  International 
standards (e.g. COSO, ISO standards), and integrating the underlying processes, 
organization, technologies and information. More specifically this effort will focus 
on: 

•  Responsive governance and decision-making process. 

•  Strengthening  the  use  of  results  and  performance  metrics  to  steer  and 

optimize the strategy delivery. 

•  Applying  an  integrated  yet  lean  set  of  assurance  and  internal  control 
mechanisms to ensure compliance with rules and regulations and, optimal 
budget execution.  

•  Continuing the use of quality management objectives and practices in EFSA’s 
processes to ensure enhanced customer satisfaction while implementing a 
comprehensive  set  of  continuous  improvement  and  leaning  actions  to 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work 

Main activities 

Converged 
Security 

Health, Safety 
and Environment 

achieve  regular  efficiency  improvements  in  all  enabling  services  and 
processes. 

•  Maintain ISO 9001:2018 Quality Management certification and use it as the 
overarching guide for improving quality and as the umbrella for integration 
across all ISO management standards. 

-  Enhancing IT security and business continuity. Maintain and further strengthen 

the ISO 22301 Business Continuity and ISO 27001 Information Security 
certified Management Systems by adapting to changes stemming from internal 
or external factors (e.g. new draft cybersecurity regulation) and applying a 
continuous improvement approach. 

-  Enhancing efforts towards sustainability. Maintain the ISO 45001 Occupational 

Health and Safety, 14001 Environmental management system and EMAS in this 
context and increase where possible the energy efficiency of the EFSA building. 
EFSA CO2 emissions are mainly indirect, (i.e., from products and services 
purchased by the Agency), whereas direct CO2 emissions are lower than 1%. 
Reduction and compensation efforts will be pursued. 

Multiannual  targets  of  the  key  performance  indicators  designed  to  monitor  the  expected 
operational result 3.1.3 are presented in Table 20 in Appendix A.  

EOR 3.1.4 ALIGNMENT WITH EU STRATEGIES AND POLICIES IS ENSURED  

EFSA  will  keep  aligned  with  EU  strategies  and  policies  through  strengthened  institutional 
partnerships for shared resources, capabilities and services, enhanced governance mechanisms 
with EU partners and agile, ecosystem-conscious strategic planning. Partnership schemes with 
national scientific organizations are delivered in alignment to the overall strategy. 

Activities overview in the area 

Area of work  Main activities 

Strategic 
engagement, 
Community 
Management 

- 

- 

In 2024 EFSA will conduct an internal mid-term review of the strategy to monitor 
the progress made in the implementation of the strategic objectives including an 
assessment  of  the  implementation  of  the  Transparency  Regulation  measures. 
The review will take stock of any internal or external changes that may lead to 
an adaptation of the EFSA strategy. The EFSA strategy review will support the 
EFSA External Evaluation that will be kicked-off by the EC in 2024 and finalised 
by March 2026. 

Internal ex-ante and ex-post evaluations of the EFSA development initiatives will 
be performed on a continuous basis to ensure the effective and efficient use of 
the EFSA resources. 

-  EFSA  will  promote  enhanced  and/or  joint  governance  mechanisms  with  the 
European Commission and EU Agencies and other EU Institutions; to do so it will 
continue  playing  an  active  role  within  the  EU  Agencies  Network,  promoting 
shared  services/capabilities,  expanding  exchanges  with  EU  Institutional 
partners, and continuing to engage with and advocate at technical and political 
level in support of its strategic priorities. 

-  EFSA will continue to contribute to the European Commission’s digital strategy, 
by  participating  in  the  Health  Policy  Agencies  and  European  Commission 
Collaboration (HPAC) initiative led by SANTE, pursuing efficiency via synergies 
and  collaborations  in  the  delivery  of  common  digital  solutions.  It  will  also 
continue to lead and participate in inter-Agency procurement procedures, as well 
as in exchanges and sharing of resources and knowledge. EFSA will support the 
Commission’s  Pilot  for  a  Health  Policy  Agency  Cluster  Customer  Relationship 
Management platform, initially supporting public access to documents requests, 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work  Main activities 

central data management and organisation database, and the AskHPAC general 
external  requests  handling  automation  system.  EFSA  will  also  support  the 
Commission’s pilot for a Public Health Data Lake supporting the Commission’s 
digital interoperability and connected data strategies. 

Multiannual  targets  of  the  key  performance  indicators  designed  to  monitor  the  expected 
operational result 3.1.4 are presented in Table 21 in Appendix A.  

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2.  HUMAN AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES – OUTLOOK FOR 
2024-2027 

SUMMARY 

Over the last years EFSA’s workforce and budget have been positively impacted by the review 
of the General Food Law and the introduction of the Transparency Regulation; additional posts 
were  granted  and  the  increase  in  financial  resources  has  ensured  that  the  Agency's  financial 
situation remains stable in the medium term. However, the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, 
coupled with the adaptation of EFSA’s organisation, procedures, and IT tools to the requirements 
of the Transparency Regulation, the increasing scientific complexity of EFSA’s risk assessment, 
linked with higher customer and stakeholder expectations have led to an increase in the workload 
in certain areas (stock). 

The stock, currently equivalent to approximately 1500 scientific questions spread across different 
areas, is roughly twice the level that EFSA considers “healthy” (1 average year of production, 
between 650 and 700 questions closed/year). 

Looking to the future, EFSA expects to be entrusted with new tasks, as well as an increase in 
workload linked to existing tasks.  The year 2024 will also see the EFSA scientific Panels renewed, 
which is expected to have an intermediate negative impact on EFSA’s scientific production25. 

EFSA plans to counterbalance the increasing workload by: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

leaning and optimising processes following the investments in new IT tools,  

further outsourcing scientific preparatory work to Art. 36 partner organisations,  

limiting  the  human  resource  investments  in  development  activities  to  maximum  10%  of 
statutory staff, and  

intensifying EFSA’s cooperation with the ENVI agencies and the European Commission to i) 
leverage shared services and ii) ensure new tasks  and areas with increasing workload  are 
appropriately staffed with additional resources. 

In view of the above, EFSA will maintain the high level of quality of its risk assessments while 
addressing the evolving expectations. In doing so it expects an increase in output volumes, and 
due to a higher number of incoming requests a stable stock in 2024 and in the short term future. 
Reducing stock to a one-year production volume remains a top priority for the coming years.   

2.1  OVERVIEW OF THE PAST AND CURRENT SITUATION 

In  year  2021  and  2022,  EFSA’s  budget  and  establishment  plan  reflected  the  allocation  of 
additional  human  and  financial  resources  in  connection  with  the  Transparency  Regulation,  as 
well as the integration of 15 short term contract agents to address the high accumulated backlog 
and stock of questions. Since 2023, EFSA’s human  and financial resources are stable, and no 

25 This is estimated at 10% based on the effort/time to be spent in onboarding. The effect is expected to impact 2024 
only 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

significant changes are expected besides those linked to new legislative proposals or -specific 
projects.  

New tasks - Implementation of Transparency Regulation measures 

The  preparation  for  the  TR  started  in  2020  and,  from  March  2021  onward,  the  Budgetary 
Authority  provided  EFSA  with  additional  resources  for  the  implementation  of  its  measures. 
However,  the  newly  assigned  resources  were  not  sufficient  to  cover  for  the  implementation 
process effort over the period 2020-202226.  

This  resource  gap  compared  to  the  increased  resources  incorporated  in  the  MFF  2021-27  is 
expected  to  be  progressively  reduced,  thanks  to  the  delivery  of  the  planned  IT  tools  and 
organisational changes in 2023, but its impact will still be present in 2024.  

One  area  that  is  experiencing  pressure  after  the  TR  implementation  is  the  assessment  of 
confidentiality requests of applicants, which is dealing with an unforeseen higher volume since 
April 2022. EFSA is dealing with the additional workload by using temporary workforce until the 
yearly volumes can be better predicted and the necessary actions to address the situation can 
be taken. 

Another area of attention is related to the pre-submission activities; EFSA is placing additional 
efforts to make these services more attractive for applicants. Based on the feedback received 
during  the  2022  edition  of  the  EFSA  Strategy  survey,  EFSA  in  2023  engaged  with  industry 
associations  to  better  understand  their  needs  and  to  gather  improvement  opportunities.  This 
was flanked by additional activities like the organisation of dedicated webinars, the participation 
to the EIT Food Event and a webinar on Novel Foods. Additional actions will be implemented in 
2024 following the analysis of the results of the follow-up survey.  

Finally, the transition towards a new operating model, under the Transparency Regulation’s pillar 
of sustainability, i.e. creating partnerships with Member State competent organisations to carry 
out part  of the risk assessment work, has been proven  more challenging than expected.  This 
concerns both the investment effort and the time needed to set up the scheme and implement 
it effectively. The novelty of the financial instruments and the number of potential partners to 
attract and  eventually  onboard for carrying  out harmonised assessments, have been  some  of 
the obstacles towards fast implementation. 

Growth of existing tasks - Workload 

In the period up to 2020, EFSA was able to increase production between 2017 and 2019 (740 
questions closed/year, on average), and decrease the accumulated stock from previous years; 
this was mainly done via generated efficiency gains equivalent to 10 to 15% increased capacity 
(or 48 FTEs) in the period 2013 - 202027.  

From  2020  onwards,  EFSA  has  experienced  increased  volumes  of  work  in  specific  areas.  This 
trend was mainly driven by three factors: 

•  work stemming from the F2F strategy (e.g. Animal Welfare, Nutrition, GMOs, Pesticides);  

•  additional applications from industry (e.g. Enzymes, Novel Foods); 

26 Cumulatively around 106 FTEs-years in the period 2020-2022, corresponding to an average of around 35 FTEs per 
year in the same period 

27 No efficiency gains were possible in 2021-2023 due to the effort to develop new systems and procedures for the TR 
and to change management effort 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

•  growth  in  complexity  of  the  risk  assessment  work  (mainly  because  of  increase  of  the 
amount  of  scientific  evidence  and  sophistication  of  scientific  methodologies);  e.g. 
opinions on Glyphosate, Titanium Dioxide). 

It led to an increase in the number of requests EFSA is called to reply to. In fact, whilst in the 
three-year  period  from  2018  to  2020  EFSA  registered  an  inflow  of  around  550  new  scientific 
questions/year,  in  the  period  from  Apr  2021  to  Jun  2023  this  figure  increased  to  around  650 
questions/year, and the outlook for 2024 is expected to be very similar (630 new questions).  

This increase in workload has not been matched by a respective increase in resources 28 . EFSA 
received 6 additional statutory staff in 2019 and 15 short term contract agents for the period of 
2022-2025, which provided partial coverage of the gap. 

EFSA undertook measures to increase its capacity to match the new needs via: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

investing in digital solutions to automate processes,  giving priority to TR measures and to 
the  end-to-end  risk  assessment  processes  –  expected  efficiency  results  will  be  harvested 
from 2024 onwards, 

temporarily increasing the number of the interim work force from 2020 onwards, 

expanding  IT  and  Management  consulting  support  during  year  2020  and  2021  for 
implementing  the  TR  transformation  and  thereby  safeguarding  internal  resources  for  core 
tasks, and 

extending outsourcing of risk assessment tasks through tasking grants with Member State 
competent organisations  

launching a new support scheme in 2021, the Individual Scientific Advisors (ISA) initiative. 

Notwithstanding these measures, the production has decreased since to around 650 questions 
replied/year on average, as a consequence of the cumulative effect of increasing workload, the 
impact of the SARS-CoV-2 crisis pandemic in 202029 and of the implementation of the 
Transparency Regulation (2021-2022). In 2023, EFSA foresees to close around 680 scientific 
questions, thus resuming a positive trend after three years of disruption and changes. In terms 
of stock, this has translated in a stable situation, as shown in the graph below. 

28 The budgetary authorities assigned only 15 contract agents for three years (for a total of 45 FTEs) versus the 30 
contract agents for 5 years (for a total of 150 FTEs) that EFSA requested in its business case to address this challenge. 
These resources were granted starting as of 2022.  
29 EFSA estimated the pandemic caused a 5% reduction of the workforce and additional 6% internal inefficiency due to 
external factors (e.g. contractors delivery delays, applicants missing data provision delays, etc...). No negative effects 
were instead registered from 2021 onward, with the Authority able to efficiently adapt its working practices to the 
“new normal” (increased virtual meetings and remote working). 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

FIGURE 1. YEARLY STOCK PROGRESSION SINCE 201730 

The stock is particularly high in specific areas, such as feed additives, novel foods, food contact 
materials,  enzymes,  food  additives  re-evaluations,  plant  health,  and  renewal  of  new  active 
substances. These areas represent more than 60% of EFSA’s  overall stock and some of them 
were impacted by bulk requests EFSA received in the past (such as enzymes or plant health) or 
increased yearly number of applications received (feed additives). 

Not  all  the  stock,  however,  is  requiring  immediate  action,  as  around  40%  (more  than  500 
scientific questions) of the existing stock has its agreed deadline planned in 2025 or even later. 
This leaves the remaining 60% of the stock requiring short-term actions; a portion of it (around 
25% awaiting actions by the applicants (such as the provision of additional information/data). 

Beyond the increase in stock, the workload-resource imbalance had repercussions also  on the 
update of risk assessment sectorial guidance, particularly in the regulated products  area. The 
table below shows an indicative list of guidance documents pending update, also in view of their 
relevance for the implementation of the Green Deal Policy. 

TABLE 1. INDICATIVE LIST OF SECTORIAL GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS PENDING UPDATE 

Area 

Guidance documents 

Last update 

Guidance on studies concerning the safety of use of the 
additive for users/workers 

Feed dossiers 

Guidance on the assessment of the efficacy of feed additives 

Guidance on the characterisation of microorganisms used as 
feed additives or as production organisms 
Guidelines on submission of a dossier for safety evaluation by 
the EFSA of active or intelligent substances present in active 
and intelligent materials and articles intended to come into 
contact with food 
Scientific Opinion on the criteria to be used for safety 
evaluation of a mechanical recycling process to produce 
recycled PET intended to be used for manufacture of materials 
and articles in contact with food  
Quality of DNA sequencing for the molecular characterisation 
of genetically modified plants 

Food contact 
materials 

GMO 

2012 

2018 

2018 

2009 

2011 

2018 

30 The stock includes only scientific questions referring to the Strategic Objective 1 (related to Pesticides and non 
Pesticides Applications, and Generic Mandates). Moreover, it does not include 1548 questions related to botanical 
Health Claims, which are pending Risk Manager decision 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area 

Guidance documents 

Last update 

Guidance on the Post-Market Environmental Monitoring 
(PMEM) of genetically modified plants 

Guidance on the agronomic and phenotypic characterisation of 
genetically modified plants 

EFSA Guidance Document for evaluating laboratory and field 
dissipation studies to obtain DegT50 values of active 
substances of plant protection products and transformation 
products of these active substances in soil 

Pesticides 

Guidance on tiered risk assessment for plant protection 
products for aquatic organisms in edge-of-field surface waters 

Amphibians & Reptiles 
Guidance on the Use of Probabilistic Methodology for Modelling 
Dietary Exposure to Pesticide Residues 

2011 

2015 

2014 

2013 

Ongoing 

2012 

2.2  OUTLOOK FOR THE YEARS 2024 – 2027 

2.2.a New tasks 

EFSA  is  expecting  to  receive  new  tasks  in  view  of  legislative  proposals  and  specific  projects, 
these are listed below: 

•  New legislative proposal on Chemical strategy for  sustainability / One substance 
one assessment: the draft proposal under discussion foresees 5 posts (of which two to be 
covered by EFSA funds) and EUR 670,000 operations budget; these would be for the years 
2025-2027; future needs will be integrated in the new Multiannual Financial Framework post 
2027. 

•  New  legislative  proposal  on  New  Genomic  Techniques:  the  draft  proposal  foresees 
2 posts  (with  the  corresponding  budget)  and  EUR  405,000  operations  budget  in  2025; 
additional 3 (with the corresponding budget) and EUR 830,000 operations budget in 2026; 
confirmation of the 5 posts and EUR 1,099,000 operations budget from 2027 onwards. 

•  New partnership on Animal Health and Welfare funded by DG REA to a consortium 
led by University of Ghent on which EFSA  will be a partner: the grant agreement is 
expected to cover the years 2024-2026 and foresees 2 posts with the corresponding budget. 

•  New cybersecurity regulation: the new regulation (expected to be adopted by the end of 
2023)  foresees  strengthened  requirements  for  Agencies  with  regards  to  the  controls  of 
cybersecurity risks. EFSA sees the need for one additional post to adequately address these 
requirements although resources have not been provided by the budgetary authorities. 

2.2.b Growth of existing tasks  

In the years 2024-2027, EFSA is forecasting the incoming number of questions to remain in line 
with the recent levels (i.e. approx. 650 questions per year) while the complexity -scientific and 
regulatory- will continue to increase at higher levels than experienced in the past31, as: 

31 Evidence on the increased complexity – as a proxy- can be found in the length of EFSA’s opinions as published in the 
EFSA Journal. Using data from the period between January 2020 and September 2023, the average length of EFSA’s 
opinions has increased, on average, by 5.5% every year 

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•  The new policies and legislative proposals (farm to fork, chemical strategy for sustainability, 
recycling)  will  require  a  transition  effort  and  may  translate  in  specific  risk  assessment 
requirements on top of the existing ones.  

•  The  integration  of  scientific  advances  to  ensure  EFSA  risk  assessment  evolves  with  the 
expectations of customers and stakeholders, including the scientific community, e.g. NAMs, 
cumulative risk assessment, environmental assessment. 

•  The  pressure  on  the  EFSA  production  capacity  particularly  in  some  areas  (e.g.  Enzymes, 
Novel Foods, Pesticides) will continue to be very high, both in terms of existing stock and in 
terms of new mandates expected to be received. The actions taken so far and the expected 
results in 2024 for these critical areas are summarised in the table 2 below. The higher cost 
of TR implementation with respect to some measures as indicated in the previous section, 
such as confidentiality assessment, pre-submission advice, and the partnership model with 
Member States are expected to continue in 2024, and to be addressed by the actions EFSA 
will put in pace to counterbalance the increase in workload (section below). 

TABLE 2. FORECASTED EVOLUTION OF CRITICAL SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTION AREAS 2024-2027 

Area 

Situation as of 
2021 

Actions Taken 

Current situation and 2024 
outlook 

Feed 
dossiers 

Number of 
pending 
dossiers 
increasing in 
the last 3 years 
(202=>213) 

Short term Contract Agents 
allocated on top of TR 
resources for running TR 
measures 

Process leaning performed  

Novel food 
dossiers 

Number of 
pending 
dossiers rapidly 
increasing in 
the last 3 years 
(8=>108) 

Short term Contract Agents 
allocated on top of TR 
resources for running TR 
measures. 

A framework contract for 
supporting novel food process 
has been recently signed. 

Pesticides 
active 
substances 
renewal 

Increase 
(43=>75) 

Increase of the capacity 
allocated, also via short term 
CAs 

Additional resources allocated 
to the area of Active 
Substances (new or renewal) 

Productivity has increased by 
around 10%, to more than 120 
questions closed/year, thanks to 
additional resources and leaning 
initiatives. A significant stock 
reduction is yet to materialise due 
to the increased number of 
request received compared to 
initial expectations (120/year vs a 
forecast of 100/year). Due to 
that, stock is expected to remain 
stable in 2024 

Productivity did not improve due 
to bottlenecks at intake level and 
due to the frequent occurrence of 
additional information to be 
requested to applicants. Unit is 
working on reviewing 
administrative and scientific 
guidance documents, as well as 
improving engagement, to 
mitigate these issues. The stock is 
not expected to decrease in 2024  

Productivity in the area of Active 
Substances is not expected to 
increase significantly if general 
measures impacting on the 
productivity of MSs are not 
adopted. This creates a significant 
gap between the number of 
dossiers forecasted by EC and 
what MS are able to process and 
submit to EFSA 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area 

Situation as of 
2021 

Actions Taken 

Current situation and 2024 
outlook 

Food 
additives 

Slow decrease 
(190=>122) 

Increase of the capacity 
allocated, also via short term 
CAs and shift from Flavourings 

New dossiers are expected to be 
delivered on time in coming years 
being treated with high priority. 

A call for a grant to provide 
support in risk assessment of 
food additives and flavourings, 
food enzymes, and feed 
additives was awarded in 2023. 
The implementation has been 
kicked-off for the next four 
years. 

Re-evaluations are expected to be 
delivered according to the plans 
shared with EC, however the 
stock of re-evaluation follow-ups 
is expected to remain stable in 
coming years unless outsourcing 
measures are implemented for 
low-priority re-evaluations 

Food 
contact 
materials 

Rapid increase 
(26=>68) 

Increase of the capacity 
allocated, also via short term 
CAs 

Enzymes 

High backlog of 
dossiers from 
first lot. Slow 
decrease 
(300=>207) 

Increase of the capacity 
allocated, also via short term 
CAs 

A call for a grant to provide 
support in risk assessment of 
food additives and flavourings, 
food enzymes, and feed 
additives was awarded in 2023. 
The implementation has been 
kicked-off for the next four 
years. 

Productivity increased in the past 
couple of years but with the new 
Recycling Regulation coming into 
force the production is expected 
to slow down in 2024, due to the 
increased complexity (for some 
novel recycling technologies for 
which it will first have to establish 
how to assess each novel 
technology, draft new guidance 
documents per technology, and 
expect to receive dossiers from 
the applicants only in the 
following years. None of the work 
on novel technologies can be 
finalised in 2024). 

The process saw an increased 
productivity in the past few years, 
being now able to close 60+ 
questions/years. However, this 
increase did not ensure a 
significant reduction of the stock 
due to an increased number of 
dossiers received, higher than 
initially foreseen. 
The initial lot of enzyme dossiers 
(“the backlog”) is expected to be 
completed by end 2026, if the 
current speed can be maintained. 
The enzyme sector is also 
investing resources to enable the 
outsourcing, with effects to be 
expected from 2025 onwards. 

2.2.c Strategy for addressing the increased workload and achieving efficiency gains  

To offset the workload challenges described in the previous sections, EFSA will deploy several 
measures on the demand- and the capacity side. 

•  Increase outsourcing and establish partnering with MS organizations 

This will be carried out by allocating an increased share of budget to Grants & Procurements, 
and particularly for supporting risk assessment activities. This trend started in 2021 and it is 
expected to stabilize around EUR 35M/year in the coming years. Among the schemes that 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

EFSA  has  started  utilising,  are  the  ISA  scheme  for  the  insourcing  of  skilled  workforce  to 
directly  support  the  Risk  Assessment,  as  well  as  the  increasing  usage  of  Framework 
Partnership  Agreements  (e.g.  the  FPA  covering  risk  assessment  of  food  additives  and 
flavourings, food enzymes, and feed additives signed in 2023 and expected to run for four 
years) that will support the scientific production in EFSA’s focus areas. 

•  Promote leaning initiatives  

EFSA’s  strategic  priorities  are  expected  to  generate  efficiency  gains  in  the  medium-long 
term. In the context of its 2027 Strategy, EFSA  has defined three strategic priorities that 
will drive the focus of its transformation activities:  

improve the speed of risk assessment,  

• 
•  maintain preparedness for future risk assessment needs,  
• 

improve digital collaboration with the EU food safety system. 

Especially for what concerns the first priority, in 2023 EFSA carried out a detailed analysis 
of  its  risk  assessment  process,  aiming  at  identifying  existing  bottlenecks  and  criticalities. 
This  analysis  is  informing  the  generation  of  improvement  initiatives  and  development 
projects  that  will  be  rolled  out  starting  from  2024  and  that  are  expected  to  significantly 
reduce the time required to process a scientific opinion.  

A  faster  risk  assessment  will  also  generate  positive  effects  on  the  compliance  with  the 
timeliness  (resulting  in  a  higher  timeliness  of  adoption)  and  on  the  volume  of  scientific 
questions  replied,  supporting  the  reduction  of  the  stock  of  questions  and,  ultimately,  to 
further increase EFSA’s contribution to the European Food Safety System. 

Additional efficiency gains will be also achieved by further  integrating, standardising, and 
streamlining activities to support the core business, such as via the Integrated Management 
System roadmap. 

•  Leverage the technological investments in automation and digitalisation 

The technological and organisational changes needed for the efficient implementation of the 
TR requirements are being finalised in 2023, and the expected efficiency gains are expected 
to start materialising in 2024 when all new tools are expected to be running efficiently.  

Additional efficiencies will be sought after through investments in the digitalisation of EFSA’s 
core,  enabling  and  management  processes.  Finally,  additional  efficiency  gains  in  the 
medium/long  term  are  expected  from  the  development/implementation  of  Artificial 
Intelligence capabilities. 

•  Shared  services  and  IT  development  projects  among  Agencies  /  Reviewing  IT 

infrastructure 

To maximise efficiencies at European level, EFSA has adopted core business solutions already 
(partially)  implemented  in  other  organisations,  such  as  the  DG  SANTE  ESFC  solution  for 
processing and validating new regulated products dossiers and ECHA’s IUCLID  solution for 
handling all chemicals dossier information. This will continue in the joint initiatives under the 
“one  substance  one  assessment”  workstream  and  the  EU  Common  data  platform  for 
chemicals. A list of the SLAs of EFSA with EU Institutions covering shared digital solutions is 
provided in Annex XI. 

New  synergies  are  stemming  from  EFSA’s  participation  in  the  governance  model  led  by 
DG-SANTE  for  the  HPAC.  EFSA  often  leads  and  participates  the  development  of  shared 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

services  opportunities  (e.g.  joint  procurements)32 within  the  EU  Agencies  Network  (EUAN) 
contributing to efficiencies across the EU Agencies ecosystem.  

•  Increase FTEs availability 

EFSA  reached  an  occupancy  rate  of  92.2%  in  2022,  and  an  increase  is  targeted  for  2023  
(95%33)  and  2024  (97%).  This  will  allow  more  resources  to  be  used  in  supporting  EFSA’s 
Risk  Assessment.  Moreover,  EFSA  will  advocate  for  the  renewal  of  the  15  short  term  CAs 
initially granted for the 2022-2024 period, this to continue supporting the higher production 
levels and maintenance/decrease of the stock of questions while keeping up with the quality 
expectations in the scientific assessment areas under pressure. 

•  Decrease the FTEs required in development activities 

EFSA will continue reducing the human resources investment in development activities (to a 
maximum of the 10% of the Agency staff) 34, taking advantage of the finalisation of projects 
related to the implementation of the IT system connected with the Transparency Regulation. 
This will translate in a lower FTEs demand in DEV activities (9% of EFSA’s overall workforce 
is planned in DEV activities in 2024, vs 11% in 202335), stabilising at around 65 FTEs of the 
total human resource capacity36.  

As for financial investment, development activities are expected to register a small reduction 
year-on-year,  at  around  15%  of  EFSA’s  total  appropriations  (down  from  18%  in  2023). 
However, a similar level of external support (around EUR 15M of Grants and Procurements 
planned for DEV activities in 2024, in line with the most updated 2023 plan) is expected, to 
compensate the decrease in FTEs invested. 

Based on all the assumptions here described, and notwithstanding changes, the outlook to 2027 
is the one shown in the figure 4 below, with a fairly stable stock in 2024 and a slow decline over 
the coming years. In doing so, EFSA will continue cooperating closely with risk managers in order 
to ensure the allocation of resources in the areas of highest priority, and to take the necessary 
measures to avoid the accumulation of unsustainable workload. 

32 Contracts have been signed in recent years following procurement procedures led by EFSA with the ENVI Agencies 
on the following topics: Statistical Analysis; Support to the EU One Health Zoonoses Report and in Related Zoonoses 
Online Interactive Data Visualisation Dashboards and Zoonoses Story Maps; Social Science -  quantitative and 
qualitative social research methods in support of an audience-first approach & enhanced user experience in risk 
communication; Training on Systematic Literature Review; EU-SR Antimicrobial resistance; Crowdsourcing - Assistance 
for Design and implementation of Crowdsourcing Initiatives for engaging communities in regulatory science. EFSA 
actively monitors the Joint Procurement Portal in the EU Agencies extranet to identify calls of other Agencies which 
EFSA could join, or to offer to act as lead Agency in procedures which could be of interest to other Agencies. Recent 
successful examples of signed contracts following procurement procedures led by EFSA are on Management 
consultancy (29 participating Agencies) and Travel Risk Management (16 participating Agencies). EFSA also actively 
liaises with the DG’s for early sharing of their procurement plans in order to identify opportunities to join inter-
institutional calls 
33 The current forecast (November 2023) is to achieve 98% occupancy rate already in 2023. 

34 During the period 2014-2019 on average 14% of EFSA human resources were working on development activities, 
reaching 17% over 2020-2022 due to the development of the TR measures 

35 This drops to approximately 7% for 2023 and 5% for 2024 for the Units carrying out risk assessment activities 

36 This % refers to the total amount of estimated resources in EFSA including statutory staff, interims, a fraction of 
trainees, and external capacity outsourced via tasking grants or Independent Scientific Advisors 

 53 

 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

FIGURE 2. YEARLY STOCK PROGRESSION SINCE 2017 AND OUTLOOK UNTIL 202737 

2.3.  RESOURCE PROGRAMMING FOR THE YEARS 2024 – 2027  

With regard to resources, the MFF 2021-2027 foresees an annual nominal budget increase, to 
cover for the expected inflation rate, as shown in the table 3 below. Additional budget and staff 
posts  changes  are  related  to  new  legislative  proposals  and  specific  projects  (e.g.  European 
Partnerships on Animal Health and Welfare) mentioned before. 

TABLE 3. EVOLUTION OF POSTS AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES (BY TITLE) IN YEARS 2021-2027 

Year 
2021  

Year 
2022  

Year 
2023  

Year 
2024  

Year 
2025  

Year 
2026  

Year 
2027  

Budget (Million EUR)  

129.2 

149.8 

155.5 

159.5 

163.2 

167.4 

171.2 

Of which Title1 
(Staff expenditure)  
Of which Title 2  
(Infrastructure and 
operating expenditure) 
Of which Title 3 
(Operational expenditure) 
Of which TR  

Staff posts 
(establishment plan, 
contract agents and 
seconded national 
experts)  

53.1 

58.2 

65.0 

71.8 

73.9 

76.4 

78.5 

14.5 

12.6 

14.7 

14.7 

13.9 

12.8 

12.9 

61.6 

78.9 

44.8 

64.0 

75.7 

64.0 

72.9 

64.0 

75.4 

64.0 

78.2 

64.0 

79.8 

64.0 

542  

588  

588  

590 

598 

601 

598 

Of which TR  

75  

106  

106  

106  

106  

106  

106  

Of which lent to ECHA 

4  

4  

4  

4  

4  

0  

0  

37 dotted columns indicate predicted figures 

 54 

 
 
 
  
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

One  can  observe  an  increase  in  Title  1,  reflecting  the  inflation  effects  as  of  2022.  This  will 
increase the share of the Title from around 39% in 2022 to 46% in 2027.  

Title  2  is  expected  to  remain  stable  in  2024  and  decrease  thereafter  over  time  after  the 
finalisation of the investments in the building linked to the increased number of staff and new 
modalities of working (from 2026 onwards). The Title 3 is expected to slightly decrease in2024, 
both in nominal as well as in relative terms reflecting an increased cost of Title 1 and stability of 
Title  2;  it  is  expected  to  recover  partially  in  the  following  years  to  approximately  46%  of  the 
total budget in view of new tasks to be received and planned reduction in Title 2.  

Below  is  a  summary  of  the  allocation  of  resources  (share  over  total)  to  EFSA’s  Strategic 
Objectives  and  underlying  activities  (processes  and  projects),  including  the  Transparency 
Regulation  budget  envelope.  This  evolution  assumes  that  EFSA’s  funding  for  the  2024-2027 
period is in line with the current draft Multiannual Financial Framework. The main drivers are: 

•  To prioritise customers’ requests and stakeholders’ expectations in EFSA’s core business of 

risk assessment and communication, and the implementation of the TR measures, 

•  To lean EFSA’s management and enabling processes, 

•  To safeguard resources for investments on innovation and modernisation to ensure that EFSA 

remains relevant and reputable. 

More specifically:  

In SO1: 

•  Financial resources allocated to SO1 are foreseen as increasing in  2024-2027 compared to 
the 2023 allocation, both in terms of budget invested and human resources allocated, with 
a steady trend. This is due to increased outsourcing/partnership with Art 36  organisations 
for  the  run  of  scientific  processes,  thanks  to  an  increased  budget  allocated  to  grants  and 
procurement, and due to the finalisation of the TR-related development projects, which will 
generate additional resources to be allocated to EFSA’s core business. The trend in human 
resources  is  also  explained  by  the  presence  of  the  15  short  term  contract  agents  initially 
granted to the Authority for the period 2022-2025, for which the Authority is seeking for an 
extension.  

In SO2: 

•  The  amount  of  financial  and  human  resources  allocated  to  SO2  is  planned  to  decrease  in 
coming years, mainly in connection to the reduced amount of development activities and the 
finalisation  of  the  activities  connected  with  the  entry  into  force  of  the  Transparency 
Regulation. 

•  On  the  other  hand,  the  investment  in  community  management  will  grow  to  support  the 
transition to a new operating model in partnership with Member States. Also noteworthy is 
the  financial  investment  for  the  improvement  of  risk  assessment  capacity  including  AI  for 
risk assessment use cases.  

In SO3: 

•  Resources invested in SO3 will slightly grow (+4% financial resources, and stable in human 
resources over the next four years). This investment will mainly serve the “run-maintenance-
enhancement”  of  the  IT  systems  supporting  the  core  business,  a  consequence  of  the 
increased  range  of  tools,  higher  number  of  users  as  a  result  of  increased  engagement 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

activities,  and  of  the  current  inflationary  trends.  Moreover,  EFSA  aims  at  furthering  the 
centralisation of supporting tasks, to generate efficiencies. 

2.3.a Financial resources 

The figure 3 below shows the historical and forecasted distribution of financial resources by SO 
for 2021-2027. 

FIGURE 3. FINANCIAL RESOURCES (% FORECASTED DISTRIBUTION) BY SO IN 2021-2027, INCLUDING 
THE IMPACT OF THE REVIEW OF REGULATION (EC) NO 178/2002. 

2.3.b Human Resources 

The figure 4 below shows the historical and forecasted allocation of human resources by SO for 
2021-2027. 

FIGURE 4. HUMAN RESOURCES (% FORECASTED DISTRIBUTION) BY SO IN THE 2021-2027 PERIOD, 
INCLUDING THE IMPACT OF THE REVIEW OF REGULATION (EC) NO 178/2002. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

TABLE 4. HUMAN RESOURCES OVERVIEW IN THE 2021-2027 PERIOD. 

2021 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Human resources 

Authorised 
budget 

Authorised 
budget 

Authorised 
budget 

Draft 
budget 
request 

Draft 
budget 
request 

Draft 
budget 
request 

Draft 
budget 
request 

Establishment plan posts: 
AD 
Establishment plan posts: 
AST 
Total establishment plan 
posts 

CAs 

Seconded national experts 
(SNEs) 45 
Total including 
Transparency 
Regulation 

284 

312 

312 

312 

31438 

316 

96 

93 

93 

93 

93 

94 

316 

94 

380 

146 

16 

40539 

16741 

16 

405 

167 

16 

405 

407 

41040 

410 

16942 

17543 

16 

16 

175 

16 

17344 

1546 

542 

588 

588 

590 

598 

601 

598 

38   YoY increase linked to the New Genome Techniques proposal (+2 FTEs), discussions ongoing at European Council 

and European Parliament level 

39   YoY increase linked to additional establishment plan capacity due to Transparency Regulation 

40   YoY increase linked to the New Genome Techniques proposal (additional +3 FTEs, 2 ADs and 1 AST), discussions 

ongoing at European Council and European Parliament level 

41    It includes +15 CAs initially granted for the period of 2022-2024 only but EFSA is requesting to prolong  

42   YoY increase linked to the Animal Health and Welfare partnership funded by DG-RTD (+2 FTEs), agreement not 

signed yet at the time of writing (November 2023) 

43   Additional request of 1 post in the area of Cyber security to address the requirements of the new legislation; 
Additional 5 CAs coming from the support EFSA is expected to give to the Chemical Data Platform, for which 
discussions are ongoing at European Council and European Parliament level 

44   YoY decrease linked to the finalisation of the AHAW partnership funded by DG-RTD started in 2024 (-2 FTEs) 

45   Including 1 SNE dedicated to the pre-accession programme financed by DG NEAR  

46   YoY decrease linked to the end of the contract of the SNEs dedicated to the Pre-accession programme funded by 

DG-NEAR (-1 FTE) 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

SECTION III. DRAFT ANNUAL WORK PROGRAMME YEAR 
2025 

1.  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

In the fourth year of the implementation of the EFSA Strategy 2022-2027, EFSA is starting the 
second phase with a focus on delivering the three transformation priorities and contributing to 
preparation  and  implementation  of  the  new  EU  legislations  linked  to  EU  Green  Deal  (Farm  to 
Fork & Chemical Strategy for Sustainability) framework. The draft annual work programme 2025 
will include the recommendations from the  midterm strategy review to be concluded in 2024. 
The final work programme 2025 will be presented in the Programming document  2025-2027, 
for adoption by the MB in December 2024.  

In 2025, EFSA will assess and communicatee on more than 420 requests from risk managers for 
scientific  advice  on  the  evaluation  of  applications  for  regulated  products,  and  around  230 
requests on priorities relating to food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, plant health 
and human nutrition.  

To further improve the provision of scientific advice, both in terms of quality and efficiency, EFSA 
will carry out key initiatives, focusing on the three strategic transformation priorities set out in 
2022, i.e improving the speed of risk assessment, increasing preparedness in risk assessment 
and strengthening digital collaboration, to achieve EFSA’s Strategy 2027 objectives. 

EFSA’s people — its scientific experts, partner organisations in Member States and beyond, and 
staff — comprise the pool of knowledge, expertise and experience necessary to deliver against 
the  Authority’s  work  programme.  EFSA’s  efforts  to  further  strengthen  capacity  building  and 
sharing among  knowledge hubs in  Member States will  continue with  more projects under the 
new  grant  scheme  for  partnering  projects,  and  the  innovative  approach  to  networking  in  line 
with Article 36 of EFSA’s Founding Regulation. In this context EFSA is aiming at an increase in 
the budget for cooperation with Member States from 33 to above 36 million euro, of which more 
than  50%  in  support  of  the  delivery  of  risk  assessment.  Further  exchanges  on  methodology, 
data access and expertise with our EU agency and international partners will be pursued. 

EFSA will continue to work on preparedness in plant health by developing horizon scanning and 
rolling out surveillance support to Member States, and on the multisectoral activities in the area 
of AMR, together with EMA and ECDC. 

The coordinated development and implementation of new guidance and methodologies and in 
general preparedness activities for RA will continue. In 2025, EFSA will continue the evaluation 
of  the  possible  integration  of  non-dietary  exposure  into  CRA  (cumulative  risk  assessment)  of 
pesticide  residues,  starting  from  the  tools  currently  used  for  the  assessment  of  exposure  of 
operators,  workers,  residents  and  bystanders  to  single  pesticides.  EFSA  has  commissioned 
several NAMs projects to advance the use and integration of NAMs in the risk assessment, such 
as in the area of data integration, nanomaterials, open-access databases, in vitro methods for 
hazard  characterization  and  transcriptomics.  EFSA  will  continue  the  development  of  a 
methodology  to  interpret  transcriptomics  data  and  deliver  toxicogenomics  quantitative 
information that can be readily used to support EFSA scientific opinions. 

EFSA will continue in the year 2025 the actual execution of many of the actions identified in the 
roadmap for 1S1A, contributing to the implementation the Chemicals strategy on sustainability. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

To broaden EFSA’s evidence base in prioritised areas and maximise access to its data, EFSA will 
continue to deliver new capabilities for data collection and scientific collaboration in 2025. A new 
system  for  collecting,  analysing  and  storing  whole  genome  sequencing  data  of  foodborne 
pathogens from food, animal and human sample will continue to be operational in collaboration 
with ECDC. EFSA will continue to populate its scientific data warehouse, EFSA’s data hub, with 
new  food-consumption  data  from  the  final  stage  of  the  EU  menu  project  and  will  prepare  for 
future  collection  of  European  food  consumption  data  (EU  Menu  Phase  2).  This  includes 
standardised and curated model repositories and a growing number of RA models available as 
web  apps.  In  terms  of  analysis  and  automation  of  data  using  approaches  such  as  machine 
learning and artificial intelligence EFSA together with relevant DG’s, ENVI Agencies and members 
states will execute following a common roadmap the use cases to be implemented in short term. 
This common roadmap will assure the pooling of resources, sharing of experience and provide 
the  basis  for  co-creation  and  a  harmonised  approach  in  the  implementation  of  Artificial 
Intelligence. 

EFSA will continue to invest in proactively building necessary staff & experts’ competences and 
in  fostering  a  culture  of  organizational  accountability  &  adaptability  to  be  able  to  deliver 
successfully its operations and the three strategic transformation priorities while maintaining a 
high level of efficiency, staff engagement and wellbeing.  

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2.  ACTIVITIES PER STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 

The  Strategy  2027  is  articulated  around  three  strategic  objectives  as  described  in  the 
multiannual work programme 2022-2025 (section II). The EFSA annual work programme is built 
as a cascade of these Strategic Objectives, through the respective expected operational results 
and  their  relevant  implementing  actions,  which  lead  to  concrete  annual  tasks,  resources 
allocated and outputs to be delivered and measured through relevant annual indicators.  

2.1  DELIVER TRUSTWORTHY SCIENTIFIC ADVICE AND 
COMMUNICATION OF RISKS FROM FARM TO FORK. 

The  two  expected  outcomes,  “Increased  relevance  and  improved  reputation  of  EFSA’s 
scientific  advice”  and  “Increased  relevance  and  improved  reputation  of  EFSA’s  risk 
communication” are diving the activities of the annual workplan in this area, which are set out 
in more detail in the expected operational results. 

Regulated Products evaluation 

EOR 1.1.1: ASSESSMENTS FOR REGULATED PRODUCTS ARE DELIVERED WITH 
QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Area of work 

Main activities/outputs 

Food additives 

The re-evaluation programme of food additives will continue in 2025. EFSA will also 
continue to assess new food additives, along with extensions of use or changes in 
the  specifications  of  already  authorised  food  additives,  submitted  under  the 
common authorisation procedure, and will continue to finalise the assessments on 
the safe use of food additives used in food for infants and young children. 

Food flavourings  EFSA will also continue working on the remaining food flavourings on the EU list, 

new applications for flavouring substances.  

Food enzymes 

For the dossiers already received and for new dossiers EFSA will continue to deliver 
scientific advice on food enzymes, following the multiannual work programme.  

Food contact 
materials 

EFSA will continue its assessment of the safety of substances subject to Article 5 
of Regulation (EU) 10/2011 for plastic materials, articles in contact with food and 
recycling processes.  

Decontamination  Upon receipt of specific applications, EFSA expects to receive at least one request 
from  the  EC  for  the  evaluation  of  the  safety  and  efficacy  of  decontamination 
substances used to reduce microbial surface contamination from foods of animal 
origin; 

Animal by-
products 

Feed additives 

EFSA will continue to assist the European Commission and Member States in the 
assessment  of  alternative  processing  methods  for  the  processing  of  animal  by-
products, including possible assessments related to fertilisers. 

EFSA will continue its assessment of new feed  additives, on new uses of existing 
feed  additives,  on  the  renewal  of  existing  authorisations  and  feed  additive  re-
evaluations.   

Nutrition - 
Health claims, 
nutrient 
sources, 
allergens 

In  the  area  of  nutrition,  EFSA  will  continue  to  evaluate  applications  for  health 
claims. The workload related to health claims will depend on the follow up of the 
evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims. EFSA 
will also work on applications, regarding food for specific groups, for the exemption 
from the labelling of food allergens, for nutrient sources and for safety assessments 
for ‘other substances’ added to food. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work 

Main activities/outputs 

Nutrition – 
Novel foods 

GMOs 

Work  will  also  be  carried  out  on  novel  foods  applications  and  notifications  of 
traditional foods, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 which introduces 
a centralised evaluation by EFSA. 

In  the  area  of  genetically  modified  organisms  (GMOs),  the  work  programme  for 
2025 includes the evaluation of applications for the import and processing of GMOs. 
This  also  includes  the  assessment  of  renewal  applications  of  GMOs  that  were 
authorised more than 10 years ago  

Pesticides 

EFSA will continue with the peer-review process for new active substances which 
will be complemented with the continuous update of the RA methodology. 

MRL applications under Article 6 of Reg (EC) No 396/2005 will be processed as per 
monthly  mandate  receipt  with  an  expected  increase  in  complexity  considering 
increase in non-approved substances in EU for which import tolerance requests also 
imply a toxicological assessment 

Services to 
applicants 

Support  initiatives  (e.g.  webinars,  info  sessions,  etc.)  for  applicants  and  other 
stakeholders  will  be  organised  to  further  communicate  the  RA  workflow  and  to 
ensure the clarity and predictability.  

The  Transparency  Regulation  requests  for  more  transparency  and  more  support 
initiatives to applicants that are provided by a centralised function in EFSA handling 
the pre-submission support, mandate dialogue and intake of all incoming dossiers 
and  mandates.  EFSA  will  further  promote  the  possibility  for  requesting  pre-
submission advice on the applicable rules and requirements for applications, and 
for renewal applications also on study design. 

Draft Annual targets for Key performance indicators for Expected Operational Result 1.1.1  are 
included in Table 7 in Appendix A. 

General risk assessment 

EOR 1.1.2: GENERIC SCIENTIFIC ADVICE IS DELIVERED WITH QUALITY AND 
EFFICIENCY. 

Area of work  Main activities/outputs 

Transparency 
Regulation 
measures 

Biological 
hazards 

Animal health 

The implementation of the measures identified through the EFSA  transparency and 
engagement initiative will continue enhancing engagement with stakeholders during 
different  steps  of  the  RA  process  such  as  the  protocol  development;  the  proactive 
release  of  evidence  used  in  RA  in  a  readable/reusable  format;  and  increasing 
transparency  on  how  and  why  methods  and  data  were/were  not  used  plus  the 
increasing use of crowdsourcing an citizen science to inform the risk assessments. 

EFSA will continue to work on mandates in the areas of food-borne zoonoses and of 
food  hygiene.  In  addition,  through  cross-departmental  collaboration,  EFSA  will 
continue to work on the qualified presumption of safety (QPS). Work will also continue 
in the areas of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). 

In  cooperation  with  ECDC,  EFSA  will  deliver  the  yearly  European  Union  summary 
report on trends and sources of zoonoses, zoonotic agents and food-borne outbreaks, 
and  on  antimicrobial  resistance  in  zoonotic  and  indicator  bacteria  from  humans, 
animals  and  food.  Other  ECDC–EFSA  joint  technical reports include  rapid  outbreak 
assessments and joint notification summaries on multi-country foodborne outbreaks, 
as appropriate.  

EFSA will provide outputs on specific diseases such as ASF, AI,  and of transmissible 
spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) and will continue its support and RAs relating to 
outbreaks of animal diseases in the EU Member States through an improvement of 
the collection of animal health data. Additionally, background projects will be run on 
the collection of wildlife population data (ENETWILD) and on the monitoring of insect 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work  Main activities/outputs 

vectors  which  transmit  animal  diseases  (VECTORNET  in  conjunction  with  ECDC). 
Further  work  is  also  expected  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  animal  health 
law. 

EFSA will also deliver the yearly European Union summary report on TSEs and the 
annual  report  on  the  results  from  the  monitoring  of  veterinary  medicinal  product 
residues and other substances in live animals and animal products. 

Animal 
welfare 

EFSA will provide outputs on the welfare of several species on farms and related to 
the slaughter as well as the killing other than slaughter.  

EFSA will also continue to provide advice on incoming requests for evaluation for new 
stunning methods. 

Plant health 

In the context of the long term (2020-2026) plant health mandates received from EC 
SANTE, EFSA will continue to provide: 

Fit  for  purpose  and  high  throughput  categorisation  and  RA  for  new  and  emerging 
plant pests for the EU territory; 

Quantitative  risk  assessment  of  important  new  or  emerging  plant  pests,  allowing 
comparison  of  scenarios  (including  phytosanitary  measures  and  piloting  climate 
change scenarios);  

RA and communications on newly emerging plant pests and pathogens (e.g. Xylella 
fastidiosa), including update of the global Xylella host plant database and organisation 
of the biannual European conference on Xylella fastidiosa research.  

Commodity risk assessment, based on dossiers from Third Countries, for High Risk 
Plants and for derogation requests to the EU Plant health law  

In the area of chemical contaminants in the food chain, EFSA will  finalise scientific 
opinions within the frame of overarching mandates on brominated flame retardants 
in  food  and  on  arsenic  in  food,  and  will  continue  working  on  mandates  on 
environmental  contaminants,  process  contaminants,  heavy  metals  and  naturally 
occurring toxins, and on the assessment of detoxification processes for contaminants 
in  feed.  EFSA  will  continue  to  deliver  scientific  reports  on  dietary  exposure 
assessments to specific contaminants.  

In the area of food-contact materials, and after completion of the preparatory work 
on  phthalates,  structurally  similar  substances  and  replacement  substances,  it  is 
foreseen  that  EC  will  initiate  the  second  phase  of  this  two-step-mandate,  i.e. 
preparation of mandates to EFSA for risk assessment of prioritised substances.  

EFSA will work on updating the upper tolerable intake levels for a number of vitamins 
and minerals and will support the Commission’s work on setting maximum amounts 
for vitamins and minerals by providing nutrient intake data. 

Safety concerns raised by MS authorities about ingredients added to food containing 
substances other than vitamins or minerals will be assessed by EFSA for potential risk 
to consumers. 

EFSA’s GMO panel and EFSA NIF Unit will continue to assess new sequencing data, to 
provide scientific advice on new genomic techniques and to review the fitness of RA 
guidelines for GMOs in light of new developments such as genome editing, gene drive 
and synthetic biology applications in the plant, animal and microorganism sectors. 

Contaminants 
in food and 
feed 

Food contact 
materials 

Nutrition 

GMO 

Pesticides  

EFSA  will  deliver  its  annual  summary  report  on  pesticide  residues  including 
probabilistic assessment of dietary exposure to pesticide residues. 

The 2nd update of the EU database on processing factors will be delivered to allow 
refinement of exposure assessments. 

The assessment of emergency authorisation will continue in 2025 and the following 
years being further supported by the development of protocols. 

The reduction of the bulk evaluations in the area of MRL reviews under Article 12 of 
Reg. (EC) No 396/2005 will continue in line with the plan agreed with risk managers, 
pending sufficient substances to be available for starting the MRL review. Support for 
the preparation  of the Annual CCPR meeting (scientific assessments to develop EU 
common position for CCPR) 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work  Main activities/outputs 

Cross-sectorial 
risk 
assessment 

Food additives 
and food 
flavourings 

Veterinary 
Medicinal 
Products 
Residues 

EFSA  will  continue  working  on  its  cross-sectoral  risk  assessment  upon  requests 
received from DG SANTE.   

New  mandates  are  expected  on  the  monitoring  of  consumption  and  use  of  food 
additives and food flavourings.  

in 2024 EFSA will support the Risk-based categorisation and prioritisation of the food 
additives  and  food  flavourings by  identifying toxicological  reference  points  and  will 
launch  the  first  call  for  data  in  pilot  mode  and  start  developing  a  database  that 
contains structured information on the outcome of the risk assessments of authorised 
food additives and flavouring  

Scientific assistance will continue to be delivered in the form of an annual European 
report on the results from the monitoring of veterinary medicinal products and other 
substances in live animals and animal products. 

Request for technical assistance to the European Commission (Article 31 of Regulation 
(EC)  No  178/2002)  as  regards  the  receipt  of  the  annual  residue  monitoring  plans 
submitted by member states and provision of European Commission access to both 
residue plan data and result  data via dedicated tools and standard tables: in 2024 
will  continue  to  run  the  data  collection  on  sampling  plans  as  well  as  provide  EC 
assistance  during  audits  by  ad-hoc  extractions  and/or  fine  tuning  the  plans  and 
results dedicated dashboards available to the Commission. 

Draft annual targets for Key performance indicators for Expected Operational Result 1.1.2 are 
included in Table 8 in Appendix A. 

Risk communication 

EOR 1.2.1: AN AUDIENCE-FIRST APPROACH ENSURES QUALITY THROUGHOUT 
RISK COMMUNICATION. 

Area of work 

Main activities/outputs 

Social Research 
& 
Communication 
Planning 

EFSA  will  continue  with  its  ambitious  programme  of  activities  for  risk 
communications in 2025, reflecting its new responsibilities under the Transparency 
Regulation.  In  line  with  the  provisions of  the  Regulation,  EFSA’s  communication 
during  the  year  will  continue  to  be  based  on  insights  from  research  on  risk 
perception.  EFSA  will  launch  one  of  its  flagship  social  research  initiatives  –  the 
Eurobarometer on  food  safety  –  which  will  be used  to  inform  the  priority  topics 
that EFSA communicates about and to develop joint communication materials with 
Member  State  partners.  Research  related  to  risk  communications  and  false 
into  consideration 
information  will  continue 
recommendations  provided  in  the  strategic  roadmaps  commissioned  by  EFSA’s 
Chief Scientists Office 

to  be  rolled 

taking 

.out 

Digital Channels 
Management 

In 2024, EFSA will continue to strengthen the brand identity and functionality of 
its digital platforms, including the EFSA website, the EFSA Journal, its social media 
channels, Open EFSA, and common platforms such as IUCLID that it manages with 
partner organisations. This will be carried out in parallel with the focus we will place 
on creating personalised journeys for web users and optimizing the visualization 
of  data  linked  to  our  scientific  opinions.  Attention  will  continue  to  be  paid  to 
improve the accessibility of its EFSA’s websites. 

Draft annual targets for Key performance indicators for Expected Operational Result 1.2.1  are 
included in Table 9 in Appendix A. 

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EOR 1.2.2: COORDINATED RISK COMMUNICATION IS DELIVERED WITH THE 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION, MEMBER STATES AND ENVI AGENCIES. 

Area of work  Main outputs 

Coordinated 
Communication 
Development 

The Transparency Regulation places particular emphasis on improving coordination 
and coherence of risk communications among the various actors in the food safety 
system.  EFSA  will  further  strengthen  the  coordination  mechanisms  and  networks 
(e.g.  the  Communication  Experts  Network)  it  has  in  place  and  continue  to  fund 
capacity  building  initiatives  for  risk  communications  in  the  Member  States  via  its 
Focal Point operational framework.  A  key pillar of  EFSA’s  approach  to coordinated 
communications is the campaigns it delivers in cooperation with Member States. In 
2025,  EFSA  will  extend  its  citizen-facing  campaign  to  raise  awareness  about  the 
science  behind  food  safety  (a  follow-on  to  the  successful  #EUChooseSafeFood 
campaign that ran between 2021-2023) and its #PlantHealth4Life campaign, which 
advises European citizens not to bring uncertified plant material into the EU, among 
other objectives.   

Draft annual targets for Key performance indicators for Expected Operational Result 1.2.2  are 
included in Table 10 in Appendix A. 

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2.2  ENSURE PREPAREDNESS FOR FUTURE RISK ANALYSIS NEEDS 

EFSA  will  sustain  and  develop  its  core  capabilities  to  ensure  its  long-term  relevance  and 
reputation  by  strengthening  partnerships  within  the  food  safety  knowledge  ecosystem.  The 
identification  of  priority  areas  for  knowledge  sharing,  knowledge  development  and  capacity 
building  will allow EFSA to be prepared with the methodologies, data and expertise needed for 
its future risk assessment and communication activities.  

The  expected  outcome,  “Increased  risk  analysis  capabilities  (knowledge,  expertise, 
methodologies and data) to maintain relevance for the future is driving the activities of 
the annual workplan in this area, which are set out in more detail in the expected operational 
results. The complete list of the projects in the respective areas is included in Appendix C. 

EOR 2.1.1: HARMONISED RISK ASSESSMENT CULTURE, WITH THE 
NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE, IS ENSURED AT EU LEVEL. 

Area of work 

Main activities/outputs 

Capacity Building, 
Knowledge 
Organization, 
Strategic 
Competencies, 
Innovation & 
Transformation 
agenda definition 

Strategic 
Partnership & 
Community 
building, Strategic 
engagement  

EFSA will continue disseminating risk assessment knowledge through learning 
and  development  activities  on  new  guidance  documents  and  methodologies. 
Progressing in delivering knowledge management and sharing, EFSA will launch 
the  ImproAsk  projectaimed  at  identifying  and  mapping  EFSA  strategic 
components  and  the  respective  relationships,  implementing  suitable  solutions 
and architecture able to connect them and make them retrievable.  

With  a  modernised  platform,  EFSA  will  focus  on  a  broader  exchange  of 
knowledge within and outside EFSA, thereby ensuring more efficient and faster 
access  to  scientific  intelligence  both  for  the  public  and  for  participants  in  risk 
assessment  and  risk  management.  These  activities  will  take  place  inside  of  a 
governance  model led by DG-SANTE for the Health  Policy  Agency Cluster and 
will  focus  in  2025  on  supporting  further  harmonisation  of  data  standards  and 
formats, and shared services and platforms that support Commission initiatives 
for its farm-to-fork and chemical strategies, as well as other initiatives that will 
require collaboration with the other ENVI agencies.  

EFSA will further explore in consultation with its stakeholders the feasibility of 
engaging communities in food and feed risk assessment through collaborative 
crowdsourcing and citizen science crowdsourcing. 

The  roadmap  on  artificial  intelligence  (AI)  for  evidence  management  in  risk 
assessment will continue to guide the integration of human centric AI to enhance 
process  efficiency  through  automation,  enrich  staff  work  with  AI-driven 
knowledge tools, in areas like knowledge management and expert identification. 

EFSA based on the lessons learnt from the new way to select panel members, 
will further promote EFSA’s attractiveness to experts and improve the long-term 
sustainability of EFSA’s operating model.  

EFSA will continue to invest in  scientific cooperation with Member States through 
partnerships. 

EFSA  will  continue  to  implement  a  four-year  (2023-2026)  Partnership  with 
Member  State  competent  authorities  to  provide  support  to  EFSA  in  the  risk 
assessment of food additives, food enzymes, food flavourings and feed additives, 
by  way  of  preparatory  work  for  draft  scientific  opinions  which  will  be  peer-
reviewed by EFSA Scientific Panels (ANS, CEP, FEEDAP). 

EFSA will entrust a wider range of tasks to MS partners through different grant 
and procurement schemes as well as the remunerated external expert scheme; 
promoting  organisational  capacity  building;  delivering  training  to  Art.  36 
organisations; enhancing the support role provided by the Focal Point network 
(on  the  basis  of  new  Focal  Point  operational  framework);  continuing  the  EU-
FORA programme.  

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work 

Main activities/outputs 

EFSA will continue to ensure the implementation of the IPA program 2023-2026 
as agreed with DG NEAR.  

EFSA  will  continue  to  invest  in  maintaining  and  building  relationships  with  EU 
agencies,  EU  Member  States,  International  organizations  and  third  parties  to 
ensure  scientific  excellence,  preparedness 
future  challenges  and 
opportunities in terms of methodology and data and for reputational issues. 

for 

EFSA will continue its participation as beneficiary of  the European Partnership 
on Animal Health & Welfare (EUP AH&W).  This participation will  facilitate 
the  science  to  policy  transition,  will  support  the  implementation  of  EFSA’s 
roadmap  on animal welfare, expand  the  One  Health  approach, collect missing 
data and complement the existing EFSA Networks comprised by Member State 
representatives by linking these to networks of research organisations. 

in  community  management,  enhancing 
EFSA  will  apply  best  practice 
participatory  processes,  and 
implementing  a  Customer  Relationship 
Management system  to  enable    a harmonised  account  management approach 
across the organisation. 

Community 
Management 

Draft annual targets for Key performance indicators for Expected Operational Result 2.1.1  are 
included in Table 12 in Appendix A. 

EOR 2.1.2: THE QUALITY AND SCALE OF CRISIS PREPAREDNESS AND THE 
IDENTIFICATION OF EMERGING RISKS IS IMPROVED. 

Area of work  Main outputs 

Environment 
scan and 
strategic 
options 
definition 

Emergency 
response 
management 

Data 
management 

EFSA  will  take  decisions  on  which  strategic  roadmaps  for  actions  need  to  be 
developed between 2025-2027.  

In 2025 EFSA will continue media monitoring on emerging plant health risks using 
the  MedSys  platform.  EFSA  will  also  continue  to  develop  and  apply  horizon 
scanning  and  to  support  Member  states  surveillance  activities,  for  the  early 
identification of new  plant pest  outbreaks. Based on previous scientific opinions 
and  the  results  of  outsourced  projects,  quantitative  methodologies,  including 
quantitative  pathway  analysis  models  and  scenario  analysis,  will  be  further 
developed  with  the  inclusion  of  climate  change  and  sustainability.  The 
development of databases on plant pests, based on the  revised structure of the 
EU database of apple fruit pests and diseases, will continue.  

EFSA  will  implement  an  in-house  bioinformatics  service  to  support  its  risk 
assessments of food and feed products and the environment and will continue to 
build in-house capacity in this area. 

EFSA will continue to collect, on routine basis, whole-genome sequencing data of 
foodborne pathogens from food/animal samples for early detection of foodborne 
outbreak in collaboration with ECDC (that will collect human data). 

Activities on emerging risks will focus increasingly on enhanced cooperation with 
Member  States,  EU  Agencies  and  stakeholders.  Crisis  preparedness  is  an  EU 
priority objective, and in 2025 the tools and training delivered over the previous 
years, for example via the framework partnership agreement with Member States 
on tracing methodologies, will contribute significantly to this objective.  

The  procedure  for  identifying  emerging  risks  often  involves  data  collection  or 
generation.  In  2024  EFSA  will  continue  working  on  framework  partnership 
agreements  with  Member  States  on  high-priority  issues.  Work  will  continue  on 
validating and calibrating the ApisRAM model for the holistic, multifactorial RA of 
bees. 

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Area of work  Main outputs 

In the area of animal health, EFSA will cooperate with Member States to harmonise 
the collection and  analysis of  epidemiological  data on African swine fever.  EFSA 
will  continue  to  automate  data  collection  on  animal  disease  outbreaks  and 
surveillance  (via  its  data  collection  framework  (DCF),  making  it  less  labour 
intensive for both Member States and EFSA. Functions will be inserted to validate 
submitted data and predefined tables, and maps will be generated that could be 
used  by  Member  States  for  their  own  purposes  (e.g.  presentations  in  PAFF 
meetings (47)). This approach is already in place for the annual data collection and 
assessment  of  Echinococcus  multilocularis  and  will  be  applied  to  other  diseases 
where  EFSA  has  a  mandate  from  the  European  Commission  (e.g.  African  swine 
fever, lumpy skin disease and avian influenza). 

Draft annual targets for Key performance indicators for Expected Operational Result 2.1.2  are 
included in Table 13 in Appendix A. 

EOR 2.1.3: THE QUALITY OF SCIENTIFIC GUIDANCE AND METHODOLOGIES, 
WITH THE NECESSARY RISK ASSESSMENT CAPABILITIES IS IMPROVED TO 
ADDRESS FUTURE CHALLENGES 

Area of work   Main outputs 

Strategic 
engagement in 
methodologies 
management 

To ensure the quality  and  comprehensiveness of  our  scientific  guidance  documents 
and  methodological  developments,  EFSA  will  reach  out  to  external  parties  through 
engagement activities and public consultations, collecting available knowledge from 
the  food  safety  ecosystem  to  be  integrated  in  its  scientific  guidelines.  Scientific 
alignment with other food safety organizations and possible co-design of new scientific 
guidance will lead to robust scientific assessments of new food and feed products. 

Methodology 
development 

EFSA activities on microbiome capacity building will continue in 2025, subject to the 
progress and decisions taken during 2024.  

The project on inter-human variability in toxicodynamics will continue in 2025. EFSA’s 
work  on  the  development  of  guidance  for  the  applicability  of  read-across  for 
toxicological endpoints in chemical RA will probably be close to finalisation.  

In the area of biological hazards, work will focus on the microbiological hazards linked 
to  the  use  of  water  in  processing  of  food  of  non-animal  origin,  including  a  related 
outsourcing procedure. 

EFSA will continue to develop a scientific opinion on the adverse outcome pathways 
for the identification of substances having endocrine-disrupting properties. 

EFSA will also revise the EFSA’s pesticide residues intake model (PRIMo version 4 ) in 
2021  onwards,  a  tool  for  the  estimation  of  dietary  exposure  and  risk  to  the  EU 
consumers.  PRIMo  will  be  underpinned  by  more  comprehensive  European  food 
consumption data derived from the EFSA Comprehensive food consumption database. 

EFSA  will  continue  the  development  of  a  methodology  that  allows  to  interpret 
transcriptomics data and deliver toxicogenomics quantitative information that can be 
readily used to support EFSA scientific opinions. Transcriptome  baseline datasets of 
all test systems will be completed and development of the tool prototype (also linked 
to E.O.R 2.1.5) is started.  

(47) Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed 

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Area of work   Main outputs 

Methodologies 
management - 
Data 
requirements 

EFSA  will  continue  identifying  possible  data  sources  to  address  prioritised  needs  in 
terms  of  monitoring  and  surveillance  data  for  chemical  risk  assessment  (human 
health, animal health, and environmental).  

In the area of new alternative methodologies, EFSA will code a pipeline prototype for 
deriving  reference  points  and  mechanistic  information  from  the  multi-OMICs  data 
generated  in  OoC  models,  improving  upon  the  gaps  found  in  currently  used  tools. 
EFSA will also generate a large database of toxicological omics endpoints for a number 
of substances relevant for EFSA. 

EFSA has commissioned several New Approach Methodologies  NAMs projects in the 
area of data integration, nanomaterials, protein safety, in vitro/in silico ADME models, 
open-access  databases,  adverse  outcomes  pathways,  in  vitro  methods  for  hazard 
characterization and transcriptomics to advance the use and integration of NAMs in 
the  risk  assessment.  In  the  area  of  transcriptomics  EFSA  will  continue  the 
development of a robust and accurate methodology and deliver a tool prototype that 
allows  to  interpret  transcriptomics  data  and  deliver  toxicogenomics  quantitative 
information  that  can  be  readily  used  to  support  risk  assessment  of  chemicals. 
Together with the results of already ongoing  case studies on pesticides, PFAS, and 
feed additives, the wider use of NAMs in the risk assessment represents a paradigm 
shift in risk assessment, based on the mechanistic understanding of human relevant 
key events rather than on apical endpoints assessed in animal studies. 

Draft annual targets for Key performance indicators for Expected Operational Result 2.1.3  are 
included in Table 14 in Appendix A. 

EOR 2.1.4: PREPAREDNESS FOR FUTURE REGULATORY AND POLICY NEEDS 
ADDRESSING THE EU FARM TO FORK, BIODIVERSITY AND CHEMICAL 
STRATEGIES IS ENSURED. 

Area of work  Main activities/outputs 

Strategic 
engagement 

Implementing the Green Deal proposal for the European Commission will be an area 
of  focus.  EFSA  will  continue  to  pursue  collaboration  with  the  ENVI  Agencies  (EMA, 
ECHA, EEA, ECDC) with a focus on the Green Deal and on One-Health approaches to 
achieve multidisciplinary, integrated collaborative health assessment. Together with 
MS partners and EU Agencies, EFSA will contribute to the EU research and innovation 
agenda  cycle  to  stimulate  research  and  innovation  to  support  risk  assessment 
activities  and  policy  making.  EFSA  will  be  involved  in  preparation  and  start-up  of 
European partnerships in EFSA’s remit such as PARC, the One Health Antimicrobial 
Resistance; Animal health: fighting infectious diseases; Partnership on Animal Health 
and Welfare; Environmental Observations for a sustainable EU agriculture; and the 
Safe and Sustainable Food Systems for People, Planet & Climate. 

Keep contributing to the implementation the Chemicals strategy on sustainability in 
the years 2024 and following. EFSA will start with the actual execution of many of the 
actions  identified  in  the  roadmap  for  1S1A  implementation  from  the  2022-2023 
project and will continue with the implementation of the actions identified as outcome 
of the CSS Working Groups lead by DG ENV. 

Data 
management 

EFSA  will  continue  to  enhance  the  One  Health  WGS  System  in  collaboration  with 
ECDC,  with  the  scope  of  enlarging  the  portfolio  of  foodborne  pathogens  for  which 
whole  genome  sequence  can  be  collected  and  to  release  new  functionalities  allow 
general public to access aggregated statistics and public data. 

Draft annual targets for Key performance indicators for Expected Operational Result 2.1.4  are 
included in Table 15 in Appendix A. 

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EOR 2.1.5: WIDER ACCESS TO AND BROADER EXPLOITATION OF DATA AND 
ANALYTICS IS ACHIEVED. 

Area of work  Main outputs 

Strategic 
engagement in 
Data 
management 

In 2025, EFSA will continue to participate in data-exchange networking groups with 
data owners in the EU Member States (e.g. Advisory Forum Discussion Group on DATA 
(AGoD),  data-driven  tailor  made  specific  agreements  under  the  new  Focal  Point 
operational  framework),  European  Union  institutional  partners  (e.g.  Health  Policy 
Agencies Collaboration (HPAC)) and international organizations (e.g. WHO). 

EFSA will promote collaborative data projects stemming from HPAC, AGoD, the EU-
CDPC Governance group, and IPCHEM Module Coordinators group ensuring efficiency, 
effectiveness, interoperability and timeliness in sharing data or in generating new data 
and promoting the definition of data access rules during the legislative process in a 
collaborative  mode with  the  EC,  the  EU  MSs, Industry  and  in  collaboration 
with national and international organizations.  

EFSA will continue to support Member State data providers on transmitting data to 
EFSA  and  will  continue  to  streamline  its  annual  data  collections  that  underpin  its 
scientific  advice  and  the  annual  EU  summary  reports  on  zoonoses  and  food  borne 
outbreaks, surveillance for avian influenza in poultry and wild birds in the EU, AMR, 
pesticide residues, veterinary medicinal product residues and TSEs. 

The  Farm  to  Fork  Strategy  aims  to  make  food  systems  fair,  healthy  and 
environmentally-friendly  –  so  that  European  consumers  have  access  to  sufficient, 
nutritious, sustainable food that upholds food safety standards while meeting dietary 
needs. EFSA will update the EU Menu guidance according to which harmonised food 
consumption  data  are  collected  and  launch  a  new  project  which  will  cover  the 
development and piloting of the new methods/tool proposed by the EU Menu phase 2 
project.  

EFSA will continue to engage with European and international partners to implement 
EFSA’s  FoodEx2  food  classification  and  description  system  to  improve  data 
interoperability and data exchange relevant to EFSA’s remit.  

To ensure a wider access of data and data interoperability, EFSA will continue to reach 
out  to  external  parties  through  engagement  activities  and  calls  for  data,  collecting 
available knowledge from the food safety ecosystem to be able to work with complete 
and up-to-date datasets. Sharing of data between ecosystem actors will ensure robust 
scientific assessments of new food and feed products and interpretation of possible 
hazards/risks. 

DEEP - 
Collaborative 
data platforms 

In 2025, EFSA will progress with the Rebuild Data Project, focused on modernising 
the EFSA data collection system extending it to connected data and facilitating data 
transmission by data providers with tools co-created with Member States. 

The SEED project will finalise its data services completing also the implementation of 
the analysis of representativeness of GMO field trials for GMO applications. 

DEEP - Support 
risk 
assessment 

The  work  on  OpenFoodTox  3.0,  which  will  entail  the  development  of  new  in  silico 
models and the piloting of a process workflow for the integration of hazard data into 
IUCLID/OFT 3.0 as part of EFSA output publication process, is expected to finalise in 
2025. 

The project will also complete the inclusion of data on genotoxicity of pesticides and 
processing  factors  data,  originated  by  previous  projects,  providing  an  integrated 
repository in IUCLID/OHT format. 

In  addition,  EFSA  will  continue  the  work  on  CORSA  project  to  enhance  the 
collaboration with experts to build the opinion in simple, fast and secure way. 

To improve the efficient collaboration with experts, EFSA will also initiate the  MOS2 
project  to  replace  and  modernise  the  process  and  tools  for  meeting  and  event 
organisation management.  

In  parallel,  EFSA  will  continue  the  work  also  to  make  its  corporate  data  more 
accessible  and  analysable  within  the  organisation  with  the  aim  to  make  its  risk 
assessment and its core processes faster and more efficient. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work  Main outputs 

DEEP- New 
Data Streams 

EFSA  will  initiate  to  plan  for  an  EU  Menu  phase  2.  In  2025,  the  finalised  EU  Menu 
phase 1 (initiated in 2011) consumption data will be complemented by the completion 
of an open- access European food composition database (initiated in 2022) to enable 
more  up  to  date  estimates  of  energy  and  nutrient  intakes  to  be  calculated  for 
European consumers. In addition, this database is also complemented by a European 
Environmental  Footprint  of  Food  database  as  a  preparatory  measure  to  assess  the 
environmental impact of diet. 

At  same  time,  EFSA  will  get  the  results  of  the  project  exploring  new  opportunities 
from chemical monitoring data.  

EFSA  will  also  finalise  the  piloting  on  the  extension  of  the  exposure  methodology 
applied  in  the  human  field  to  animal  field  by  collecting  feed  consumption  data  and 
elaborating  an  exposure  model  that  can  take  advantage  of  these  data.  EFSA  will 
continue the implementation of a multi-OMICs and inter-species workflow to derive 
human reference points and health-based guidance values (HBGVs) from quantitative 
in vitro data. Experimental data generation for data-rich substances and selection of 
data–poor substances will be completed.  

In  2025,  the  collection  of  data  on  consumption  of  pollen  by  bees  will  also  start  to 
better protect them in the EFSA risk assessment of pesticides. The collection will span 
over two years and will involve also 2026. 

DEEP - Open 
Interoperable 
data 

Leveraging  on  the  new  API  portal,  initiated  in  2025,  EFSA  start  building  dedicated 
pipelines supporting the European Common Digital Platform on Chemicals  Minimum 
Viable Project, to allow automatic transfer of Chemical data as applicable. 

Interfaces will also be built to allow automatic transfer of EFSA metadata and data to 
the  European  Union  Open  Data  Portal,  EU  Common  Data  Platform  on  Chemicals, 
IPCHEM portal, the Knowledge Junction of EFSA public datasets. 

In parallel EFSA, in 2025, will continue the development of the other aspects of the 
Data  Outreach  project  to  promote  the  open  data  approach  in  alignment  with  FAIR 
(findable,  accessible  interoperable  and  reusable)  principles  together  with  a 
strengthened governance and security for data.  

Data 
management - 
Scientific and 
technical 
advice 

EFSA will run the 2nd point survey in all MSs where the  consumption advice will be 
updated/re-communicated more profoundly, collecting data on the frequency of fish 
species  and  other  seafood  consumption  but  also  on  awareness  of 
the 
existence/effectiveness of the MS advice in place 

Draft annual targets for Key performance indicators for Expected Operational Result 2.1.5  are 
included in Table 16 in Appendix A. 

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2.3  EMPOWER PEOPLE AND ENSURE ORGANISATIONAL AGILITY 

Managing  and  enabling  EFSA’s  operations  by  focusing  on  attracting  talents  and  developing 
people, organisation, culture, services and tools is the driver to increase efficiency in all EFSA 
operations.  Strengthened  institutional  partnerships  will  ensure  alignment  with  higher-level 
strategies and goals and increase cooperation and effectiveness.  

The expected outcome, “Improved reputation of EFSA as an accountable institution and 
an attractive employer” is driving the activities of the annual workplan in this area, which are 
set out in more detail in the expected operational results.  

EOR 3.1.1: STAFF ENGAGEMENT IS INSPIRED BY EFSA’S VALUE SYSTEM. 

To support the aspirations of the new EFSA Strategy, the Transparency Regulation and the EU 
Green Deal Agenda, all calling for strengthened partnerships within the food safety ecosystem, 
EFSA will be reflecting on how these ambitions will impact workforce, workplace and ways of 
working. In particular: 

Area of work 

Main activities/outputs 

Talent Pools, 
Competency 
development 

Onboarding, 
Performance 
Management & 
Staff Engagement, 
People Services 

The 2025 learning plan will focus on the consolidation of new capabilities, as well 
as  continue  the  roll-out  of  a  Leadership  Development  Programme  and  of  the 
“Let’s  go  Beyond  Digital”  initiative.  Specifically,  the  Leadership  Development 
Programme will continue strengthening managers’ role by developing leadership 
competencies  and  traits  such  as  delivering  high  performance,  enabling 
psychological  safety,  promoting  and  adopting  entrepreneurship  and  agility, 
advocating  for  innovation  and  transformation.  The  learning  activities  of  the 
programme  will  run  until  Q1  2027.  The  “Let's  go  Beyond  Digital”  learning 
initiative  will  conclude  the  learning  interventions  aiming  at  enhancing  cultural 
traits and technological abilities all staff need to possess in the digital age.  

The Knowledge and Expertise programme (NEXT) will continue to coordinate all 
EFSA’s  activities  related  to  identify,  address  and  monitor  needs  of  scientific 
trainings  throughout  the  organization  and  through  its  ecosystem  ensuring  the 
timely  and  fit  for  purpose  delivery  of  scientific  trainings  and  at  the  highest 
standards of quality,   enhancing in the long term the RA capacity at EU level. 

EFSA  workforce  is  characterised  by  its  high  occupancy  rate,  excellent  staff 
engagement outcomes and positive impact of talent-attraction initiatives such as 
its traineeship programme. Noteworthy are the numerous initiatives to sustain 
staff  commitment such as the delivery of  a working environment conducive to 
engagement and well-being, team-building and team effectiveness interventions, 
and  measures  to  encourage  staff  well-being  and  promote  a  diverse,  inclusive, 
safe and caring environment. 

EFSA will continue to focus on people management, leveraging insights from the 
onboarding  experience  of  employees  and  experts  based  on  the  revised 
onboarding  programme  rolled-out  in  2024.  This  will  also  inform  the  upgraded 
performance management of EFSA’s statutory and contingent workforce during 
2025, supported by an even more deliberate recognition framework. 

EFSA will continue leveraging the successful deployment of expert HR 
partnering and advice to the core business to deliver added value in support of 
a dynamic organizational functioning. 

Draft Annual targets for Key performance indicators for Expected Operational Result 3.1.1  are 
included in Table 18 in Appendix A. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

EOR 3.1.2: USER SATISFACTION AND EFFICIENCY OF ENABLING SERVICES IS 
ENHANCED.  

EFSA will further improve the efficiency of transactional services, focused on leaning and user 
satisfaction, particularly with the activities described below. 

Area of work   Main activities/outputs 

Digital 
services, 
Continuous 
improvement 

Review of 
EFSA 
Decisions 
Management 

Legal 
Partnering/ 
Advice 

Strategic 
Outsourcing 
Decisions, 
Outsourcing 
Launch, 
Evaluation & 
Award 

Content 
sanitisation, 
Confidentiality 
assessment 
Competing 
interest 
management, 
Public access 
to documents 
(PAD) 

Financial 
Services, 
Logistics 
services, 
People 
services, Site 
& Facility 
services 

After  stabilizing,  by  the  end  of  2023,  the  IT  systems  and  business  processes 
supporting the Transparency Regulation (deployed in 2021), further consolidate and 
evolve the current  Shared Service Office towards a full Service Management Office 
(SMO), focusing on improvement of its services to customers and further strengthen 
an end-to-end integrated approach. 

Continue deploying high quality replies to requests for administrative review of EFSA 
decisions  and  defence  to  litigation,  adjusting  first  level  decision-making  based  on 
lessons learnt from administrative review. Collect and analyse systemic deficiencies. 
Foster project management approach for handling cases, both when outsourced and 
kept in house. 

Continue deploying legal partnering advice based on streamlined process with clear 
focus  on  customer-oriented  approach  business  needs  anticipation.  Provide  hand  in 
hand  support  to  services  to  ensure  the  legality  of  EFSA’s  operations  and  the 
implementation of EFSA’s rights. Start developing legal tools to establish a structured 
repository of provided legal advice. 

Specific  focus  on  further  optimizing  grant  and  procurement  tools  by  continuing  to 
launch calls of higher value, exploring synergies between the operational units in view 
of grouping calls, identifying more and bigger framework contracts and partnership 
agreements. 

Continue  initiatives  for  reaching  out  to  wider  potential  partnering  community, 
promoting large calls, both pre- and post-launch, performance of market analysis.  

 In terms of tools and processes, priority for this period shall be the implementation 
and rollout of a procure-to-pay planning and monitoring tool that will help improve 
the reliability of planning, the monitoring of the execution of the baseline plans and 
the overall role-based efficiency. 

Consolidating  the  confidentiality  assessment  and  content  sanitisation  processes 
implementing  the  confidentiality  procedures  set  out  in  the  TR.  Confidentiality 
decisions and the respective decisions on confirmatory applications are leaned in line 
with  the  assigned  resources  to  implement  the  proactive  disclosure  requirements 
making  available  on  the  OpenEFSA  platform  all  non-confidential  information 
pertaining to EFSA’s scientific operations. Consolidation of the re-engineering of the 
access to documents’ workflows supported by IT tools allowing for digital interaction 
between documents’ applicants and  owners as well for leaner processing. 

Continue  deploying  the  strengthened  semi-centralised  management  of  competing 
interests. Enhancing the automatization of the validation cycle of the processing of 
DoIs 
the 
recommendations  resulting  from  the  ex  post  evaluation  of  EFSA’s  Policy  on 
independence carried out in 2023.  

to  support  sustainability  and 

leaning  practices. 

Implementing 

Further  evolve  towards  a  full-service  management  approach  by  further  integrating 
the provision of transactional and non-transactional services. 

Roll  out  of  the  end-to-end  process  for  the  logistical  organization  of  meetings  and 
events.  

Further develop shared services with the European Commission and the EU Agencies, 
with a focus on the new top-down prioritised areas to be agreed by the EUAN heads 
of Agencies. 

The Building Revamp initiative will end in 2025, having ensured that EFSA building 
and spaces were fully functional for hybrid working modality (mixing remote and in 
presence activities). By 2025: ergonomic height-adjustable workstations on all floors; 

 72 

 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Area of work   Main activities/outputs 

transition to desk sharing for all staff; delivery of multifunctional collaboration rooms 
(social  hubs);;  installation  of  multiple  privacy  booths  offering  a  quiet  working 
environment for virtual meetings; advanced technology in meeting rooms to facilitate 
hybrid meetings. 

Financial services will be focused on preparatory activities for the adoption of the new 
financial management of tool of EC, SUMMA, which is expected to be deployed to EU 
decentralised  Agencies  in  the  period  2026-2027.  In  addition,  in  the  frame  of  the 
MOS 2  revamp  project,  it  is  foreseen  to  harmonise  and  optimise  expert/meeting 
reimbursement modalities and operations.  

Draft annual targets for Key performance indicators for Expected Operational Result 3.1.2  are 
included in Table 19 in Appendix A. 

EOR 3.1.3: OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE IS ENSURED.  

EFSA  will  continue  ensuring  operational  performance  via  the  provision  of  fit  for  purpose 
governance and management services, under an overarching accountability framework through 
the activities described below. 

Area of work 

Main activities/outputs 

Audit & RMIC 
(Risk 
Management and 
Internal 
Control), 
Strategy, 
Planning & 
Analysis, Quality 
Management & 
Continuous 
improvement, 
Converged 
Security, Health, 
Safety and 
Environment 

Have  a  full  integration  of  EFSA’s  management  systems,  addressing  EU, 
International  and  EFSA  internal  standards  towards  the  common  objectives  of 
legality  and  regularity;  quality  and  performance;  health,  safety,  security  and 
environment. Use the integrated management systems register and workflow as a 
key enabler.  

Continue with the streamlining of EFSA’s risk-based internal control and auditing 
scheme under the new integrated management system framework, and with the 
cohesive planning and reporting of Assurance Management activities in EFSA.  

Aiming at customer satisfaction and continuous improvement, implement EFSA’s 
Quality  system  in  line  with  the  ambitions  of  the  strategy  and  the  EFSA  Process 
Architecture and Quality policy, while addressing any recommendations from the 
ISO  9001:2018  external  audit.  Continue  the  full  deployment  of  the  revised 
hierarchy and repository of normative documents, to achieve efficiency and better 
results. Carry out fully integrated external and internal audits of ISO management 
systems.  Smooth  roll  out  of  continuous  improvement  in  the  quality  objectives 
through  the  IMS  register  and  workflow,  while  making  use  of  all  possible 
improvement implementation modalities – expand the use of lean approaches for 
small, targeted improvements. 

Intensify  improvement  and  lean  initiatives  across  EFSA  with  the  continuation  of 
the KAIZEN pilots aiming at enhancing efficiency, quality, and productivity through 
incremental changes pursued collaboratively.  

Continue  with  the  ongoing  efforts  of  integration  and  automation  of  assurance, 
quality and performance data and tools. Notably, the development of dashboards, 
improving  the  efficiency  of  corporate  reporting,  and  the  effectiveness  and  user 
friendliness of analytics used in supporting decision-making. 

Continue  to  ensure  that  EFSA’s  tangible  and  intangible  assets  are  protected  by 
having a fully compliant, certified (ISO 27001 and ISO 22301) and fit for purpose 
Converged  security  process.  In  the  area  of  Information  security,  in  2025  full 
compliance with the new EU Cybersecurity regulation is to be achieved. 

Continue with the efforts on the “greening” of EFSA’s operations, underpinned by 
ISO 14001 certification (environmental management) and EMAS registration, and 
in  cooperation  with  the  respective  EU  Agencies  Network  initiative.  EFSA  will 
continue its commitment to guarantee the necessary level of health and safety at 
work).  

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Draft annual targets for Key performance indicators for Expected Operational Result 3.1.3 are 
included in Table 20 in Appendix A. 

EOR 3.1.4: ALIGNMENT WITH EU STRATEGIES AND POLICIES IS ENSURED.  

Area of work  Main activities/outputs 

Strategic 
engagement, 
Community 
Management 

Continue the steering of the EFSA Strategy 2027 following the 2024 mid – term review 
with  the  updated  performance  framework  and  implementation  plan  to  ensure 
transparent monitoring via a comprehensive, yet concise, set of performance metrics 
and fit for purpose ex-ante and ex post evaluations focused on results.  
Support DG SANTE on the EFSA external evaluation to be delivered in March 2026. 
Ensure the implementation of the 2027 technology roadmap in close alignment to the 
EC/agencies initiatives.  

EFSA  will  carry  out  activities  to  work  towards  closer  cooperation  and  building new 
relationships  with  institutions,  with  ENVI  Agencies  and  with  DG  Health  and  Food 
Safety, supported by EFSA’s Brussels liaison office. This will include facilitating visits 
to  EFSA,  participating  in  hearings  in  the  European  Parliament  committees,  and 
organising  bilateral  exchanges  with  Institutional  leadership.  EFSA  will  continue  to 
closely  follow  and  implement  the  recommendation  by  the  Council  and  European 
Parliament with regards to EFSA’s discharge. Exchanges with  European or national 
institutions  to  support  EFSA  on  budget,  policy/regulatory  matters,  but  also 
reciprocally to support national policymakers and Council presidencies in their work 
programme within EFSA’s remit will be sought.  

EFSA will actively contribute  to the activities of the  EU  Agencies Network, working 
towards  the  new  strategic  objectives  of  the  Network.  Support  for  HPAC  and  other 
initiatives  leading  to  a  closer  collaboration  between  the  European  Commission  and 
the decentralised Agencies in the health and food safety area will be provided.  

EFSA will collect insights from the above-mentioned exchanges with its Institutional 
partners,  as  well  as  from  the  external  environment,  to  complement  the  internal 
monitoring and to ensure continual alignment of the strategy and its implementation 
plan.  

Draft annual targets for Key performance indicators for Expected Operational Result 3.1.4 are 
included in Table 21 in Appendix A. 

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APPENDICES 

 75 

 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

APPENDIX A. —KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 
MULTIANNUAL TARGETS 

SO1 - DELIVER TRUSTWORTHY SCIENTIFIC ADVICE AND COMMUNICATION OF RISKS 
FROM FARM TO FORK. 
TABLE 5. SO1 - EXPECTED OUTCOME 1.1 - INCREASED RELEVANCE AND IMPROVED REPUTATION OF 
EFSA’S SCIENTIFIC ADVICE. 

E.O 1.1: Increased relevance and improved reputation of EFSA’s scientific advice 

KPI 

Baseline 

Execution 

Target 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Dimension: Reputation 

Customers/partners/stakeholders 
satisfaction on risk assessment 

Dimension: Relevance 

Citations of Efsa’s scientific outputs 

Efsa journal’s H-index 

80% 
(2019-
2020) 

50,738 
(2020) 
122 
(2021) 

73% 

80% 

80% 

85% 

85% 

85% 

80,752 

88,000  96,000  104,000  112,000  120,000 

132 

140 

150 

160 

170 

180 

TABLE 6. SO1 - EXPECTED OUTCOME 1.2 - INCREASED RELEVANCE AND IMPROVED REPUTATION OF 
EFSA’S RISK COMMUNICATION 

E.O 1.2: Increased relevance and improved reputation of EFSA’s risk communication 

KPI 

Baseline 

Execution 

Target 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Dimension: Reputation 
Customers/Partners/Stakeholders’ 
satisfaction on RISK 
COMMUNICATION 
Dimension: Relevance 

Social media interactions value  

80% 
(2019-
2020) 

63 

(2021) 

74% 

80% 

80% 

85% 

85% 

85% 

53 

63 

66 

69 

72 

75 

TABLE 7. SO1 - EXPECTED OPERATIONAL RESULTS 1.1.1 - ASSESSMENTS FOR REGULATED PRODUCTS ARE 
DELIVERED WITH QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY. 

EOR 1.1.1: Assessments for regulated products are delivered with quality and efficiently 

KPI 

Baseline 

Executio
n 

2022  

Target 

202
3 

202
4 

202
5 

2026 

202
7 

TIMELY DELIVERY 

Timeliness of adoption 

:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

y
t
i
l
a
u
Q

Reduction of backlogs and bulk 
evaluations48 

70.2% 
(2017-2020) 

81.1% 

N/A 

-10% 

90
% 
-
13
% 

90
% 
-
13
% 

90
% 
-
13
% 

90% 

90% 

-13% 

-13% 

48 Measurement methodology changed in 2022. It now calculates the reduction of the volume of backlog and expired 
bulk evaluations questions, whilst the previous one measured the percentage of backlog/expired bulk evaluation 
questions that were closed by the updated deadline. The measurement is more automatic and it is providing more 
relevant insights 

 76 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

EOR 1.1.1: Assessments for regulated products are delivered with quality and efficiently 

KPI 

Timeliness of publication 

ENGAGEMENT 

Baseline 

85.6% 
(2020) 

Executio
n 

2022  

79.1% 

Target 

202
3 
87.5
% 

202
4 
87.5
% 

202
5 
87.5
% 

2026 

87.5
% 

202
7 
87.5
% 

Impact of public consultations 

N/A 

N/A 

Indicator not fully defined yet 

Amount of resources used 

  USE OF RESOURCES 
y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
E
:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

DELIVERED VOLUMES 

Number of questions closed 

Change in stock of questions 

16.7% of total 
budget 
(2020-2021) 

49049 
(2017-2020) 
-15% 
(2017-2020) 

14.9% 

15.0
% 

16.3
% 

15.7
% 

15.4
% 

14.8
% 

364 

412 

415 

430 

475 

490 

-0.6% 

-2% 

0% 

-1% 

-4% 

-6% 

49 The baseline is higher than 2022 execution and the targets 2023-2027 as in recent years some areas were moved 
from regulated products to general RA, therefore shifting questions closed from one area to the other. 

 77 

 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

TABLE 8. SO1 - EXPECTED OPERATIONAL RESULTS 1.1.2 - GENERIC SCIENTIFIC ADVICE IS DELIVERED 
WITH QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY. 

EOR 1.1.2: Generic scientific advice is delivered with quality and efficiency 

KPI 

y
t
i
l
a
u
Q
:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
E
:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

TIMELY DELIVERY 

Timeliness of adoption 

Timeliness of publication 

Reduction of backlogs and bulk 
evaluations50 

of which questions to be closed for MRL 
Art. 12 bulk evaluation 

ENGAGEMENT 

Baseline 

Executio
n 

Target 

2022 

2023  2024  2025  2026  2027 

95.7% 
(2017-
2020) 

78.7% 

(2020) 

N/A 

N/A 

86.5% 

100%  100%  100%  100%  100% 

86.3% 

87.5
% 

87.5
% 

87.5
% 

87.5
% 

87.5
% 

N/A 

-30% 

-10% 

-45% 

-45% 

0% 

28 

20 

2 

14 

14 

0 

Impact of public consultations 

TBD 

N/A 

Indicator not fully defined yet 

USE OF RESOURCES 

Amount of resources used  

DELIVERED VOLUMES 

Number of questions closed 

Change in stock of questions 

12.9% of 
total 
budget 
(2020-
2021) 

195 
(2017-
2020) 
-12% 
(2017-
2020) 

15.1% 

15.1
% 

18.2
% 

14.9
% 

16.4
% 

17.4
% 

222 

261 

211 

228 

227 

230  

N/A 

-1% 

0% 

-1% 

-2% 

-2%  

50 Measurement methodology changed as of Jan 2023. It now calculates the reduction of the volume of backlog and 
expired bulk evaluations questions, whilst the previous one measured the percentage of backlog/expired bulk 
evaluation questions that were closed by the updated deadline. The measurement is more automatic and it is 
providing more relevant insights 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

TABLE 9. SO1 - EXPECTED OPERATIONAL RESULTS 1.2.1 - AN AUDIENCE-FIRST APPROACH ENSURES 
QUALITY THROUGHOUT RISK COMMUNICATION 

EOR 1.2.1: An audience-first approach ensures quality throughout risk communication 

KPI 

Baseline 

Executio
n 

2022 

Target 

202
3 

202
4 

202
5 

202
6 

202
7 

REACH OF COMMUNICATION 

Performance of communication 
materials 

  APPROPRIATENESS OF COMMUNICATION 
y
t
i
l
a
u
Q
:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

SOCIAL RESEARCH IS APPLIED 

Translation outreach 

i

Leverage of social science 

:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

 USE OF RESOURCES 
y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
E

Amount of resources used 

N/A 

81% 

75% 

75% 

75% 

75% 

75% 

22% 
(2021) 

66% 
(2021) 

1.5% of total 
budget 
(2020-2021) 

26% 

24% 

26% 

28% 

30% 

30% 

100% 

100
% 

100
% 

100
% 

100
% 

100
% 

0.9% 

0.8%  0.6%  0.6%  0.9%  0.9% 

TABLE 10. SO1 - EXPECTED OPERATIONAL RESULTS 1.2.2 - COORDINATED RISK COMMUNICATION IS 
DELIVERED WITH THE EC, MS & ENVI AGENCIES 

E.O.R 1.2.2: COORDINATED RISK COMMUNICATION IS DELIVERED WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 
MEMBER STATES AND ENVI AGENCIES 

KPI 

y
t
i
l
a
u
Q
:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

REACH OF COMMUNICATION 

Performance of Efsa’s campaigns  

Performance of dissemination process 

COORDINATED COMMUNICATION 

Joint communication content 
production 

  USE OF RESOURCES 
y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
E

Amount of resources used 

Baseline 

Executio
n 
2022 

Target 

2023  2024  2025  2026  2027 

N/A 

N/A 

75% 

(2021) 

2.7% of 
total budget  

(2020-
2021) 

100% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

100% 

75% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

95% 

100
% 

100
% 

100
% 

100
% 

100
% 

4.1% 

4.8%  4.2%  4.3%  4.2%  4.2% 

SO2 - ENSURE PREPAREDNESS FOR FUTURE RISK ANALYSIS NEEDS. 

TABLE 11. SO2 - EXPECTED OUTCOME 2.1 – INCREASED RISK ANALYSIS CAPABILITIES (KNOWLEDGE, 
EXPERTISE, METHODOLOGIES, AND DATA) TO MAINTAIN RELEVANCE FOR THE FUTURE 

E.O 2.1: Increased risk analysis capabilities (knowledge, expertise, methodologies, and data) to 
maintain relevance for the future 

KPI 

Baseline 

Execution 

Target 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Dimension: Reputation 

Customers/Partners/Stakeholders’ 
satisfaction on PREPAREDNESS 

75% 
(2019-
2020) 

74% 

75% 

80% 

80% 

80% 

85% 

 79 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Customers/Partners/Stakeholders’ 
satisfaction on HARMONISATION 

Customers/Partners/Stakeholders’ 
satisfaction on DATA ACCESS AND 
EXPLOITATION 
Customers/Partners/Stakeholders’ 
satisfaction on CAPACITY 
STRENGTHENING 
Customers/Partners/Stakeholders’ 
satisfaction on ECOSYSTEM 
EFFICIENCY 

Dimension: Relevance51 

75% 
(2019-
2020) 
50% 
(2019-
2020) 
65% 
(2019-
2020) 

77% 

75% 

80% 

80% 

80% 

85% 

73% 

75% 

80% 

80% 

80% 

80% 

73% 

65% 

70% 

70% 

70% 

75% 

N/A 

73% 

65% 

65% 

65% 

65% 

70% 

Citations of EFSA’s guidance 
documents 

11,380  
(2021) 

13,230 

14,625 

16,450 

18,510 

20,825 

23,425 

Use of EFSA datasets 

N/A 

N/A 

230,000  280,000  330,000  380,000  430,000 

51 “Use of EFSA models” and “Users in EFSA's platforms”, two indicators that were part of the original EFSA’s 
performance framework but were still under definition in 2022, have been removed in the SPD 2023-2025. 

 80 

 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

TABLE 12. SO2 – EXPECTED OPERATIONAL RESULTS 2.1.1 – HARMONISED RISK ASSESSMENT CULTURE, 
WITH THE NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE, IS ENSURED AT EU LEVEL 

E.O.R 2.1.1: Harmonised risk assessment culture, with the necessary knowledge and expertise, is ensured at EU level 

EXPLOITATION OF INNOVATIVE SOURCING 

Number of unique organisations/entities in unique 
consortia contributing to EFSA's work programme 

Financial resources allocated to outsourcing 
Business as Usual RA activities52 

Share of EFSA’s53 outputs delivered with 
outsourcers’ contribution 

EXPERTISE PREPAREDNESS 

Baseline 

Execution 

Target 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

43 
(2017-2020) 
EUR 6.7M 
(8.5% of total 
budget)  
(2020-2021) 

106 

65 

65 

70 

EUR 12.1M 
(8.1% of 
total 
budget) 

EUR 11.7M 
(7.6% of 
total 
budget) 

EUR 16.5M 
(10.3% of 
total 
budget) 

EUR 19.4M 
(11.9% of 
total 
budget) 

N/A 

N/A 

Indicator part of the framework but still under definition 

Expertise preparedness to address RM’s requests 

94% 

(2020) 

87% 

95% 

95% 

95% 

ENGAGEMENT 

Engagement activities 

N/A 

24 

25 

30 

30 

DELIVERED VOLUMES 

Number of project deliverables finalised 

USE OF RESOURCES 

Amount of resources used 

83% 

(2021) 

16.0% of total 
budget 

(2020-2021) 

67% 

85% 

85% 

85% 

12.4% 

6.2% 

7.3% 

9.1% 

KPI 

y
t
i
l
a
u
Q
:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
E
:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

TABLE 13. SO2 – EXPECTED OPERATIONAL RESULTS 2.1.2 – THE QUALITY AND SCALE OF CRISIS 
PREPAREDNESS AND THE IDENTIFICATION OF EMERGING RISKS IS IMPROVED 

E.O.R 2.1.2: The quality and scale of crisis preparedness and the identification of emerging risks is 
improved 

KPI 

Baseli
ne 

Execut
ion 
2022 

Target 

2023  2024  2025  2026  2027 

INTEROPERABILITY IN EMERGING RISKS IDENTIFICATION 

y
t
i
l
a
u
Q
:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

Ensure identification of emerging issues 

29 
potent
ial 
emerg
ing 
issues 
(2016
-
2019) 

31 

betwe
en 25 
and 
35 

betwe
en 25 
and 
35 

betwe
en 25 
and 
35 

betwe
en 25 
and 
35 

betwe
en 25 
and 
35 

EMERGING RISKS PREPAREDNESS 
Ensure preparedness: % of emerging issues 
that lead to an action 

N/A 

48% 

50% 

50% 

50% 

50% 

50% 

52 Measurement methodology changed since January 2023. The measurement now focuses on the budget allocated to 
Business as Usual scientific activities only, whilst before it was considering also the resources allocated to 
Development activities (projects, …) 

53  Indicator still under definition, as the needed IT module is not fully developed yet 

 81 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

INTEROPERABILITY IN CRISIS PREPAREDNESS 

Cooperation in Crisis Preparedness 

DELIVERED VOLUMES 

Number of project deliverables finalised 

USE OF RESOURCES 

Amount of resources used  

y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
E
:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

26% 

35% 

40% 

50% 

50% 

50% 

90% 

85% 

85% 

85% 

85% 

85% 

2.0% 

1.9% 

0.6% 

0.9% 

0.4% 

0.4% 

29% 
(2018
-
2020) 

80% 
(2021
) 

2.6% 
of 
total 
budge
t 
(2020
-
2021) 

 82 

 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

TABLE 14. SO2 – EXPECTED OPERATIONAL RESULTS 2.1.3 – THE QUALITY OF SCIENTIFIC GUIDANCE AND 
METHODOLOGIES IS IMPROVED TO ADDRESS FUTURE CHALLENGES 

E.O.R 2.1.3: The quality of scientific guidance and methodologies is improved to address future 
challenges 

KPI 

Baseline 

Execution 

Target 

2022 

2023  2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

METHODOLOGICAL PREPAREDNESS 

Methods preparedness to 
address RM’s requests 

Up-to-date scientific guidance 
documents 

COOPERATION 

Cooperation in methodology 
development 

DELIVERED VOLUMES 

Number of project deliverables 
finalised 
USE OF RESOURCES 

Amount of resources used 

y
t
i
l
a
u
Q
:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
E

90%  
(2020) 
82%  
(estimated, 
based on a 
sample) 

90% 
(2020 
estimation) 

83% 
(2021) 

96% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

85% 

90% 

90% 

95% 

95% 

100% 

100% 

100% 

100% 

100% 

100% 

82% 

85% 

85% 

85% 

85% 

85% 

9.8% of total 
budget 
(2020-2021) 

N/A 

11.9
% 

11.4
% 

6.6% 

5.6% 

3.7% 

TABLE 15. SO2 – EXPECTED OPERATIONAL RESULTS 2.1.4 – PREPAREDNESS FOR FUTURE REGULATORY 
AND POLICY NEEDS ADDRESSING THE EU FARM TO FORK, BIODIVERSITY AND CHEMICAL STRATEGIES IS 
ENSURED 

E.O.R 2.1.4: Preparedness for future regulatory and policy needs addressing the EU Farm to Fork, 
Biodiversity and Chemical strategies is ensured 

KPI 

:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

y
t
i
l
a
u
Q

:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
E

Baseline 

Execution 

Target 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026  2027 

EFFECIVE RESEARCH COORDINATION & ADVOCACY 

Participation to research projects 

34 
(2020) 

27 

39 

40 

40 

40 

40 

ENGAGEMENT IN RESEARCH COORDINATION & ADVOCACY 

Activities related to Green Deal 

N/A 

54% 

40% 

30% 

25% 

25% 

25% 

DELIVERED VOLUMES 

Number of project deliverables 
finalised  
USE OF RESOURCES 

Amount of resources used 

100% 
(2021) 

2.3% of total 
budget 
(2020-2021) 

100% 

85% 

85% 

85% 

85% 

85% 

2.5% 

5.8% 

0.5% 

2.9% 

2.3% 

3.2% 

TABLE 16. SO2 – EXPECTED OPERATIONAL RESULTS 2.1.5 – WIDER ACCESS TO AND BROADER 
EXPLOITATION OF DATA AND ANALYTICS IS ACHIEVED. 

E.O.R 2.1.5: Wider access to and broader exploitation of data and analytics is achieved 

KPI 

DATA PREPAREDNESS 

:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

y
t
i
l
a
u
Q

Evidence preparedness to address Risk Manager’s 
requests 

DATA ACCESSIBILITY 

Baseli
ne 

Executi
on 

2022 

Target 

202
3 

202
4 

202
5 

202
6 

202
7 

76% 

(2020) 

81% 

80
% 

80
% 

80%  85%  85% 

1 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

 83 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Efficacy of EFSA’s data ecosystems services54 

Availability of structured data formats in Regulated 
products domains 

Number of project deliverables finalised  

  DELIVERED VOLUMES 
y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
E
:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

USE OF RESOURCES 

i

Amount of resources used 

(2021) 

41% 

(2021) 

71% 

(2021) 

5.3% 
of total 
budget  
(2020-
2021) 

41% 

41
% 

41
% 

45%  55%  65% 

100% 

85
% 

85
% 

85%  85%  85% 

8.7% 

7.4
% 

9.5
% 

12.8
% 

11.3
% 

11.3
% 

SO3 - EMPOWER PEOPLE AND ENSURE ORGANISATIONAL AGILITY 
TABLE 17. SO3 – EXPECTED OUTCOME 3.1 – IMPROVED REPUTATION OF EFSA AS AN ACCOUNTABLE 
INSTITUTION AND AN ATTRACTIVE EMPLOYER. 

E.O. 3.1: Improved reputation of EFSA as an accountable institution and an attractive employer. 

KPI 

Dimension: Reputation 
Customers/Partners/Stakeholders’ 
satisfaction on COHERENCE 
Customers/Partners/Stakeholders’ 
satisfaction on GOVERNANCE 
Customers/Partners/Stakeholders’ 
satisfaction on ORGANISATIONAL 
EFFICIENCY 
Dimension: Relevance 

Strategy implementation plan achieved 

Baseline 

Execution 
2022 

Target 
2023  2024  2025  2026  2027 

75% 
(2019-2020) 
70% 
(2019-2020) 

80% 
(2019-2020) 

84.7% 
(Aug 2021) 

82% 

80% 

80% 

80% 

85% 

85% 

80% 

75% 

80% 

80% 

85% 

85% 

70% 

80% 

80% 

80% 

80% 

80% 

N/A 

45% 

60% 

75% 

80% 

90% 

TABLE 18. SO3 – EXPECTED OPERATIONAL RESULTS 3.1.1 – STAFF ENGAGEMENT IS INSPIRED BY EFSA’S 
VALUE SYSTEM. 

E.O.R 3.1.1: Staff engagement is inspired by EFSA’s value system 
Execution 

Baseline 

2022 

2023 

2024 

Target 
202
5 

2026 

2027 

STAFF ENGAGEMENT 

Staff engagement index 

Future of work – digital culture55 

79% 
(2019) 

79% 

75% 

75% 

75% 

75% 

75% 

3.69 out of 5 
(2021) 

3.74 out of 
5  

3.85 
out of 
5 

4.00 
out of 
5 

4.15 
out 
of 5 

4.30 
out of 
5 

4.50 
out of 
5 

ATTRACTION AND RETENTION OF REQUIRED COMPETENCES 

Occupancy rate 

Leadership and management 
index 

92.2%  
(2020) 
77%  
(2020) 

92.2% 

79% 

95% 

75% 

97%
56 

97% 

97% 

97% 

75% 

75% 

75% 

75% 

KPI 

y
t
i
l
a
u
Q
:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

54 The indicator counts the number of organisation consuming machine-to-machine data pipelines officially establish, 
tailored, and supported. 

55 The metric refers to the Digital Maturity Index, a 5-point scale that investigates up to 16 traits linked to digital 
culture. The 5-point scale consists of the following: EXPLORING DIGITAL → score between 1 and 2.49; DOING 
DIGITAL → score between 2.50 and 3.82; BECOMING DIGITAL → score between 3.83 and 4.49; BEING DIGITAL → 
score between 4.5 and 5. 

56 The increase of the target reflects the occupancy rate consistently reached out by EFSA following the completion of 
the 178 TR related recruitments. 

 84 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

E.O.R 3.1.1: Staff engagement is inspired by EFSA’s value system 
Execution 

KPI 

Geographical balance of new 
hired staff57 
 USE OF RESOURCES 
y
c
n
Use of resources 
e

i
c
i
f
f
E

n
e
m
D

i

:
n
o
i
s

Baseline 

56% 
(2020) 

3.5% of total 
budget  
(2020-2021) 

2022 

47% 

3.4% 

2023 

60% 

3.4% 

2024 

Target 
202
5 

2026 

2027 

60% 

60% 

65% 

65% 

3.6% 

3.4
% 

3.5% 

3.5% 

TABLE 19. SO3 – EXPECTED OPERATIONAL RESULTS 3.1.2 – USER SATISFACTION AND EFFICIENCY OF 
ENABLING SERVICES IS ENHANCED 

E.O.R 3.1.2: User satisfaction and efficiency of enabling services is enhanced 

KPI 

Baseline 

Execution 
2022 

2023 

2024 

Target 
2025 

2026 

2027 

  USER SATISFACTION 
y
t
i
l
a
u
Q
:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

User satisfaction on 
enabling services 
TIMELY DELIVERY 
Compliance with 
Service level 
agreements (SLAs) 
DIGITAL MATURITY 

Digitalisation Index 

i

USE OF RESOURCES 

Amount of resources 
used 
EFFICIENCY GAINS 

:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
E

Enabling services staff 
efficiency58 

80% 
(2020) 

80%  
(2021) 

28% 
(2021) 

14.9% 
(2020-2021) 

91% 

80% 

80% 

80% 

80% 

80% 

99% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

30% 

30% 

45% 

48% 

63% 

72% 

17.4% 

19.7% 

19.3%  19.5%  19.6%  19.0% 

604,543 EUR/ FTE 
(2020-2021) 

923,711 
EUR/ FTE  

907,96
9 
EUR/ 
FTE 

977,87
6 EUR/ 
FTE 

979,97
6 EUR/ 
FTE  

894,95
7 EUR/ 
FTE  

934,6
60 
EUR/ 
FTE  

TABLE 20. SO3 – EXPECTED OPERATIONAL RESULTS 3.1.3 – OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE IS ENSURED 

E.O.R 3.1.3: Operational performance is ensured 

KPI 

Baseline 

COMPLIANCE WITH AUDITING BODIES 

Efficacy of Assurance 
mechanisms 

PROCESS PERFORMANCE 

Process status health 

PROJECT PERFORMANCE 

Project status health 

y
t
i
l
a
u
Q
:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

96.70% 

(2020-2021) 

85.80% 

(2021) 

78.50% 

(2021) 

Executio
n 
2022 

Target 

2023 

2024  2025 

2026 

2027 

97% 

95% 

95% 

95% 

95% 

95% 

80.90% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

90% 

80.90% 

80% 

80% 

80% 

83% 

83% 

MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES 

Budget execution59 

99% 

99.30% 

96.70% 

57 Name of the indicator changed as of Jan 2023 (from “Staff Geographical balance” to “Geographical balance of new 
hired staff”), thus clarifying that the metric (which measured the proportion of non-Italian nationals) is referring only 
to new hires and not to the entire staff population.  

58 As of Jan 2023 the indicator displays, how average, how much budget is handled by each FTE allocated to this area. 

59 Average performance of the following three metrics: commitment execution; payment execution of non-
differentiated credits; payment execution of differentiated credits 

 85 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

E.O.R 3.1.3: Operational performance is ensured 

KPI 

:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
E

Executio
n 
2022 

Baseline 

(2021) 

Target 

2023 

2024  2025 
96.70
96.70
% 
% 

2026 
96.70
% 

2027 
96.70
% 

EFFICIENCY GAINS 

Efficiency gains achieved 

N/A 

0 FTEs 

0 FTEs 

9 
FTEs 

17 
FTEs 

27 
FTEs 

37 
FTEs 

USE OF RESOURCES 

Amount of resources used 

7.0% of total 
budget 

(2020-2021) 

3% 

4.70% 

4.50
% 

4.80%  4.80% 

4.90
% 

TABLE 21. SO3 – EXPECTED OPERATIONAL RESULTS 3.1.4 – ALIGNMENT WITH EU STRATEGIES AND 
POLICIES IS ENSURED 

E.O.R 3.1.4: Alignment with EU strategies and policies is ensured60 
Execut
ion 

Baseline 

KPI 

e
m
D

i

:
n
o
i
s
n

i
l
a
u
Q

ADVOCACY AND INSTITUTIONAL ENGAGEMENT 
y
Advocacy and engagement activities 
t
with EU governing bodies 

N/A 

Target 

2022 

2023 

2024 

202
5 

2026 

26% 

20% 

35%  50%  65% 

202
7 

85
% 

  USE OF RESOURCES 
y
c
n
e
i
c
i
f
f
E

Amount of resources used 

:
n
o
i
s
n
e
m
D

i

5.0% of total 
budget 
(2020-2021) 

2.7% 

3.2% 

4.0% 

4.5
% 

5.1% 

5.1
% 

60 The indicator "Savings generated through partnerships”, an indicator that was part of the original EFSA’s 
performance framework but that was still under definition in 2022, has been removed in the SPD 2023-2025. 

 86 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

APPENDIX B. — DRAFT PLAN FOR SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS 
TO BE CLOSED IN 2025  
TABLE 22. PREDICTED NUMBER OF QUESTIONS CLOSED IN 2025 

Area of work 

Unit/product type 

BIOHAW 
Animal Health General Scientific and Technical Assistance 
Animal Welfare General Scientific and Technical 
Assistance 
Animal by-products 
Decontamination dossiers 
Biological Hazards General Scientific and Technical 
Assistance 
Multinational foodborne outbreaks 
AMR 
TSE 
Zoonoses 
FEEDCO 
Feed additives applications 
Feed additives General Scientific and Technical Assistance 
Contaminants General Scientific and Technical Assistance 
FIP 
Flavourings applications 
Flavourings completion of the evaluation 
Food additives 
Food additives Re-evaluation 
Food contact materials applications 
Enzymes 
Decontamination substances evaluation 
Food Improvement agents 
Food contact materials General Scientific and Technical 
Assistance 
NIF 
Health Claims 
Foods for special medical purposes and allergens 
Infant nutrition applications 
Novel Foods 
Nutrition -  General Scientific and Technical Assistance 
GMO applications 
GMO General Scientific and Technical Assistance 
PLANTS 
Plant Health Risk Assessment 
Plant Health Monitoring 
Environment/Ecotoxicology guidance documents General 
Scientific and Technical Assistance Management 
PREV 
Approval of new active substances 
Approval of basic substances 
Confirmatory information on active substances 

 87 

Evaluation of 
regulated 
products 
3 

3 

135 
135 

113 
5 
3 
8 
7 
20 
70 

84 
2 
2 
2 
60 

18 

0 

95 
5 
12 
5 

General risk 
assessment 

43 
19 

6 

13 
3 
1 

1 
15 

2 
13 
1 

TOTAL 

46 

150 

114 

1 
26 

110 

20 

6 
100 
50 
50 

100 

40 

135 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Unit/product type 

Amendments of the condition of approval of active 
substances 
Approval of active substances 
Renewal of the approval of active substances 
MRL applications 
Assessment of existing MRLs 
Assessment of the risks related to MRLs 
Preparation of the annual CCPR meeting 
PREV guidance documents - General Scientific and 
Technical Assistance 
IDATA 
Annual report on pesticide residues 
Veterinary drugs residue Annual report 
MESE 
MESE General Scientific and Technical Assistance 
TOTAL 

Area of work 

Evaluation of 
regulated 
products 

General risk 
assessment 

TOTAL 

3 

20 
50 

5 

14 
20 
1 

430 

3 
3 
228 

3 

658 

 88 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

APPENDIX C — PROJECTS PER EFSA STRATEGIC 
TRANSFORMATION PRIORITY AND EXPECTED OUTCOME 
TABLE 23. PROJECTS PER STRATEGIC TRANSFORMATION PRIORITY - , BENEFITS, ALLOCATED 
RESOURCES, AND TIMELINES OVERVIEW. 

Strategic Transformation Priorities 

A. Increase 
Speed in 
risk 
assessment 

B. Increase 
Preparedness for 
future risk 
assessment 
needs 

C. increasing the EU food 
safety system productivity 
through digital 
collaboration 

Total 
projects 

9 

1 

7 

17 

6 

13 

6 

2661 

1 

0 

1 

2 

16 

14 

14 

45 

Programmes 

Data & Evidence 
(DEEP) 
Innovative Risk 
assessment 
methodologies 
(IRMA) 

Knowledge & 
Expertise (NEXT) 

Total 

Progra
mme 

Project 

Scope 

FTES  
2024-
2027 

Budget 
2024-
2027 

Start 
date 

End 
date 

A. Increase Speed in risk assessment by reducing lost time due to non value adding activity, or lost 
time waiting for inputs from applicants, or time to complete value adding activities 

DEEP 

13.02-ALPHA-
11 Integrated 
spatial analysis 
for biological 
RA 

DEEP 

13.02-AMU-28 
Data Collection 
Tracing 

DEEP 

DEEP 

DEEP 

13.02-DATA-
30 OPEN MCRA 
SPIDO 

13.02-DATA-
31 Open Food 
Tox 3 
13.02-ENV22-
RAL-Z1 New 
Meeting 
Organisation 
System 
implementatio
n 

Reduce the time EFSA needs to perform 
analysis involving climate data to support 
EFSA PLANT risk assessment connecting to 
relevant external data sources (e.g. 
Copernicus data by ECMWF). 
Reduce the time EFSA needs to perform a 
Rapid Outbreak Assessment by providing 
outbreak analytical tools (e.g. FoodChain-
Lab) in collaboration with MSs and directly 
connected to the relevant data sources 
(e.g. IRASFF Rapid Alert System for Food 
and Feed) avoiding manual extractions and 
compilation of outbreak data. 
Reduce the time needed by applicants and 
MS/EFSA risk assessors to perform 
exposure assessments to multiple 
chemicals by means of a tool implementing 
an agreed harmonised innovative 
cumulative exposure method. 
Reduce non value-added activities related 
to extract structured tox end-points from 
EFSA opinions. 

2.10 

527,00
0 

01/01/2
021 

31/12/2
025 

0.20 

0 

01/01/2
021 

31/12/2
024 

1.20 

200,00
0 

31/10/2
021 

31/08/2
026 

2.31 

280,00
0 

03/01/2
022 

31/12/2
027 

Reduce time and cost needed from EFSA to 
manage a meeting from set-up to 
reimbursement. 

5.28 

884,00
0 

01/01/2
024 

31/12/2
026 

61 Including one “orphan” project: 13.02-PRES-04 CRA of pesticides from 2020 onwards 

 89 

 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Project 

Scope 

Progra
mme 

DEEP 

DEEP 

DEEP 

DEEP 

IRMA 

13.02-EXO-12 
Records and 
Correspondenc
e Management 
Project 
13.02-NIF-01 
Risk 
assessment 
methodology 
for RNAi- 
applications 

13.02-TS-02 
Rebuild Data 
Framework 

13.02-
FEEDCO-02 
CORSA 
13.02-PREV-09 
Use and 
reporting of 
historical 
control data 
(HCD) 

Archiving policy for documents established 
and implemented on current Data 
Management System (DMS) and reduce 
time necessary for EFSA staff to comply 
with Quality Management System. 
Reduce “stop the clock” by standardising, 
automating RNAi (RNA interference)- app 
analysis and enhance the understanding 
and assessment of RNAi-based plants while 
providing valuable guidance and tools for 
risk assessment. 
Address data management challenges 
within EFSA by building a coherent and 
scalable integrated architecture. It aims to 
create a better system for collecting and 
analysing data, managing terminology, 
ensuring data security, and maintaining 
continuity of services. 
Reduce the time EFSA staff needs to 
access, reference and re-use application 
data. 

FTES  
2024-
2027 

Budget 
2024-
2027 

Start 
date 

End 
date 

0.35 

200,00
0 

15/12/2
015 

31/12/2
024 

0.43 

98,476 

01/01/2
022 

31/12/2
024 

14.65 

3,100,0
00 

14/10/2
020 

31/12/2
026 

0.00 

1,460,0
00 

01/01/2
024 

31/12/2
026 

Clarify how Historical Control Data (HCD) 
should be dealt with for the interpretation 
of toxicity studies. 

0.42 

38,269 

01/01/2
020 

31/12/2
024 

NEXT 

13.02-AMU-23 
Joining forces 
at EU level - 
Artificial 
Intelligence 

NEXT 

NEXT 

13.02-ENV21-
AMU-Y2 
Knowledge 
Organisation 
Tool for 
repetitive tasks 

13.02-KNOW-
06 RA Training 
Support 
Framework MS 
partners/EU 
Agencies  

NEXT 

13.02-ENREL-
01 DICO2 

NEXT 

13.02-KNOW-
05 CRME (CRM 
evolution) 

Factoring of activities resulting from 
recommendations in the AI roadmap, in 
particular the ones referred to as “vertical 
recommendations.” Support the adoption 
and integration of AI solutions in the 
evidence management process with 
emphasis on the automation of Systematic 
Reviews (SRs). Implement other AI 
activities, such as support of automated 
redaction of personal data from documents, 
and automatic generation of meeting 
minutes. 
Develop a general “Knowledge Organisation 
Tool”. The implementation of the tool is 
planned in the R4EU platform. The tool 
works on EFSA outputs (e.g. weblink), 
identifies pieces of knowledge (“Knowledge 
Bits”), supports the indexing and stores the 
result in searchable xml datafiles. Finally it 
allows re-arrangements of searches to new 
EFSA outputs 
 “foundation project” to implement 
Capacity Building Roadmap. This means 
that it sets up the basis for collecting 
knowledge needs and making relevant 
trainings materials available to experts 
involved in the food safety ecosystem. 
The Digital Collaboration 2 (DiCo2) project 
is meant as a successor of the DICO project 
and aims at extending EFSA’s remote 
collaboration capacity to some of its 
stakeholders.  
Evolve CRM from its minimum viable 
product, to leverage all the Salesforce 
capabilities which have been acquired but 
not fully utilized, and to address the needs 
for additional capabilities identified and 
expressed by super users in all the 
departments, during the implementation 
phase and after the go-live. 

 90 

2.14 

1,280,0
00 

22/01/2
019 

31/12/2
027 

0.25 

0 

02/01/2
023 

31/12/2
024 

0.00 

620,00
0 

09/01/2
022 

31/12/2
026 

0.00 

511,00
0 

30/09/2
022 

31/12/2
025 

0.00 

3,480,0
00 

30/09/2
022 

31/12/2
027 

 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Progra
mme 

Project 

Scope 

FTES  
2024-
2027 

Budget 
2024-
2027 

Start 
date 

End 
date 

NEXT 

13.02-KNOW-
07 Scientific 
Assessment 
Knowledge 
Modularity 
(Sci-ASK) 

NEXT 

13.02-KNOW-
04 AI & 
Ontologies 

Identify and connect the most relevant and 
useful pieces of knowledge created along 
the scientific processes (protocols, 
opinions, technical reports, minutes, and 
also data, codes, information on WG 
experts). It will allow make these pieces of 
knowledge retrievable and easily accessible 
to support the daily work of scientific units, 
saving time, increasing coherence and 
harmonization, avoiding duplication. 
Implement two horizontal 
recommendations laid out in the SPIDO 
“Roadmap for actions on artificial 
intelligence for evidence management in 
risk assessment”, namely the development 
or adaption of existing ontologies for 
domains of relevance for EFSA and the 
implementation of an AI Governance 
framework. 

0.00 

1,082,1
29 

30/09/2
022 

31/12/2
027 

0.70 

0 

30/07/2
022 

31/07/2
027 

B. Increase Preparedness for future risk assessment needs, by increasing readiness to meet new 
regulatory agenda, or readiness to incorporate scientific advances or to address new emerging risks and 
reducing time to assemble experts and required assets to perform new risk assessments 

DEEP 

13.02-DATA-
01 EU Menu 

DEEP 

DEEP 

DEEP 

DEEP 

DEEP 

IRMA 

13.02-DATA-
29 Creation of 
Open Access 
EU Food 
Composition 
Database 

13.02-GMO-16 
EFSA Feed 
classification 
system and 
feed 
consumption 
database 
13.02-IDATA-
03 Monitoring 
and 
surveillance 
data for 
chemicals 
13.02-PREV-11 
Generate data 
on food 
consumption of 
bees 
13.02-IDATA-
01 
Comparative 
multi-omics 
study IMP 

13.02-AMU-30 
Critical 
appraisal tools 
- human 
observ epidem 
studies 

IRMA 

13.02-PREV-14 
Practical 

Support the EU Menu dietary surveys 
funded by EFSA and update the 
Comprehensive European Food 
Consumption Database. 
Improve the availability and quality of food 
composition data in Europe. It is essential 
for EFSA's work on nutrition, risk 
assessment, and evaluation of food 
additives. The current database has 
limitations, including outdated data and 
incomplete coverage. 

Develop a harmonised feed classification 
system and an EU feed consumption 
database for farmed and companion 
animals. 

0.94 

300,00
0 

18/05/2
016 

31/12/2
026 

0.73 

0 

03/05/2
021 

28/02/2
025 

0.42 

58,427 

30/07/2
021 

31/12/2
024 

Identify and improve awareness of data 
gaps in chemical risk assessment. 

0.66 

0 

08/05/2
022 

31/12/2
024 

Improve environmental exposure for 
pesticides by reducing uncertainty in bee 
exposure to pesticides. 

0.31 

625,00
0 

01/04/2
022 

31/12/2
025 

Define an experimental and computational 
workflow to derive health based guidance 
values (HBGV) from in vitro studies using 
omics to reduce animal studies. 

Provide (in collaboration with BfR) a rapid 
risk of bias assessment (raRoB) tool for 
evaluating evidence from observational 
human epidemiological studies. Adapts a 
preliminary Critical Appraisal Tool (CAT) 
developed by BfR to EFSA's risk 
assessment needs, ensuring best practice 
in the assessment of epidemiological 
evidence. 
Promote the use of NAMs in pesticides risk 
assessment, by enhancing connectivity of 

0.00 

2,998,0
00 

01/01/2
024 

31/12/2
026 

0.17 

0 

01/01/2
021 

31/07/2
024 

0.00 

119,00
0 

01/01/2
023 

31/12/2
026 

 91 

 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Progra
mme 

Project 

Scope 

implementatio
n NAMs - RA of 
pesticide 
metabolites 

IRMA 

13.02-GMO-15 
Protein Safety 

IRMA 

13.02-MESE-
01 
NAMS4NANO: 
EFSA NAMs 
roadmap data 
integration 
nanomaterials 

IRMA 

13.02-PRAS-
06.08 
Environmental 
Neurotoxicants 

IRMA 

IRMA 

13.02-PREV-01 
Adverse 
Outcome 
Pathways- 
endocrine 
disruptors 

13.02-PREV-12 
Thyroid 
disruption in 
wild mammals 
and 
amphibians 

IRMA 

13.02-SCER-01 
MUST-B 

13.02-SCER-
03.21 New 
approach 
methodologies 
for RA of 
chemicals in 
food 

13.02-SCER-
03.24 Inter-
human 
variability in 
toxicodynamics 

13.02-SCER-
07.01 
Integrating 

IRMA 

IRMA 

IRMA 

IUCLID and MetaPath with the OECD QSAR 
toolbox and by implementing in silico 
models, embedded in the OECD QSAR 
toolbox. 
Develop novel strategies for assessing 
allergenicity and toxicity of proteins, 
exploiting experience gained and scientific 
advances reached over the last 20 years. 
Help identifying the direction where future 
efforts are needed to advance protein 
safety assessment across all domains 
within EFSA’s remit. 
Develop ‘proof of concept’ case studies 
demonstrating that the combination of 
Integrated Approaches to Testing and 
Assessment (IATA) and New Assessment 
Methodologies (NAMs) provide better 
information than new in vivo studies for 
food and feed safety assessment. Focuses 
on existing knowledge from animal studies.  
The project tests pesticides’ potential to 
disrupt the developing brain 
(developmental neurotoxicity, DNT) as well 
as mechanistic neurotoxicity (NT) 
endpoints, known to be relevant for the 
induction of Parkinson’s disease. In 
particular, the battery of in-vitro assays 
allows the measurements of key events 
(KEs).  
Collect and develop Adverse Outcome 
Pathways (AOPs) relevant for mammalian 
reproductive toxicity. Support the 
transparent and consistent application of 
the methodology for the identification of 
endocrine disruptors acting via estrogenic, 
androgenic, thyroidal and steroidogenic 
(EATS) and non-EATS mode of action 
(MoA). 

Focus on the identification of adverse 
outcomes for wild mammals and 
amphibians in the case of substances 
interfering with the thyroid axis. 

Gather standardised, high-quality data and 
develop both harmonised methodologies 
and tools to predict effects from different 
combinations of multiple stressors on 
honeybee colonies and their surrounding 
landscape.   

Deliver a set of “proof of concept” case 
studies, to demonstrate that NAM-based 
hazard assessment can be successfully 
employed in EFSA’s risk assessment.  

Establish values in health-based guidelines 
(HBGVs) involving the application of 
'uncertainty factors' to derive 
considerations of inter-human variability 
from animal-based data. These uncertainty 
factors address variability in toxicokinetics 
(TK) and toxicodynamics (TD).  
Develop New Approach Methodologies 
(NAMs) for Next Generation Risk 
Assessment (NGRA) of chemicals. Explores 

 92 

FTES  
2024-
2027 

Budget 
2024-
2027 

Start 
date 

End 
date 

0.00 

263,34
4 

01/01/2
021 

31/12/2
025 

4.20 

2,805,0
00 

28/03/2
022 

31/09/2
027 

2.80 

3,671,5
00 

30/05/2
017 

31/03/2
026 

0.20 

50,000 

02/07/2
019 

31/10/2
025 

0.10 

0 

03/06/2
022 

30/06/2
024 

2.04 

945,47
0 

18/11/2
015 

31/12/2
026 

0.00 

7,500 

18/02/2
020 

28/02/2
024 

0.52 

90,000 

01/01/2
020 

31/12/2
026 

1.86 

731,50
0 

05/08/2
014 

30/09/2
027 

 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Progra
mme 

Project 

Scope 

FTES  
2024-
2027 

Budget 
2024-
2027 

Start 
date 

End 
date 

new 
approaches in 
chemical risk 
assessment 

13.02-PREV-13 
PERA - 
Advancing the 
ERA of PPP 
(plant 
protection 
products) to 
system-based 
approach 

13.02-PLANTS-
02 Advancing 
ERA of non-
target 
arthropods for 
PPPs (AENEAS) 

13.02-ALPHA-
10.03 PLH 
preparedness 
to the risks of 
new plant 
pests 

IRMA 

IRMA 

NEXT 

NEXT 

13.02-ENV22-
KNOW-Z8 
identification of 
emerging risks 
- food 
supplements 

NEXT 

NEXT 

13.02-KNOW-
01 Predicting 
ciguatera risk 
in fish - climate 
change 

13.02-KNOW-
03 Food and 
feed from 
tomorrow's 
oceans 

NEXT 

13.02-KNOW-
08 Feed/Food 

the use of toxicokinetics (TK) and 
toxicodynamics (TD) through data 
collection, development of in silico and in 
vitro models, and case studies applied to 
the food and feed sector. 

Advance the environmental risk 
assessment of Plant Protection Products 
(PPPs).  

0.00 

16,742,
075 

31/10/2
022 

31/12/2
027 

Expand data and build methodological 
capacity to ensure readiness for, on one 
hand, the dialogue between risk assessors 
and risk managers on the definition of 
Specific Protection Goals (SPGs) for plant 
protection products (PPPs), on the other 
the development of risk assessment 
methodologies that are fully consistent with 
the agreed SPGs.   
Focus on “ensuring preparedness for future 
risk analysis needs”, by collection and 
generation of observational and 
experimental data and methodologies in 
response to key risk assessment 
uncertainties in plant health.  
Deliver:  
1. The customization of semi-automatic 
system for the identification and 
characterisation of food-supplement related 
emerging risks issues   
2. The implementation of methods for a 
greater involvement of stakeholders in 
emerging risks identification activities  
3. A report characterizing the issues 
identified in accordance to agreed criteria, 
and concluding on the feasibility of 
identifying food supplements-related 
emerging risks, based on the two specific 
examples of stimulants and SARMs 
(selective androgen receptor 
modulators); recommendations will also be 
made on how to build a permanent system 
covering the whole food supplements area 
Contribute to the improvement of the 
process of identification of emerging risks, 
in particular through the development of 
predictive modelling capacity, preparedness 
for future regulatory and policy needs 
addressing the EU Green deal aspirations 
and EU strategies and policies (Blue 
economy). 
Given global drivers of change, the project 
will run a scoping study to look at future 
uses of the ocean and its resources that 
may impact the food and feed systems. It 
will focus on mapping the acquired 
knowledge and organising foresight events 
to discuss and understand the emerging 
risks driven by future uses of the ocean 
and its resources. 
Assess the feasibility of proactive approach 
to identify opportunities for feed/food fraud 

 93 

0.25 

0 

01/01/2
024 

01/01/2
026 

0.20 

0 

21/08/2
017 

31/12/2
025 

0.44 

200,00
0 

01/01/2
023 

31/12/2
025 

0.38 

0 

01/03/2
022 

30/09/2
025 

0.30 

0 

31/01/2
023 

30/09/2
024 

0.00 

200,00
0 

01/01/2
023 

31/12/2
025 

 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Progra
mme 

Project 

Scope 

fraud in crisis 
context 

13.02-SCER-26 
Emerging Risks 
Analysis 
Platform 

13.02-PRES-04 
CRA of 
pesticides from 
2020 onwards 

deriving from supply shock and potentially 
leading to feed/food safety issues. 
Launch the Emerging Risk Analysis Platform 
(ERAP). This platform, focusing initially on 
the emerging risks identification and 
analysis workflow, will set the foundation 
for a horizon scanning process. 
Implementation and further method 
development for the cumulative risk 
assessment of pesticides from 2020 
onwards. 

NEXT 

NO 
PROG 

FTES  
2024-
2027 

Budget 
2024-
2027 

Start 
date 

End 
date 

0.30 

122,75
0 

20/09/2
021 

30/06/2
025 

16.65 

3,050,7
06 

10/09/2
020 

31/08/2
027 

C. Increasing the EU food safety system productivity through digital collaboration, by 
increasing active participation in the EU food safety ecosystem. 

Allow EU food safety system stakeholders 
to find the status of progress of risk 
assessment of chemicals in Europe and 
related published datasets/evidence 
independently from the agency that is 
processing the assessment. Reduce time 
EFSA stakeholders need to find, understand 
(data is communicated through data 
stories) and re-use EFSA published 
data/evidence. 

Identify chemical emerging risks in food. 
The project includes the collection of data 
for prioritized chemical substances and the 
development of tools for horizon scanning. 

0.00 

4,313,0
00 

01/01/2
024 

31/12/2
027 

0.47 

52,921 

14/01/2
020 

30/06/2
024 

DEEP 

13.02-ENV23-
IDATA-W1 
Data Outreach 

NEXT 

13.02-SCER-
03.18  
Identification 
of emerging 
chemical risks 
in food 

ANNEXES 

 94 

 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

ANNEX I. ORGANISATIONAL CHART FOR 2024 

1.  ORGANISATION AND ORGANISATIONAL CHART 

Figure 5. EFSA Organisational chart on 01/01/2024 

 95 

 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

2. 

POST DISTRIBUTION62  

TABLE 24. POST DISTRIBUTION PER UNIT/DEPARTMENT/OFFICE 

Org. Structure 
01/01/2024 

Exec. Director 
Total  

ED (incl. "ED Pot")  

ASSESS Total  

ASSESS HoD Office  

BIOHAW 

FEEDCO 

FIP  

NIF 

PLANTS 

PREV 

ENABLE Total  

ENABLE HoD Office  

FDP 

IDATA 

MESE 

RAL 

TS 

ENGAGE Total  

ENGAGE HoD Office 

ENREL 

KNOW 

COM 

EMPOWER Total  

EMPOWER HoD Office 

CORSER  

FIN 

GPS 

HUCAP 

LA 

Total 

Officials 

TAs 

CAs 

TOTAL 
STATUTORY 
STAFF 

TOT. 
POSTS 

of 
which 
vacant 

TOT. 
POSTS 

of 
which 
vacant 

TOT. 
POSTS 

of 
which 
vacant 

TOT. 
POSTS 

of 
which 
vacant 

SNEs 

Total 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

12 

12 

146 

4 

24 

19 

22 

23 

23 

31 

100 

5 

15 

19 

27 

17 

17 

48 

3 

13 

9 

23 

98 

4 

16 

24 

10 

21 

23 

404 

1 

1 

3 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

4 

0 

1 

0 

2 

0 

1 

9 

1 

1 

79 

0 

7 

9 

13 

18 

16 

16 

39 

0 

10 

9 

7 

8 

5 

22 

0 

7 

4 

11 

35 

1 

9 

11 

3 

6 

5 

1 

1 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

7 

0 

0 

1 

1 

3 

2 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

13 

13 

227 

4 

31 

28 

36 

42 

39 

47 

140 

5 

25 

28 

35 

25 

22 

71 

3 

20 

14 

34 

134 

5 

25 

36 

13 

27 

28 

2 

2 

3 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

1 

9 

0 

0 

2 

1 

3 

3 

2 

0 

1 

0 

1 

4 

0 

1 

0 

2 

0 

1 

1 

1 

8 

0 

4 

0 

1 

0 

3 

0 

2 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

5 

0 

4 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

14 

14 

235 

4 

35 

28 

37 

42 

42 

47 

142 

5 

26 

29 

35 

25 

22 

76 

3 

24 

15 

34 

134 

5 

25 

36 

13 

27 

28 

176 

11 

585 

20 

16 

601 

62 TA post capacity including +2 posts part-time offsetting, +2 posts in vacancy rate overbooking, CA post (FTE) 
capacity including +3 posts for part-time offsetting, +10 CA in vacancy rate overbooking, -4 CAs lent to ECHA, SNE 
post (FTE) capacity including 1 financed by DG-NEAR for Pre-accession Programme 

 96 

 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

ANNEX II. RESOURCE ALLOCATION PER ACTIVITY FOR 2024-
2027 

1. 

FINANCIAL RESOURCES PER STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 

TABLE 25. ANTICIPATED EVOLUTION OF BUDGET ALLOCATIONS (% OF THE TOTAL EFSA BUDGET). 

Planned for 
2023 

Draft 
Budget for 
2024 

Draft 
Budget for 
2025 

Draft 
Budget for 
2026 

Draft Budget 
for 2027 

Strategic Objectives 

SO1_Deliver trustworthy 
scientific advice and 
communication of risks from 
farm to fork 

of which: 

Execute
d in 
2022 

million 
EUR 

millio
n 
EUR 

% 

milli
on 
EUR 

52.5 

55.4 

36% 

65.4 

Regulated products evaluation 

22.3 

23.4 

15% 

27.6 

General risk assessment 

22.8 

23.5 

15% 

30.0 

mill
ion 
EUR 

% 

milli
on 
EUR 

% 

milli
on 
EUR 

% 

63.3  39% 

68.8 

40% 

72.4 

42% 

27.9  17% 

29.6 

17% 

31.2 

18% 

27.5  17% 

30.7 

18% 

32.6 

19% 

% 

41
% 

17
% 
19
% 

Communication 

7.4 

8.5 

6% 

7.8 

5% 

7.9 

5% 

8.5 

5% 

8.6 

5% 

SO2_Ensure preparedness for 
future risk analysis needs 

57.6 

51.8 

33% 

48.9 

SO3_Empower people and 
ensure organisational agility 

39.7 

48.2 

31% 

45.1 

30
% 

29
% 

53.9  33% 

50.9 

31% 

50.8 

30% 

46.0
0 

28% 

47.6 

29% 

48.0 

28% 

Total EFSA 

149.8 

155.
4 

100
% 

159.
4 

100
% 

163
.2 

100
% 

167.
3 

100
% 

171.
2 

100
% 

Of which Transparency Regulation 
(EU) 2019/1381 updated estimation 

65.2 

67.2 

43% 

66.8 

41
% 

66.8  41% 

66.8 

40% 

66.8 

40% 

 97 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

2.  HUMAN RESOURCES PER STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 

TABLE 26. ANTICIPATED EVOLUTION OF STAFF ALLOCATIONS (% OF THE TOTAL OF EFSA’S FTES). 

Strategic objectives 

Execut
ed in 
2022 

FTEs/p
osts 

FTE
s/p
osts 

SO1_Deliver trustworthy 
scientific advice and 
communication of risks from 
farm to fork 

of which: 

270 

261 

Regulated products evaluation 

151 

136 

General risk assessment 

Communication 

96 

22 

103 

Planned 
for 2023 

Forecast 
for 2024 

Forecast 
for 2025 

Forecast 
for 2026 

Forecast 
for 2027 

FTE
s/p
osts 

285 

151 

112 

% 

46
% 

24
% 
18
% 

FTE
s/p
osts 

292 

151 

119 

% 

48
% 

26
% 
19
% 

FTE
s/p
osts 

298 

152 

123 

% 

50
% 

26
% 
20
% 

% 

44
% 

23
% 
18
% 

FTE
s/p
osts 

% 

295  49% 

154  26% 

117  19% 

22 

4% 

22 

4% 

22 

4% 

23 

4% 

24 

4% 

SO2_Ensure preparedness 
for future risk analysis 
needs 

147 

137 

SO3_Empower people and 
ensure organisational agility 

171 

189 

Total EFSA 

588 

588 

Of which Transparency 
Regulation (EU) 2019/1381  

106 

106 

23
% 

32
% 

100
% 

18
% 

121 

184 

590
63 

106 

21
% 

33
% 

100
% 

18
% 

124 

182 

598
64 

106 

21
% 

31
% 

100
% 

18
% 

121 

182 

601
65 

106 

19
% 

31
% 

100
% 

18
% 

121  20% 

182  31% 

598
66 

100
% 

106  18% 

63 YoY increase linked to the Animal Health and Welfare partnership funded by DG-RTD (+2 FTEs), agreement not signed yet 
at the time of writing (November 2023) 
64 YoY increase linked to the New Genome Techniques proposal (+2 FTEs, discussions ongoing), the new Chemical Strategy 
(+5 FTEs, discussions ongoing), and the request in the area of Cyber security to address the requirements of the new 
legislation (+1 FTE) 
65 YoY increase linked to the New Genome Techniques proposal (additional +3 FTEs, discussions ongoing) 

66 YoY decrease linked to the finalisation of the AHAW partnership funded by DG-RTD started in 2024 (-2 FTEs) and the 
reduction of the amount of SNEs, specifically the one currently allocated to the Pre-accession programme funded by DG-NEAR 
(-1 FTE) 

 98 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

ANNEX III. FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR 2025 - 2027 

REVENUES 

TABLE 27. REVENUES 

Revenues 

EU contribution 

Additional EU funding: ad hoc grants, service 
level and delegation agreements 
Other revenue 

2023 

executed budget in million 
EUR (forecast) 

2024 
Revenues 
estimated by 
the authority 

2025 

Budget Forecast 

144.7 

150.2 

153.1 

1.5 

4.1 

0.6 

5.3 

0.7 

5.4 

Total revenues 

150.3 

156.1 

159.1 

Revenue 

1 REVENUE FROM FEES AND CHARGES 
(including balancing reserve from previous 
years surplus) 
2 EU CONTRIBUTION 
- of which assigned revenues deriving from 
previous years ‘surpluses 
3 THIRD COUNTRIES CONTRIBUTION (incl. 
EEA/EFTA and candidate countries) 
- of which EEA/EFTA (excl. Switzerland) 

- of which candidate Countries 

4 OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS 

5 ADMINISTRATIVE OPERATIONS 
- of which interest generated by funds paid by the 
Commission by way of EU contribution 
6 REVENUES FROM SERVICES RENDERED 
AGAINST PAYMENT 
7 CORRECTION OF BUDGETARY IMBALANCES 

2023 

Executed 
budget 

2024 
Revenues 
estimated by 
the Agency 

2025 

As requested by 
the Agency 

Budget 
forecast 

VAR 
2025/24 
(%) 

Envisaged 
2026 

Envisaged 
2027 

143,253,596 

150,202,273 

153,065,669 

2% 

161,658,139  168,420,283 

467,378 

697,952 

839,755 

20.3% 

839,755 

839,755 

4,126,522 

5,292,453 

5,388,797 

4,126,522 

5,292,453 

5,388,797 

2% 

2% 

5,692,971 

5,932,351 

5,692,971 

5,932,351 

111,810 

111,810 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

TOTAL REVENUES 

147,491,928 

155,494,726 

158,454,466 

2% 

167,351,109  174,352,633 

 99 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Revenue 

ADDITIONAL EU FUNDING STEMMING 
FROM AD HOC GRANTS 
ADDITIONAL EU FUNDING STEMMING 
FROM DELEGATION AGREEMENTS 

2023 

2024 

2025 

Executed 
budget 

As requested 
by the Agency 

As requested 
by the 
Agency 

Budget 
forecast 

VAR 
2025/2024 
(%) 

Envisaged 
2026 

Envisaged 
2027 

1,462,801 

637,996 

670,000 

670,000 

670,000 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

TOTAL REVENUES 

1,462,801 

637,996 

670,00067 

0 

0 

670,000 

670,000 

EXPENDITURES 

TABLE 28. EXPENDITURES68 

Expenditure/title 

2023 

2024 

2025 

Budget execution 
Commitments 
million EUR 

Budget execution 
Payments 
million EUR 

Budget 
commitment 
appropriations 
million EUR 

Budget payment 
appropriations 
million EUR 

Preliminary 
budget 
commitment 
appropriations 
million EUR 

Preliminary 
budget payment 
appropriations 
million EUR 

Title I — Staff expenditure 

Title II — Infrastructure and 
operating expenditure 

Title III — Operational 
expenditure 

65.0 

14.7 

75.7 

65.0 

14.7 

67.7 

71.8 

14.7 

72.9 

71.8 

14.7 

69.0 

73.9 

13.9 

75.4 

73.9 

13.9 

70.6 

Total expenditure 

155.5 

147.5 

159.5 

155.5 

163.2 

158.5 

67 Contribution agreement expected as per Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending 
Regulations (EC) No 178/2002, (EC) No 401/2009, (EU) 2017/745 and (EU) 2019/1021 

68 C1 credits 

 100 

 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Commitment appropriations 

Draft budget 2025 

Expenditure 

2023 Budget 
execution 

Budget 2024 

Agency request 

VAR 
2025/20
24 

Budge
t 
foreca
st 

Envisaged 2026 

Envisaged 2027 

Title 1 - Staff expenditure 

67,356,406 

71,807,043 

73,917,592 

2.9% 

76,395,946 

78,528,047 

Salaries & allowances 

57,994,662 

61,558,387 

63,631,429 

- Of which establishment plan posts 

43,672,216 

46,720,000 

48,501,000 

3.4% 

3.8% 

66,187,396 

68,467,396 

50,565,000 

52,299,000 

- Of which external personnel 

14,322,446 

14,838,387 

15,130,429 

2.0% 

15,622,396 

16,168,396 

Expenditure relating to Staff recruitment 

721,711 

711,000 

730,000 

2.7% 

Mission expenses 

Socio-medical infrastructure 

Training 

External Services 

163,321 

315,457 

521,729 

165,000 

366,615 

800,000 

173,000 

339,155 

850,000 

5,710,289 

5,945,041 

5,868,008 

Receptions, events and representation 

0 

0 

0 

Social welfare 

1,929,236 

2,261,000 

2,326,000 

Other staff related expenditure 

0 

0 

0 

4.8% 

-7.5% 

6.3% 

-1.3% 

0.0% 

2.9% 

0.0% 

750,000 

181,000 

364,285 

850,000 

770,000 

190,000 

343,680 

732,000 

5,667,265 

5,558,971 

0 

0 

2,396,000 

2,466,000 

0 

0 

Title 2 - Infrastructure and operating 
expenditure 

13,630,869 

14,705,713 

13,931,633 

-5.3% 

12,811,849 

12,862,662 

Rental of buildings and associated costs 

6,233,131 

7,136,887 

6,003,887 

-15.9% 

5,462,887 

5,491,887 

Information, communication technology 
and data processing 

5,866,335 

6,152,089 

6,435,759 

4.6% 

6,686,725 

6,707,788 

Movable property and associated costs 

1,072,172 

960,000 

1,100,000 

14.6% 

255,000 

255,000 

Current administrative expenditure 

239,089 

203,237 

123,237 

-39.4% 

123,237 

123,737 

Postage / Telecommunications 

142,358 

163,500 

Meeting expenses 

Running costs in connection with 
operational activities 

Information and publishing 

70,000 

75,000 

0 

0 

7,783 

15,000 

15,000 

 101 

178,750 

75,000 

0 

9.3% 

0.0% 

0.0% 

0.0% 

194,000 

75,000 

0 

15,000 

194,250 

75,000 

0 

15,000 

 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Commitment appropriations 

Draft budget 2025 

Expenditure 

2023 Budget 
execution 

Budget 2024 

Agency request 

VAR 
2025/20
24 

Budge
t 
foreca
st 

Envisaged 2026 

Envisaged 2027 

Studies 

Other infrastructure and operating 
expenditure 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0.0% 

0.0% 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Title 3 - Operational expenditure 

74,466,905 

72,943,126 

75,381,884 

3.3% 

78,156,631 

79,849,219 

Regulated Products 

Risk Assessment 

4,461,125 

4,940,161 

4,239,383 

4,386,806 

4,731,500 

4,492,942 

-4.2% 

2.4% 

4,661,500 

4,492,942 

4,590,900 

4,492,942 

Scientific Cooperation & Strategy 

35,886,843 

36,890,628 

36,619,119 

-0.7% 

38,001,248 

38,132,294 

Communication 

Operational support 

TOTAL 

6,956,057 

6,005,000 

6,305,000 

5.0% 

6,419,864 

6,389,864 

22,923,496 

20,720,531 

23,233,323 

12.1% 

24,581,077 

26,243,219 

155,454,179  159,455,882 

163,231,109 

2.4% 

167,364,426 

171,239,928 

Expenditure 

2023 Budget execution* 

Budget 
2024 

Agency request 

Draft budget 2025 
VAR 
2025/2024 

Budget 
forecast 

Envisaged 
2026 

Envisaged 
2027 

Title 1 - Staff 
expenditure 

65,965,774 

71,807,043 

73,917,592 

2.9% 

76,395,946 

78,528,047 

Salaries & allowances 

57,994,618 

61,558,387 

63,631,429 

3.4% 

66,187,396 

68,467,396 

Payment appropriations 

- Of which 
establishment plan 
posts 

- Of which external 
personnel 

Expenditure relating to 
Staff recruitment 
Mission expenses 
Socio-medical 
infrastructure 
Training 
External Services 

43,672,216 

46,720,000 

48,501,000 

3.8% 

50,565,000 

52,299,000 

14,322,402 

14,838,387 

15,130,429 

2.0% 

15,622,396 

16,168,396 

706,135 

142,423 

291,747 

711,000 

165,000 

366,615 

353,818 
4,573,337 

800,000 
5,945,041 

730,000 

173,000 

339,155 

850,000 
5,868,008 

2.7% 

4.8% 

-7.5% 

6.3% 
-1.3% 

750,000 

181,000 

364,285 

770,000 

190,000 

343,680 

850,000 
5,667,265 

732,000 
5,558,971 

 102 

 
 
  
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Receptions, events and 
representation 
Social welfare 
Other staff related 
expenditure 
Title 2 - 
Infrastructure and 
operating 
expenditure 
Rental of buildings and 
associated costs 
Information, 
communication 
technology and data 
processing 
Movable property and 
associated costs 
Current administrative 
expenditure 
Postage / 
Telecommunications 
Meeting expenses 
Running costs in 
connection with 
operational activities 
Information and 
publishing 
Studies 
Other infrastructure and 
operating expenditure 
Title 3 - Operational 
expenditure 
Regulated Products 
Risk Assessment 
Scientific Cooperation & 
Strategy 
Communication 
Operational support 
TOTAL 

0 

0 

1,903,695 

2,261,000 

0 

0 

0 

2,326,000 

0 

0.0% 

2.9% 

0.0% 

0 

0 

2,396,000 

2,466,000 

0 

0 

10,386,392 

14,705,713 

13,931,633 

-5.3% 

12,811,849 

12,862,662 

4,697,106 

7,136,887 

6,003,887 

-15.9% 

5,462,887 

5,491,887 

4,404,288 

6,152,089 

6,435,759 

4.6% 

6,686,725 

6,707,788 

919,828 

960,000 

1,100,000 

14.6% 

255,000 

255,000 

206,823 

203,237 

123,237 

-39.4% 

123,237 

123,737 

102,629 

163,500 

47,935 

75,000 

0 

0 

7,783 

15,000 

0 

0 

0 

0 

58,523,703 

68,981,970 

4,375,609 
4,109,924 

4,940,161 
4,386,806 

27,519,071 

32,929,472 

6,018,916 
16,500,182 

6,005,000 
20,720,531 
134,875,868  155,494,726 

178,750 

75,000 

0 

15,000 

0 

0 

70,605,241 

4,731,500 
4,492,942 

31,842,476 

6,305,000 
23,233,323 
158,454,466 

9.3% 

0.0% 

0.0% 

0.0% 

0.0% 

0.0% 

2.4% 

-4.2% 
2.4% 

-3.3% 

5.0% 
12.1% 
1.9% 

194,000 

75,000 

194,250 

75,000 

0 

0 

15,000 

15,000 

0 

0 

0 

0 

78,143,314 

82,961,924 

4,661,500 
4,492,942 

4,590,900 
4,492,942 

37,987,931 

41,244,999 

6,419,864 
24,581,077 
167,351,109 

6,389,864 
26,243,219 
174,352,633 

 103 

 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

BUDGET OUTTURN AND CANCELLATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 2023 

TABLE 29. BUDGET OUTTURN AND CANCELLATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 2023 

Budget outturn 

2021 

2022 

2023  

Reserve from the previous years’ surplus (+) 

Revenue actually received (+) 

120,634,993.95 

135,400,643.48  149,772,114.29 

Payments made (–) 

-107,488,851.15 

-121,503,031.64 

-
135,552,667.10 

Carry-over of appropriations (–) 

-13,971,330.00 

-14,347,437.14 

-14,604,746.96 

Cancellation of appropriations carried over (+) 

450,050.09 

640,850.83 

826,602.85 

Exchange-rate differences (+/–) 

-1,607.40 

909.54 

-114.26 

Adjustment for carry-over from previous years of assigned 
revenue 
Out-turn pre-accession programme DG Neighbourhood and 
Enlargement Negotiations 

844,122.88 

506,017.18 

398,566.00 

Total 

467,378.37 

697,952.25 

839,754.82 

Cancellation of appropriations 

Cancellation of commitment appropriations 

Out of the EUR 155.47 million in commitment appropriations available, EUR 155.45 million or 100 % 
(100 % in 2022) was used, leaving EUR 0.02 million in commitment appropriations unutilised. 

Cancellation of payment appropriations for the year 

Out of the EUR 147.49 million of C1 payment appropriations available, EUR 134.88 million or 91% 
(90% in 2022) was paid while EUR 12.62 million corresponding to 11% of non-differentiated C1 was 
carried forward. Cancelled C1 payment appropriations amount to a total of € 0.02 million, 
corresponding to non-differentiated payment appropriations linked to commitment appropriations 
not implemented (only EUR 443 of differentiated payment appropriations remained unused). 

Cancellation of payment appropriations carried over 

Out of the EUR 13.95 million of payment appropriations carried over, EUR 13.12 million or 94% was 
paid, leaving EUR 0.83 million unutilised. The cancellation stems from unused C8 funds. 

Justification 

The cancelled appropriations are stemming mainly from the unused appropriations carried over, 
from the lines covering energy suppliers, operational IT systems, conferences and outreach and risk 
communications. EFSA is taking steps to improve payment execution of non-differentiated C1 credits 
(89%) to decrease the automatic carry-over of appropriations, hence preventing cancellations. 

Budget outturn 

The budget outturn is slightly higher in 2023 than in previous years and stands at EUR 0.84 million 
(EUR 0.70 million in 2022), stemming mainly from cancellation of appropriations carried over and 
adjustment of carryover of assigned revenue appropriation from previous year. 

 104 

 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

ANNEX IV. HUMAN RESOURCES FOR 2025 - 2027 — QUANTITATIVE 

1.  THE STAFF POPULATION AND ITS EVOLUTION 

A. 

STATUTORY STAFF AND SNE 

TABLE 30. STAFF POPULATION AND ITS EVOLUTION; OVERVIEW OF ALL CATEGORIES OF STAFF 

Staff 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

ESTABLISHMENT 
PLAN POSTS 

Authorised staff - 
Baseline 

Authorised 
staff - 178 TR 

Authorised 
staff - TOTAL 

Actually filled 
31/12/2023 

Occupan
cy rate 
% 

Envisaged 
staff  

Envisaged 
staff 

Envisaged 
staff 

Envisaged 
staff 

Administrators 
(AD) 

Assistants (AST) 

Assistants/Secret
aries (AST/SC) 

TOTAL 
ESTABLISHMENT 
PLAN POSTS 

232 

88 

n/a 

320 

80 

5 

n/a 

85 

312 

93 

n/a 

305 

97.8% 

312 

314 

316 

316 

97 

n/a 

104.3% 

93 

n/a 

n/a 

93 

n/a 

94 

n/a 

94 

n/a 

405 

402 

99.3% 

405 

407 

410 

410 

EXTERNAL 
STAFF69 

FTE 
corresponding to 
the authorised 
budget - Baseline 

FTE 
corresponding 
to the 
authorised 
budget – 178 
TR 

FTE 
corresponding 
to the 
authorised 
budget - 
TOTAL 

Headcount as 
of 
31/12/2023 

Executio
n Rate % 

Envisaged 
FTE 

Envisaged 
FTE 

Envisaged 
FTE 

Envisaged 
FTE 

Contract Agents 
(CA) 

Seconded 
National Experts 
(SNE) 

TOTAL EXTERNAL 
STAFF 

TOTAL STAFF 

146 

15 

161 

481 

21 

0 

21 

106 

167 

15 

182 

587 

166 

99.4% 

167 

170 

170 

170 

11 

73.3% 

15 

15 

15 

15 

177 

579 

97.3% 

98.8% 

182 

587 

185 

592 

185 

595 

185 

595 

69 Figures do not include CAs and SNEs financed by other sources (see relevant table) 

 105 

 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

ADDITIONAL EXTERNAL STAFF EXPECTED TO BE FINANCED FROM GRANT, CONTRIBUTION OR SERVICE-

B. 
LEVEL AGREEMENTS 
TABLE 31. ADDITIONAL EXTERNAL STAFF EXPECTED TO BE FINANCED FROM GRANT, CONTRIBUTION OR SERVICE-LEVEL AGREEMENTS. 

Human Resources 

Contract Agents (CA)70 
Seconded National Experts (SNE)71 

TOTAL 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Authorised FTE 

Envisaged FTE 

Envisaged FTE 

Envisaged FTE 

2.0 

1.0 

3.0 

5.0 

1.0 

6.0 

5.0 

0.6 

52.6 

3.0 

0.0 

3.0 

C. 

Other Human Resources 

TABLE 32. OTHER HUMAN RESOURCES72 

Structural service providers 

Actually in place as of 31/12/2023  

Security 

IT 

Reception 

Post Office 

Office Supplies 

Archive 

Huissier 

Outsourcing Service Manager 

Maintenance 

Building H&S technical assistance 

Medical Advisor 

Interim workers 

Number 

1 

21 

2 

1 

1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

4 

0.75 

Total FTEs in year 2023 

75 

70 2 CA FTEs related to the Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare funded by DG-RTD until from 2024 until 2026, 3 CA FTEs related to new Chemical Data Platform 
funded by DG ENV from 2025 onwards 

71 1 SNE FTE related to the Pre-accession Programme funded by DG-NEAR (planned end date 31/07/2026). 

72 Final number to be provided in January 2024 

 106 

 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

2.  MULTIANNUAL STAFF POLICY PLAN FOR 2025-2027 

TABLE 33. MULTI-ANNUAL STAFF POLICY PLAN YEAR 2025-2027 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Authorised 
budget - 
Baseline 

Authorised 
budget - 178 
TR 

Authorised 
Budget - 
TOTAL 

Actually filled as of 
31/12 

Envisaged 
budget 

Envisaged 
budget 

Envisaged 
budget 

Envisaged 
budget 

Perm
. 
posts 

Temp
. 
posts 

Perm
. 
posts 

Temp
. 
posts 

Perm
. 
posts 

Temp
. 
posts 

Permanen
t posts 

Temporar
y posts 

Perm
. 
posts 

Temp
. 
posts 

Perm
. 
posts 

Temp
. 
posts 

Perm
. 
posts 

Temp
. 
posts 

Perm
. 
posts 

Temp
. 
posts 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

3 

2 

0 

0 

0 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

5 

6 

12 

27 

44 

63 

44 

22 

2 

227 

0 

0 

0 

3 

6 

12 

24 

25 

10 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

4 

9 

30 

31 

6 

80 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

3 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

3 

2 

0 

0 

0 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

5 

6 

12 

27 

48 

72 

74 

53 

8 

307 

0 

0 

0 

3 

6 

12 

24 

27 

13 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

4 

0 

0 

0 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

3 

4 

6 

17 

50 

63 

65 

67 

24 

300 

0 

0 

0 

1 

2 

13 

25 

33 

19 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

3 

1 

0 

0 

0 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

2 

4 

5 

9 

30 

48 

65 

88 

45 

10 

307 

0 

0 

0 

2 

5 

14 

26 

26 

15 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

4 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

3 

3 

6 

13 

33 

50 

69 

82 

39 

10 

309 

0 

0 

0 

3 

6 

16 

26 

24 

17 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

3 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

3 

4 

7 

16 

36 

53 

71 

76 

36 

8 

311 

0 

0 

0 

3 

9 

17 

26 

24 

14 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

3 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

4 

4 

9 

19 

38 

56 

72 

70 

31 

7 

311 

0 

0 

0 

3 

12 

18 

26 

24 

11 

Function 
group and 
grade 

AD 16 

AD 15 

AD 14 

AD 13 

AD 12 

AD 11 

AD 10 

AD 9 

AD 8 

AD 7 

AD 6 

AD 5 

AD TOTAL 

AST 11 

AST 10 

AST 9 

AST 8 

AST 7 

AST 6 

AST 5 

AST 4 

AST 3 

 107 

 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

2027 

Authorised 
budget - 
Baseline 

Authorised 
budget - 178 
TR 

Authorised 
Budget - 
TOTAL 

Actually filled as of 
31/12 

Envisaged 
budget 

Envisaged 
budget 

Envisaged 
budget 

Envisaged 
budget 

Perm
. 
posts 

Temp
. 
posts 

Perm
. 
posts 

Temp
. 
posts 

Perm
. 
posts 

Temp
. 
posts 

Permanen
t posts 

Temporar
y posts 

Perm
. 
posts 

Temp
. 
posts 

Perm
. 
posts 

Temp
. 
posts 

Perm
. 
posts 

Temp
. 
posts 

Perm
. 
posts 

Temp
. 
posts 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

8 

0 

88 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

315 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

85 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

8 

0 

93 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

400 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

3 

1 

97 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

397 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

5 

0 

93 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

400 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

1 

0 

93 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

402 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

1 

0 

94 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

405 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

5 

0 

0 

94 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

405 

320 

85 

405 

402 

405 

407 

410 

410 

Function 
group and 
grade 

AST 2 

AST 1 

AST TOTAL 

AST/SC 6 

AST/SC 5 

AST/SC 4 

AST/SC 3 

AST/SC 2 

AST/SC 1 

AST/SC 
TOTAL 

TOTAL 

GRAND 
TOTAL 

 108 

 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

• 

External personnel 

TABLE 34. EXTERNAL PERSONNEL - CONTRACT AGENTS 

Contract 
agents73 

Function 
Group IV74 

Function 
Group III 

Function 
Group II 

Function 
Group I 

TOTAL 

FTE 
corresponding 
to the 
authorised 
budget 2023 

138 

19 

10 

0 

Executed FTE as 
of 31/12/2023 

Headcount as of 
31/12/2023 

FTE 
corresponding 
to the 
envisaged 
budget 2024* 

FTE 
corresponding 
to the 
envisaged 
budget 2025* 

FTE 
corresponding 
to the 
envisaged 
budget 2026 

FTE 
corresponding 
to the 
envisaged 
budget 2027 

131.7 

21.7 

9.5 

0.0 

132 

23 

11 

0 

140 

20 

7 

0 

143 

20 

7 

0 

143 

20 

7 

0 

143 

20 

7 

0 

167 

162.9 

166 

167 

170 

170 

170 

*Additional 15 CAs requested from 2022 - 2024, to cover the FTE gap stemming from increased volumes of work, backlog recuperation 

TABLE 35. EXTERNAL PERSONNEL - SECONDED NATIONAL EXPERTS 

Seconded 
National 
Experts75 

FTE 
corresponding 
to the 
authorised 
budget 2022 

Executed FTE as of 
31/12/2023 

Headcount as of 
31/12/2023 

FTE 
corresponding 
to the 
envisaged 
budget 2024 

FTE 
corresponding 
to the 
envisaged 
budget 2025 

FTE 
corresponding 
to the 
envisaged 
budget 2026 

FTE 
corresponding 
to the 
envisaged 
budget 2027 

TOTAL 

15 

13.0 

11 

15 

15 

15 

15 

**of which 15 FTEs related to EFSA's budget. It does not include 1 FTE related to the Pre-accession Programme budget 

73 Figures include 4 CAs utilised by ECHA as per EFSA-ECHA-EC agreement, from 2025 include 2 CAs related to new Chemical Data Platform, do not include CAs financed by 
other sources (see relevant table) 

74 One additional FTE at FG IV level from 2024 onwards, to cover the need for enhanced cybersecurity 

75 Figures do not include 1 SNE financed by Pre-accession Programme (see relevant table) 
 109 

 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

3.  RECRUITMENT FORECASTS 2025 FOLLOWING 
RETIREMENT/MOBILITY OR NEW REQUESTED POSTS 

TABLE 36. RECRUITMENT FORECASTS 2024 FOLLOWING RETIREMENT/MOBILITY OR NEW REQUESTED POSTS 
(INFORMATION ON THE ENTRY LEVEL FOR EACH TYPE OF POSTS: INDICATIVE TABLE) (TO BE UPDATED IN 
DECEMBER 2024) 

Number of inter-agency mobility Year N (2024) from and to the Agency:   

 110 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

ANNEX V. HUMAN RESOURCES FOR 2025 — 2027 
QUALITATIVE 

A.  RECRUITMENT POLICY 

Implementing rules in place: 
TABLE 37. RECRUITMENT IMPLEMENTING RULES 

Implementing rules  

Yes 

No 

If no, which other 
implementing rules are 
in place 

Engagement of CA 

Engagement of TA 

Middle management 

Type of posts 

Model Decision 
C(2019)3016 

Model Decision 
C(2015)1509 

Model decision 
C(2018)2542 

Model Decision 
C(2018)8800 

Y 

Y 

Y 

Y 

STATUTORY STAFF (OFFICIALS, TEMPORARY AGENTS, CONTRACT AGENTS) 

EFSA staff capacity has increased over the last few years with a peak in recruitment from 2020 as a 
consequence  of  the  additional  capacity  granted  by  the  implementation  of  the  new  Transparency 
Regulation.  The  evolution  of  the  staff  capacity  can  be  found  in  Annex  IV  –  Human  Resources 
Quantitative.  

EFSA strives to reach the highest possible occupancy/execution rate by implementing a recruitment 
plan  beyond  100%  of  its  nominal  capacity.  For  both  TAs  and  CAs,  EFSA  takes  advantage  of  the 
possibility to offset FTE savings generated with additional appointments, as provided by the Financial 
Regulations (Art. 53/2) and the Staff Regulations (CEOS Art. 3a). 

EFSA is using a state-of-the-art recruitment solution to attract, source and select its staff, experts, 
trainees and SNEs and manage the end-to-end selection process in a digital and automated way. 

The recruitment tool includes a branded career site and facilitates the dissemination of jobs, referrals 
and  provides  analytics  on  candidates.  This  has  helped  to  increase  the  number  and  relevance  of 
applicants for each vacancy. 

EFSA’s recruitment policies are designed to attract and retain the required competencies to support 
the delivery of its work plan, with no discrimination concerning gender and geographical balance, in 
compliance with the Staff Regulations. The distribution of staff by nationality is presented in 
Annex V. EFSA is closely monitoring and proactively seeking to ensure a balanced representation of 
as many EU nationalities as possible.  

EFSA continues to promote a series of targeted initiatives to increase attractiveness and nationality 
balance in particular with extra dissemination efforts on social media platforms, targeted 
dissemination in certain Member States and by participating in / organising of career events in the 
different EU Member States.  

 111 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

These initiatives are part of a comprehensive employer branding strategy focussing on increasing 
the visibility of EFSA with the support of the Engagement Department, also leveraging on EFSA’s 
networks with EU Agencies, International Organisations, National Authorities and Universities. 

The following measures were taken in 2023: 

o 

In the context of the Employer Branding Strategy a new career website has been launched in 
May 2023, with an emphasis on EFSA’s value propositions and new communication material with 
new engaging content in various formats and videos.  

o  EFSA has also invested in more specialised job dissemination platforms in the different EU 

Member States to promote scientific and technical profiles. 

o  EFSA has increased its collaboration with the Focal Points in order to join forces in promoting 

Food Safety. 

o  EFSA has increased its initiatives in the field of Diversity & Inclusion. 

The list below recaps the typical grades at which each job category is filled. 

‘Assistant’ job family 

• 

• 

‘Assistant’ job category (staff carrying out administrative, technical or training activities such as 
assistance work requiring a certain degree of autonomy). Typically, these posts are filled by grades 
AST1-AST3, FGI.1-3, FGII.4-7. 

‘Technical assistant’ job category (staff providing support with a medium degree of autonomy in 
the drafting of documents and assistance in the implementation of policies and procedures in areas 
such  as  administration,  law,  finance,  science  and  communication,  following  advice  from  their 
managers. Technical assistants may also provide assistance in general and budgetary processes 
and may coordinate administrative work. These jobs are of a technical rather than a clerical nature 
and  require  a  number  of  years  of  experience.  Typically,  these  posts  are  filled  by  grades  AST4-
AST9, with an entry-level normally at AST4, and FGIII.8-12 with entry level at FGIII 8-10 

 ‘Operational’ job family 

• 

• 

‘Officer’ job category (staff providing officer expertise in a specific field of knowledge, for example. 
legal officer, scientist). Typically, these posts are filled by grades AD5-AD6-AD7 depending on the 
level of seniority required and FG IV.13-18 with entry level at FGIV 13-16 

‘Senior officer’ job category (staff providing senior-officer expertise in a specific field of knowledge, 
for example senior legal officer, senior scientist, etc.). Typically, these posts are filled by grades 
AD8-AD12, with an entry-level normally at AD8. 

‘Management’ job family 

• 

‘Manager’ job category (staff providing managerial expertise in the definition of the organisational 
strategy,  for  example  Head  of  Department,  and  staff  providing  managerial  expertise  in  the 
implementation of the organisational strategy, for example Head of Unit). Typically, these posts 
are filled by grades AD9-AD14, with an entry-level at AD9-AD10 for Head of Unit and AD-12 for 
Head of Department positions. 

• 

‘Senior  manager’  job  category  (executive  director).  Typically,  these  posts  are  filled  by  grades 
AD14-AD15. 

 112 

 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Concerning  the  duration  of  employment,  TAs  and  CAs  are  typically  offered  a  5-year  contract, 
renewable  for  another  limited  period  not  exceeding  5  years76.  These  contracts  are  converted  into 
contracts of an indefinite nature if a second renewal is offered and accepted. All contract renewals are 
subject to an assessment of the performance of the staff member and depend on budget availability 
and the business needs for the function occupied.  

NON-STATUTORY STAFF 

Seconded national experts 

The objective of the SNEs’ programme is to foster the exchange of experience and knowledge of 
European food safety RA working methods and to widen the expertise network. Experts can be 
seconded to EFSA for a period comprised between 6 months and 4 years. Out of the capacity of 16 
SNEs, 1 is funded by the Pre-Accession Programme of DG NEAR (currently until July 2026). 

Traineeships 

EFSA continues to invest in its successful traineeship programme to gain visibility among young 
professionals across Europe and beyond, ultimately aiming to create a pool of young people with 
first-hand experience who may be prepared to collaborate with EFSA in the future. As a result of the 
2023 traineeship call, a total of 119 new trainees from all over the world with expertise in a wide 
range of fields was selected and onboarded, ensuring a rich exchange of knowledge and ideas within 
EFSA: 

35 nationalities (20 EU nationalities and 15 non-EU nationalities) 

101 EU trainees (85%) 

18 non-EU trainees (15%), including for the first time countries such as Swaziland, Benin and New-
Zealand 

This inclusive approach is integral to EFSA’s commitment to diversity, fostering a collaborative and 
innovative environment and this diverse team will contribute to EFSA's global impact, addressing 
food safety challenges with a broad perspective.  

Interims 

In compliance with both the EU legal framework and Italian labour legislation, EFSA’s policy is to rely 
on interim services only under specific circumstances and for limited periods of time. 

EFSA holds a framework contract, managed by the EFSA Human Capital Services (HUCAP) Unit, 
which has been concluded with an interim staff agency’ selected through a public call for tenders to 
purchase interim services. This framework contract, renewed in 2021 and due to expire in 2025, 
foresees a broader spectrum of skills. Interim Services can be deployed for the following purposes:  

•  Coverage of long-term absences typically due to maternity leaves, long-term sick leaves and 

CCP (Congé Convenance Personnelle/unpaid leave on personal ground) 

•  Support to EFSA staff for peaks of workloads in business development projects 

The duration of the deployment of interim workers at EFSA is subject to the limits and provision set 
by the national legislator. 

EFSA Guest Programme 

In 2022/2023 EFSA launched a call for its guest programme. This scheme provides the opportunity to 
Master  students,  PhD  candidates,  employees  of  public  administration,  research  institutes  and 

76 The Notice on Policy adopted by EFSA (Policy on the duration of Staff Contracts is available here) 

 113 

 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

international organisations to join the agency as guest for a few months to collaborate in a remit of 
mutual relevance. Guests do not receive any remuneration or allowances from EFSA. 

In this context, following the Memorandum of Administrative Cooperation with the Austrian Agency 
for Health and Food Safety (AGES) EFSA signed in 2023, one colleague from Austria joined EFSA as 
Guest Scientist by means of the rules laid down in the ‘Decision of the Executive Director on Guest 
Programme at EFSA’ and a mobility opportunity has been opened also for EFSA scientists to join AGES. 
Furthermore, EFSA paved the way to implement mobility opportunities within the guest programme 
with the European University Institute (EUI) and secondment/mission frameworks with the European 
Banking Authority (EBA) as for 2024; other opportunities are currently explored through the HuCap 
SCRUM initiative about external and internal mobility.  

Structural service providers 

All services are procured via dedicated open calls for tenders. All procurement activities are carried 
out in accordance with the following legal provisions. 

•  Basic act: Council Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 (EFSA’s founding regulation). 

•  Financial regulation: Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the 
Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, 
(EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 
283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU Euratom) No 
966/2012 (Title VIII and Annex 1)  

B.  APPRAISAL AND RECLASSIFICATION/PROMOTIONS 

Implementing rules in place: 

TABLE 38. IMPLEMENTING RULES 

 Implementing rules in place:  

Yes 

No 

If no, which other 
implementing rules are in 
place 

Reclassification of TA 

Reclassification of CA 

Model Decision 
C(2015)9560 

Model Decision 
C(2015)9561 

Y 

Y 

EFSA’s  Performance  Management  cycle  is  built  towards  a  fully  integrated  Talent  Management 
approach. Each step contributes to the appropriate development and management of EFSA’s talents, 
which, therefore, influences and positively impacts the performance of the organisation as a whole. 
Talent development and performance management at EFSA take place through continuous dialogue 
between staff and managers providing feedback and looking towards future opportunities.  

EFSA promotes a culture of ongoing feedback throughout the year through the performance dialogue 
exercise, this exercise is initiated with goal setting and development opportunities discussed in Q1, it 
entails  a  mandatory  intermediate  dialogue  also  known  as  the  mid-year  review,  ample  informal 
opportunities for discussion throughout the year and a final formal end-of-year assessment. 

 114 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

The outcome of the 2023 promotion/reclassification exercise resulted in 73 statutory staff members 
being promoted/reclassified, corresponding to 18.9% of eligible staff (386), distributed as follows:  

By Contract Type: 

-  58 Temporary Agents | 19% of total TAs eligible 
-  1 Official | 25% of total OFFs eligible 
-  14 Contract Agents | 18% of total CAs eligible 

By Job Category: 

-  3 Heads of Unit| 25% of total Heads of Unit eligible 
-  6 Team Leaders | 12% of total Team Leaders eligible 
-  7 Senior Officers | 11% of Senior Officers eligible 
-  30 Officers | 18% of total Officers eligible 
-  15 Technical Assistants | 26% of total Technical Assistants eligible 
-  12 Assistants | 34% of total Assistants eligible 

EFSA’s promotion rate increased in the past few years from 13.5% in 2020 to 18.9% in 2023 so as to 
respect the rates indicated in Annex IB of the Staff Regulations as far as possible, bearing in mind 
that  motivation  at  work  is  a  priority  at  EFSA,  promotion/reclassification  is  only  one  of  the  tools  to 
recognise commitment and contribution to EFSA’s success.  

While  EFSA  has  processes  in  place  to  identify  competency  gaps  and  key  learning  needs  which  are 
usually met with internal or external learning solutions or with other informal ways of learning (e.g. 
on the job, through projects etc), there is a need to offer more development tools for key individuals 
who  have  the  capacity  to  progress  in  the  organisation,  being  vertically  or  transversally.  Hence,  a 
proposal  for  developing  EFSA’s  talent  pool  has  been  adopted  and  is  under  implementation.  This 
includes the introduction of two programmes: one focusing on personal leadership development and 
one focusing on technical development. The programme complements the standard learning offer and 
external training opportunities. 

TABLE 39. RECLASSIFICATION OF TA/PROMOTION OF OFFICIALS 

Average seniority in the grade among reclassified staff 

Grades 

Year N-4 
(2020) 

Year N-3 
(2021) 

Year N -2 

(2022) 

Year N-1 
(2023) 

Year N 
(2024) 

AD05 

AD06 

AD07 

AD08 

AD09 

AD10 

AD11 

AD12 

4.00 

6.38 

6.31 

6.73 

5.84 

12.91 

11.72 

6.11 

6.39 

6.17 

5.60 

7.73 

16.76 

4.46 

4.67 

8.12 

9.04 

9.70 

4.84 

18.77 

5.51 

2.17 

5.01 

4.79 

6.37 

6.84 

5.42 

77 average 2019-2023 

 115 

Actual 
average 
over 5 
years*77 

Average 
over 5 years 

(According 
to decision 
C(2015)9563) 

2.8 

2.8 

2.8 

3 

4 

4 

4 

6.7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Average seniority in the grade among reclassified staff 

Grades 

Year N-4 
(2020) 

Year N-3 
(2021) 

Year N -2 

(2022) 

Year N-1 
(2023) 

Year N 
(2024) 

9.14 

4.67 

8.09 

5.37 

5.00 

na 

na 

na 

AD13 

AST1 

AST2 

AST3 

AST4 

AST5 

AST6 

AST7 

AST8 

AST9 

AST10 

(Senior 
assistant) 

AST/SC1 

AST/SC2 

AST/SC3 

AST/SC4 

AST/SC5 

10.77 

10.87 

2.50 

8.84 

7.54 

6.61 

7.42 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

8.85 

5.34 

5.65 

4.00 

18.77 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

TABLE 40.RECLASSIFICATION OF CONTRACT STAFF 

Actual 
average 
over 5 
years*77 

Average 
over 5 years 

(According 
to decision 
C(2015)9563) 

6.7 

3 

3 

3 

3 

4 

4 

4 

4 

N/A 

5 

4 

5 

5.9 

6.7 

8.3 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

na 

Function 
Group 

Grade 

Staff in 
activity at 
1.01.2022  
(N-2) 

How many staff 
members were 
reclassified in 
Year 2023  
(N-1) 

Average number of 
years in grade of 
reclassified staff 
members 

CA IV 

17 

16 

15 

14 

13 

3 

14 

27 

59 

12 

3.59 

11.85 

2.91 

0 

2 

1 

7 

0 

 116 

Average number of 
years in grade of 
reclassified staff 
members according 
to Decision 
C(2015)9561 

Between 6 and 10 
years 

Between 5 and 7 
years 

Between 4 and 6 
years 

Between 3 and 5 
years 

Between 3 and 5 
years 

 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Function 
Group 

Grade 

Staff in 
activity at 
1.01.2022  
(N-2) 

How many staff 
members were 
reclassified in 
Year 2023  
(N-1) 

Average number of 
years in grade of 
reclassified staff 
members 

Average number of 
years in grade of 
reclassified staff 
members according 
to Decision 
C(2015)9561 

11 

10 

9 

8 

7 

6 

5 

4 

2 

1 

CA III 

CA II 

CA I 

1 

2 

6 

2 

2 

9 

6 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

1 

1 

0 

0 

3.34 

2.84 

4 

Between 6 and 10 
years 

Between 5 and 7 
years 

Between 4 and 6 
years 

Between 3 and 5 
years 

n/a 

Between 6 and 10 
years 

Between 5 and 7 
years 

Between 3 and 5 
years 

Between 6 and 10 
years 

Between 3 and 5 
years 

Mobility within EFSA 

In  2023,  11  EFSA  staff  members  changed  their  job  through  internal  mobility,  both  to  respond  to 
business needs and also stemming from staff motivation. Internal moves are processed using Article 
7 of the Staff Regulations. 

In  addition  to  the  11  full-time  moves,  numerous  colleagues  are  collaborating  part-time  on  specific 
projects. 

Career  opportunities  for  internal  staff  arose  from  the  increased  establishment  plan  capacity  (until 
2022). In 2023 12 Contract Agents were successful in external Temporary Agents calls.  

Mobility between Agencies (interagency job market) 

On 6 October 2009, EFSA joined the interagency job market. As with all other Agencies, the basis of 
EFSA’s participation in the interagency job market is to offer staff opportunities for mobility in Agencies 
by  ensuring  the  continuation  of  careers  and  grades.  In  June  2015  EFSA  adopted  the  new  rules  on 
engagement and use of TAs under Article 2(f) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of 
the  European  Union  (CEOS),  and  in  2017  the  Authority  implemented  the  provision  allowing  the 
recruitment of TA staff while ensuring career continuity. In addition, in September 2019 EFSA adopted 
the new rules on the conditions of employment of Contract Agent allowing more favourable conditions 
for mobility o between institutions of Contract Agent staff.  

Mobility between EU Agencies and EU institutions 

Partnerships are an objective in the EFSA Strategy 2027 and have been identified as instrumental 
for achieving, amongst others, cooperation instances that lead to tangible outputs and are part of 
long-term trust-based relations. EFSA sees collaboration as the best effective way to master the 

 117 

 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

complexities of the future. This is naturally to be done in strong partnerships at EU level, with our 
sister agencies and other institutions at EU level, thanks, among others, to the implementation of 
staff exchanges/secondments and in building long term partnerships for mutual benefit.  

In 2023 the Human Capital Services Unit proposed a Staff mobility (secondment/exchange) SCRUM, 
by means of the rules laid down in the Staff Regulations, Articles 37 and 38 and by virtue Article 52 
of the CEOS, to further evolve in this area providing significant benefits to both the organisation and 
staff and to ensure that appropriate cooperation mechanisms are required. 

C.   GENDER REPRESENTATION  

TABLE 41. DATA ON 31/12/2023 /STATUTORY STAFF (ONLY OFFICIALS, AT AND AC) 

Official 

Temporary 

Contract Agents 

Total 

Staff 

% 

Staff 

% 

Staff 

% 

Staff 

% 

Administrator 
level 
Assistant 
level (AST & 
AST/SC) 
Total 

Administrator 
level 
Assistant 
level (AST & 
AST/SC) 
Total 

Female 

Male 

Total 

2 

0 

2 

3 

0 

3 

5 

40.0% 

155 

39.0% 

83 

50.0% 

240 

42.3% 

0.0% 

78 

19.6% 

25 

15.1% 

103 

18.1% 

40.0% 

233 

58.7% 

108 

65.1% 

343 

60.4% 

60.0% 

145 

36.5% 

49 

29.5% 

197 

34.7% 

0.0% 

19 

4.8% 

9 

5.4% 

28 

4.9% 

60.0% 

164 

41.3% 

58 

34.9% 

225 

39.6% 

100.0% 

397 

100.0% 

166 

100.0% 

568 

100.0% 

TABLE 42. DATA REGARDING GENDER EVOLUTION OVER 5 YEARS OF THE MIDDLE AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT78 

2019 

2023 

Number 

% 

Number 

% 

Female Managers 

Male Managers 

9 

15 

37.5% 

62.5% 

9 

15 

37.5% 

62.5% 

The overall gender balance among EFSA’s staff shows female prevalence; this majority is more marked 
among TA/AST staff and CAs.  

With specific reference to the managerial population in 2023, we noted different compositions among 
(a) managers (Executive Director, Heads of Departments and Heads of Units) and (b) Team Leaders: 
(a)  9  women  out  of  24  corresponding  to  37.5%/62.5%;  (b)  33  women  out  of  59  corresponding  to 
56%/44%. The overall gender balance for managerial positions, including Team Leaders, is of 51% 
women/49% men (42 women out of a total managerial population of 83). 

As  a  measure  to  promote  equal  opportunities,  the  terms  of  published  vacancy  notices  prevent  any 
kind of discrimination, and the composition of the selection board is balanced as far as possible. 

(78)   Staff who is defined as middle manager by the applicable General Implementing provisions on middle management. 

 118 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Without prejudice to non-discrimination practices, EFSA will, as much as possible, pursue a gender-
balanced structure for its staff at the time of the appointment of the successful incumbent. 

D.  GEOGRAPHICAL BALANCE 

Explanatory figures to highlight nationalities of staff (split per Administrator/CA FG IV and Assistant 
/CA FG I, II, III)  

TABLE 43. DATA ON 31/12/2023 - STATUTORY STAFF ONLY (OFFICIALS, AT AND AC) 

AD + CA FG IV 

AST/SC- AST + CA FGI/CA 
FGII/CA FGIII 

TOTAL 

Nationality 

Austria 

Belgium 

Bulgaria 

Croatia 

Cyprus 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Estonia 

Finland 

France 

Germany 

Greece 

Hungary 

Ireland 

Italy 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Luxembourg 

Malta 

Netherlands 

Poland 

Portugal 

Romania 

Slovakia 

Slovenia 

Spain 

Sweden 

United Kingdom 

Number 

% of total 
staff members 
in AD and FG 
IV categories 

Number 

10 

27 

2 

5 

0 

1 

1 

0 

1 

28 

19 

34 

6 

6 

1.8% 

4.8% 

0.4% 

0.9% 

0.0% 

0.2% 

0.2% 

0.0% 

0.2% 

4.9% 

3.3% 

6.0% 

1.1% 

1.1% 

1 

8 

3 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

4 

1 

2 

2 

3 

% of total staff 
members in AST 
SC/AST and FG I, 
II and III 
categories 
0.2% 

1.4% 

0.5% 

0.0% 

0.0% 

0.2% 

0.2% 

0.0% 

0.0% 

0.7% 

0.2% 

0.4% 

0.4% 

0.5% 

Number 

% of total 
staff 

11 

35 

5 

5 

0 

2 

2 

0 

1 

32 

20 

36 

8 

9 

1.9% 

6.2% 

0.9% 

0.9% 

0.0% 

0.4% 

0.4% 

0.0% 

0.2% 

5.6% 

3.5% 

6.3% 

1.4% 

1.6% 

201 

35.4% 

82 

14.4% 

283 

49.8% 

0 

0 

2 

0 

5 

8 

14 

8 

3 

0 

51 

1 

4 

0.0% 

0.0% 

0.4% 

0.0% 

0.9% 

1.4% 

2.5% 

1.4% 

0.5% 

0.0% 

9.0% 

0.2% 

0.7% 

0 

1 

0 

1 

0 

3 

3 

3 

2 

0 

8 

0 

2 

0.0% 

0.2% 

0.0% 

0.2% 

0.0% 

0.5% 

0.5% 

0.5% 

0.4% 

0.0% 

1.4% 

0.0% 

0.4% 

0 

1 

2 

1 

5 

11 

17 

11 

5 

0 

59 

1 

6 

0.0% 

0.2% 

0.4% 

0.2% 

0.9% 

1.9% 

3.0% 

1.9% 

0.9% 

0.0% 

10.4% 

0.2% 

1.1% 

TOTAL 

437 

76.9% 

131 

23.1% 

568 

100% 

TABLE 44. EVOLUTION OVER 5 YEARS OF THE MOST REPRESENTED NATIONALITY IN THE AGENCY 

Most represented nationality 

2019 

2023 

 119 

 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Number 

% 

Number 

% 

Italy 

204 

46.3% 

283 

49.8% 

E.   SCHOOLING 

EFSA considers schooling to be an essential part of its staff policy. For this purpose a European School 
type  II  (Scuola  per  l’Europa)  was  established  in  2004  and  accredited  in  2008  under  the  European 
Schools system. The new school facilities were completed in 2017 and opened at the occasion of the 
start of the 2017-2018 school year.  

A  contribution  to  the  EU-accredited  European  School  in  Parma  worth  around  EUR  1.78  million  was 
paid  from  EFSA’s  2023  budget  for  the  2023-2024  school  year.  At  the  beginning  of  the  school  year 
2023-2024, 196 EFSA pupils - out of a total 752 pupils - were enrolled at the "Scuola per l’Europa” in 
Parma.. 

TABLE 45. SCHOOLING 

Agreement in place with the European School of Parma 

Contribution agreements signed with the EC on type I European 
schools 

Yes 

No 

x 

Contribution agreements signed with the EC on type II European 
schools 

Yes 

x 

No 

Number of service contracts in place with international schools: 

n/a 

Description of any other solutions or actions in place: Procurement contract for 5 Early Childhood Day-
care Centres in cascade in Parma Area 

 120 

 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

ANNEX VI. ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT 
EFSA is ISO 14001 certified since 2016 and EMAS registered since 2017. By sharing the fundamental 
value of sustainable development, EFSA has adopted a way of managing its activities based on the 
principle of sharing responsibilities to the environment, in accordance with the EMAS regulation. As 
an integral part of the Integrated Management System (IMS), EFSA regularly communicates the 
environmental effects of its business, implements its environmental policy and plans actions to 
improve its environmental performance.  

From the design phase of the building, many solutions have been adopted to minimise 
environmental impacts, such as energy and water consumption. The building is thermally insulated 
and has the following systems: 

• 

• 
• 
• 

a geothermal heat pump and a solar thermal system for the self-production of thermal 
energy from renewable sources (in the case of this thermal energy is not sufficient, it is 
supplemented by the thermal energy purchased by the city's district heating network);   
two photovoltaic systems that produce  electric energy; 
technological solutions to contain energy consumption due to air conditioning; 
rainwater collection for toilets flushes and irrigation, to reduce the use of high-quality water if 
not necessary. 

ACTIVITIES AIMED AT IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE 

Best environmental practices 

EFSA has implemented some best environmental practices for sustainable offices to improve 
environmental performance related to consumption, as indicated by the decision (EU) 2019/61. 

EFSA reduces the environmental impacts due to energy and water consumption by the 
implementation of some best practices for sustainable offices that include: 

•  energy certification of the building (energy class "A”); 

•  monthly monitoring of specific energy and water consumption, thanks to the installation of 

partial meters that permit to measure the consumption due to different uses and the amount 
of energy and water coming from the different sources; 

•  analysis of monitored data to identify anomalies and/or actions to improve environmental 

performance. 

To reduce water consumption, in addition to the rainwater recovery system, there are water-
reduction systems in the toilets consisting of electronic taps with photocell sensors, which 
automatically interrupt the flow of water when your hands are removed from the tap. 

Electricity consumption 

Regarding electricity consumption, in 2019 EFSA signed a power supply contract with a "green 
option" to purchase electricity produced exclusively from renewable sources.  

The contract stipulates that EFSA can request the supply of electricity produced from renewable 
sources at the time the service request is issued. Since 2020, all electricity used in EFSA comes 
exclusively from renewable sources. This objective has been renewed until 2026. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

In the previous year, a number of specific actions were also taken to reduce electricity consumption 
in the building: 

- optimisation of settings in manual and automatic mode for lights in common areas; 

- meeting room screens put on stand-by mode in the evening and switched on again in the morning; 

- panel screens for internal communication in the corridors and common areas put in stand-by mode 
from 17:30 to 8:30 instead of 19:30 to 8:30; 

- four of the five monitors used for internal communication in the canteen switched off. 

Through the use of electricity from renewable sources, the environmental impact of the greenhouse 
effect from CO2 generated by the production of electricity through fuel sources has been eliminated. 

In 2023, an energy diagnosis was carried out to analyse in detail all the building's energy 
consumption, check the efficiency of the systems and identify possible measures to improve 
consumption, both at plant and management level. 

Internal communication on environmental  issues 

 In order to disseminate information about EFSA's environmental management and raise staff 
awareness about environmental sustainability, an internal mini-site called ThinkGreenThinkEMAS 
was created. The mini-site publishes information about EMAS registration and some tips for leading 
a green life. 

Organization of events 

For health reasons, the Covid 19 pandemic forced the organisation of events remotely. 

Since then, it has become normal to participate in events by videoconferencing. The renewal of the 
EFSA meeting rooms with simultaneous improvement of the audio and video systems allows to 
guarantee an excellent quality of the connection remotely: for this reason now participants can 
freely choose whether to take part in the meetings physically or not. Meetings and events can 
therefore be held in presence, by videoconferencing or by hybrid mode (part in presence and part in 
videoconferencing), depending on the choice of participants. 

This allows for a reduction in environmental impacts due to the travel of experts and meeting 
participants. 

Greenhouse gas emissions 

Climate change is one of the most important challenges that organizations, governments and 
citizens will have to face in the coming decades. Climate change affects both natural systems and 
human socio-economic systems and it influences the future approach to the use of resources, the 
implementation of production processes and the performance of human economic ativities. The most 
important greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2), that is generated by the oxidation of carbon 
mainly for combustion use. 

EFSA carried out its carbon footprint assessment with reference to the Greenhouse gas Protocol 
Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, in order to have the necessary knowledge to make 
decisions on how to reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions generated by all its activities. 

Green procurement 

EFSA support services are entrusted to suppliers selected through calls for tender.  

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Decision (EU) N. 2019/61 on best environmental management practices in public administration 
suggests that environmental criteria should be included in public procurement for the purchase of 
products or services. Criteria may include ISO 14001 environmental certification, EMAS registration, 
or the use of materials and products with low environmental impact or that have obtained 
environmental product certifications. 

Environmental criteria have been introduced in the following calls for proposals: 

canteen, catering and bar service; 

• 
•  maintenance service; 
cleaning service; 
• 
•  organisational and logistical services; 
• 
•  building management (civil and plant engineering). 

security and guard service; 

In 2023, as a result of further improvement objectives, environmental criteria were also included in 
the call for tenders for shuttle service activities - that consider the option of carpooling and the use 
of low-emission hybrid vehicles - and in the call for tenders for the service activity of the travel 
agency. 

Garden revamping 

The renovation of the garden has the following aims: 

• 
• 

• 
• 

creation of a dedicated area for pollinating insects; 
laying of a turf with a good tolerance to drought in order to reduce water consumption due to 
irrigation and planting of trees and shrubs with maintenance of the naturalistic belt currently 
present on the western border; 
redesign of the irrigation system aimed at saving water; 
improving the visual impact of the building and wellbeing.  

The activity is in progress and will be completed in 2024. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

ANNEX VII. BUILDING POLICY  

1. 

CURRENT BUILDING 

TABLE 46. CURRENT BUILDING. 

SURFACE AREA (in m²) 

RENTAL CONTRACT 

# 

Building Name 
and type 

Location 

Office 
space 
sqm 

Non- 
office 
sqm 

Total 
sqm 

RENT (€/year) 

Duration 
of the 
contract 

Type 

Breakout 
clause 

Y/N 

Conditions 
attached 
to the 
breakout 
clause 
(if 
applicable) 

Host 
country 
(grant 
or 
support) 

1  EFSA seat 

Parma 

14,200 

13,300 

27,500 

EFSA 
representative 
office 

Shared Services 
Office 

2 

3 

Brussels 

36 

NA 

36 

Brussels 

54 

NA 

54 

EFSA seat was 
acquired on 
19.12.2011 

41,226, all services 
included 

52,022, all services 
included 

TOTAL 

14,290  13,300  27,590 

123,207 

NA 

NA 

NA 

NA 

NO 

1 year 

Renewable 

NA 

NA 

NO 

4 years 

Renewable 

NA 

NA 

NO 

BUILDING PROJECTS IN THE PLANNING PHASE 

2. 
Through the building revamp project EFSA is optimizing the building spaces to facilitate hybrid working modalities(onsite and homeworking). 
This entails mainly the creation of increased collaboration zones,  quiet and confidential spaces for tele-meetings and the renovated garden 
to enhance wellbeing and provide additional informal working spaces. The building revamp project covers 3 years, it has been launched in 
2023 and it is expected to be completed by end of 2025.  

BUILDING PROJECTS SUBMITTED TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

3. 
Not applicable. 

 124 

 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

ANNEX VIII. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES 
TABLE 47. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES. 

Agency privileges 

Protocol of privileges and immunities/diplomatic 
status 

Education/day 
care 

Privileges granted to staff 

In the seat agreement, the Italian 
government committed to applying to the 
Authority the privileges and immunities 
provided for in the Protocol on the 
Privileges and Immunities of the European 
Communities, signed in Brussels on 8 April 
1965 

The Authority, its assets and funds, 
wherever they may be, are immune — 
during the performance of their official 
activities — from any form of legal 
proceedings and are not the subject of any 
administrative or legal measure of 
constraint 

The premises and the buildings used by the 
Authority, as well as the archives, are 
inviolable 

The executive director of the Authority and members of 
the senior management team, their spouses and 
dependent family members are granted the privileges and 
immunities, facilities and concessions that are granted by 
the Italian government to members of equivalent rank in 
the diplomatic corps in Italy 

Staff are exempt from national taxes on salaries, wages 
and emoluments paid by the Authority 

Staff are immune from legal proceedings in respect of acts 
performed by them in the exercise of their official duties 

The Authority, its funds, assets and income 
are, within the limits of their official 
activities, exempt from all the taxes and 
direct duties due to the state, regions, 
provinces and municipalities 

Staff are, in respect of exchange regulations, accorded the 
same facilities as those accorded to officials of equal rank 
on foreign diplomatic missions in Italy and receive the 
same assistance with repatriation as is granted to 
diplomats in the event of international crises 

Staff benefit, within a period of 2 years starting from the 
official move of the Authority to its permanent seat or 
appointment by the Authority, whichever is later, from a 
tax installation benefit — VAT exemption — on the 
purchase of furniture and other household goods 
necessary for their installation 

Members of staff who are not permanent residents in Italy 
on taking up their functions with the Authority, or staff 
members employed by the Authority prior to the move to 
Parma, may acquire one motor vehicle duty and tax free 
during their period of residence in Italy; the vehicle is 
registered in a special series 

The Authority is exempt from VAT for 
substantial purchases of goods and 
services relating to its official tasks and the 
exercise of its duties 

The Authority is exempt from any customs 
duty, tax, prohibition or restriction on 
goods of any type imported or exported in 
the exercise of its own official activities 

The Authority is exempt from taxes, duties 
and any other fees, as well as from any 
prohibition or restriction on importing 
vehicles intended ‘for official activities’ and 
on the relevant spare parts 

 125 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

ANNEX IX. EVALUATIONS 

EFSA strategy 2027: mid-term review  

▪ 
Internal  ex-ante  and  ex-post  evaluations  of  projects  encompass  a  continuous 
assessment of development initiatives according to a defined set of parameters, providing a 
solid  evidence  base  to  drive  decisions  and  contribute  to  optimising  the  use  of  resources  to 
ensure efficiency, effectiveness and the best value for taxpayers’ money.   
▪ 
A mid-term strategy review is envisaged to take place in 2024 to be presented at the MB of 
December  2024.  This  evaluation  will  be  conducted  internally  and  will  look  at  the  changing 
context as well as the progress made in the implementation of the EFSA Strategy 2027; this 
will include the status of implementation of the TR measures, focusing primarily on processes 
and  tools.    It  will  also  serve  as  preparation  to  the  EFSA  External  Evaluation  that  will  be 
conducted by the EC by March 2026. 
▪ 
EFSA Networks evaluation  
As  foreseen  in  the  “Decision  of  the  Management  Board  concerning  the  establishment  and 
operation  of  European  Networks  of  scientific  organisations  operating  in  the  fields  within  the 
Authority’s mission” (link) of 25 June 2021, “EFSA shall evaluate the work of each network at 
least  every  three  years  beginning  of  2021”.  In  compliance  with  the  above-mentioned  MB 
decision, the first evaluation of EFSA’s networks is planned to be conducted throughout 2024. A 
tender “Evaluation of the EFSA networks” was launched and a specific contract  signed year-
end 2023. The aim of this Evaluation is to provide a sound basis to the Advisory Forum and 
the  Management  Board  to  decide  on  the  possible  continuation  or  discontinuation  of  each 
network or sub-group. In particular, each network and sub-group will be analysed to ensure 
that they satisfy the overarching objectives outlined in Art.2 of the Decision.  
The 4th EFSA external evaluation, to be carried out by the EC, is planned to be kicked 
▪ 
off  in  2024  and  finalised  by  March  2026  with  the  recommendations  to  be  translated  into 
legislative proposals.  

Follow-up actions and recommendations from internal evaluations (ex-ante project charters and ex-
post project closing reports) as well as external evaluations are captured in EFSA’s continuous Plan-
Do-Check-Act cycle.  

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

ANNEX X. STRATEGY FOR THE ORGANISATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND INTERNAL 
CONTROL SYSTEMS 

EFSA’S INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND CONTROL ENVIRONMENT 

EFSA has put in place an Integrated Management System (IMS), which provides a structured framework for ensuring that the 
organisation is meeting its intended objectives. The IMS addresses the requirements and provisions of EU legislation and international 
standards, and particularly the Financial and Staff regulations, the EFSA Founding regulation, the COSO Internal Control Framework and 
the ISO management standards.  

This IMS is comprised of the following key components i) the overarching governance and decision making, and the three management 
objectives of ii) legality and regularity against legislation and standards, iii) quality and performance, against customer and stakeholder 
expectations and iv) safety and security of people, the environment and assets. The effective management of these components requires 
the organisation to have a number of checks and controls that together constitute EFSA’s Control Environment, which can be clustered as 
follows: process controls, external/internal evaluations, external and internal ISO audits, external EU audits (ECA/IAS) and the internal 
control monitoring criteria (a snapshot of which is shown on the table below).  

EFSA’s control environment allows us, amongst other things, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of five 
objectives set out in Article 30 of the EFSA Financial Regulation: (i) effectiveness, efficiency and economy of operations; (ii) reliability of 
reporting; (iii) safeguarding of assets and information; (iv) prevention, detection, correction and follow-up of fraud and irregularities; and 
(v) adequate management of risks relating to the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions. 

TABLE 48. INTERNAL CONTROL MONITORING CRITERIA. 

INTERNAL CONTROL 
PRINCIPLE 

MONITORING CRITERIA 

BASELINE 
2021 

ACTUAL 
2022 

TARGET 
2023 

TARGET 
2024 

1. EFSA DEMONSTRATES A 
COMMITMENT TO INTEGRITY AND 
ETHICAL VALUES. 

2. THE MANAGEMENT BOARD 
DEMONSTRATES INDEPENDENCE 
FROM MANAGEMENT 
AND EXERCISES OVERSIGHT OF 
THE DEVELOPMENT AND 
PERFORMANCE OF INTERNAL 
CONTROL THROUGH THE AUDIT 
COMMITTEE MONITORING 

CONTROL ENVIRONMENT 

Overall staff satisfaction in the following area: 
- Staff engagement survey questions related to 
management leading by example  
% of EFSA staff participating in mandatory training 
on ethics and integrity. 
Average # of findings resulting from veracity checks 
over total 
(Y/N) European Court of Auditors clean audit 
opinions on reliability of accounts and legality & 
regularity. 
New ‘critical’ and ‘very important’ audit findings 
issued by the European Court of Auditors and the 
Internal Audit Services during reporting year. 
Number of non-compliances (major/minor) from ISO 
auditing body against EFSA’s various ISO 

 127 

59% (Staff 
engagement 
survey 2019) 
100% 

0 

Yes 

2 

5 

67.50% 

>67.5% 

>67.5% 

94% 

0 

Yes 

2 

0 

≥94% 

≥95% 

0 

Yes 

<5 

<10 

0 

Yes 

<5 

<8 

 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

INTERNAL CONTROL 
PRINCIPLE 

ASSURANCE ACTIVITIES, AUDIT 
RESULTS AND THE OUTCOME OF 
THE DISCHARGE PROCEDURE. 

3. MANAGEMENT ESTABLISHES, 
WITH OVER-SIGHT, STRUCTURES, 
REPORTING LINES 
AND APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES 
AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE 
PURSUIT OF OBJECTIVES. 

4. EFSA DEMONSTRATES A 
COMMITMENT TO ATTRACT, 
DEVELOP AND RETAIN 
COMPETENT INDIVIDUALS IN 
ALIGNMENT WITH OBJECTIVES 

5. EFSA HOLDS INDIVIDUALS 
ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR 
INTERNAL CONTROL 
RESPONSIBILITIES IN 
THE PURSUIT OF OBJECTIVES. 

6. EFSA SPECIFIES OBJECTIVES 
WITH SUFFICIENT CLARITY TO 
ENABLE THE IDENTIFICATION 
AND ASSESSMENT OF RISKS 
RELATING TO OBJECTIVES. 

MONITORING CRITERIA 

certifications (9001 Quality Management, 22301 
Business Continuity, 45001 Occupational Health and 
Safety, 14001 Environmental Management) and 
EMAS 
(Y/N) EFSA's MB formally endorses the main 
planning and reporting documents (SPD, AAR). 
(Y/N) Regular reporting to the MB on the IMS 
findings and activities (including audit outcomes) 
(Y/N) Discharge granted and discharge 
recommendations on track. 
(Y/N) EFSA has defined and it’s implementing its 
Accountability Policy.  
(Y/N) Financial circuits: Roles and tasks are clearly 
defined and documented. 
(Y/N) EFSA has defined and it’s implementing its 
Decision-Making Framework. 

Overall staff satisfaction in the following area: 

- Staff engagement survey questions related to 
discussions on career development (e.g career 
aspirations, learning needs, involvement in projects, 
etc.) 
Occupancy rate 

% of learning needs covered by the annual learning 
offer  
Overall staff satisfaction in the following area:  

- Staff engagement survey questions related to 
accountability at work 
(Y/N) Individual job profiles/objectives are clearly 
defined, and are discussed performance dialogue 

% of KPIs and Process metrics measured over total 
applicable 

RISK ASSESSMENT 

(Y/N) EFSA reports on risks related to the 
achievement of objectives at process, project and 
corporate level (as evidenced in the process and 
project charters, in the SPD, and CAAR, and in the 
quarterly reporting at workplan and performance 
reports level) 

 128 

BASELINE 
2021 

ACTUAL 
2022 

TARGET 
2023 

TARGET 
2024 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Roll out on track 

Yes 

Roll out 
framework   on 
track 
68% (Staff 
engagement 
Survey 2019) 

93.50% 

80% 

55% (Staff 
engagement 
Survey 2019) 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

 Roll out on 
track 
Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

72% 

≥72% 

≥72% 

92.20% 

95% 

88% 

95% 

≥95% 

≥88% 

97% 

≥95% 

≥88% 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

- 

96% 

≥96% 

≥96% 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

INTERNAL CONTROL 
PRINCIPLE 
7. EFSA IDENTIFIES RISKS TO THE 
ACHIEVEMENT OF ITS OBJECTIVES 
ACROSS THE ORGANISATION AND 
ANALYSES RISKS AS A BASIS FOR 
DETERMINING HOW THE RISKS 
SHOULD BE MANAGED. 

8.EFSA CONSIDERS THE POTENTIAL 
FOR FRAUD IN ASSESSING RISKS 
TO THE ACHIEVEMENT 
OF OBJECTIVES. 
9.EFSA IDENTIFIES AND ASSESSES 
CHANGES THAT COULD 
SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT THE 
INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEM. 

10.EFSA SELECTS AND DEVELOPS 
CONTROL ACTIVITIES THAT 
CONTRIBUTE TO THE MITIGATION 
OF RISKS TO THE ACHIEVEMENT OF 
OBJECTIVES TO ACCEPTABLE 
LEVELS 

11. EFSA SELECTS AND DEVELOPS 
GENERAL CONTROL ACTIVITIES 
OVER TECHNOLOGY TO 
SUPPORT THE ACHIEVEMENT OF 
OBJECTIVES. 

12. EFSA DEPLOYS CONTROL 
ACTIVITIES THROUGH CORPORATE 
POLICIES THAT ESTABLISH WHAT 
IS EXPECTED AND IN PROCEDURES 
THAT PUT POLICIES INTO ACTION. 

MONITORING CRITERIA 

(Y/N) Risk management is embedded in the process 
management methodology and is integrated in both 
the corporate level analysis and in EFSA’s 
annual planning cycle.  

(Y/N) EFSA has an up-to-date anti-fraud strategy in 
accordance with the European Anti-Fraud Office 
methodology and guidance, that foresees fraud as a 
corporate risk that is reviewed and assessed annually  
(Y/N) EFSA processes are reviewed at least 
once/year, and validated by the relevant actors, as 
part of the planning cycle 
(Y/N) EFSA performs an annual review of the 
changing external and internal context and assesses 
their implications on its internal control system 

CONTROL ACTIVITIES 

(Y/N) EFSA updates its control activities annually in 
line with the evolution of its risk map  
(Y/N) EFSA has defined and implements a 
performance framework at the level of strategy and 
operations 
(Y/N) Evaluations performed as per Financial 
Regulations and implementation recommendations 
on track. 
(Y/N) EFSA has a Business Continuity Plan supported 
by an updated Business Impact Analysis 
defining dependencies and recovery time objectives 
for IT systems. 
(Y/N) Control activities over technology are in place 
(IT roadmap, IT plan) 
(Y/N) Targeted governance is in place for overseeing 
the performance of technology – 
Accountability/Preparedness  Council 
(Y/N) Indicators are in place to measure the 
satisfaction on technology 
Number of non-conformities/financial & non-financial 
exceptions/financial impact 

BASELINE 
2021 
Yes 

ACTUAL 
2022 
Yes 

TARGET 
2023 
Yes 

TARGET 
2024 
Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

- 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Under 
development 

YES 

<than 120/ 
<than 90/ 
no more than 
EUR 150K 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

41 non-
conformities 
30 exceptions 
Financial 
impact: 
859.928€ 
Roll out of new 
hierarchy 

<than120/<tha
n90/no 
more than 
EUR 150K 

<than120/<th
an90/no 
more than 
EUR 150K 

Yes 

Yes 

(Y/N) EFSA has defined a Hierarchy of Documents 
which is maintained and reviewed annually 

- 

 129 

 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

INTERNAL CONTROL 
PRINCIPLE 

MONITORING CRITERIA 

BASELINE 
2021 

ACTUAL 
2022 

TARGET 
2023 

TARGET 
2024 

13. EFSA OBTAINS OR GENERATES 
AND USES RELEVANT 
QUALITY INFORMATION TO 
SUPPORT THE FUNCTIONING OF 
INTERNAL CONTROL. 
14. EFSA INTERNALLY 
COMMUNICATES INFORMATION, 
INCLUDING OBJECTIVES AND 
RESPONSIBILITIES FOR INTERNAL 
CONTROL, NECESSARY TO SUPPORT 
THE FUNCTIONING OF INTERNAL 
CONTROL. 
15. EFSA COMMUNICATES WITH 
EXTERNAL PARTIES ABOUT 
MATTERS AFFECTING THE 
FUNCTIONING OF INTERNAL 
CONTROL. 

16. EFSA SELECTS, DEVELOPS AND 
PERFORMS ONGOING 
AND/OR SEPARATE ASSESSMENTS 
TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER THE 
COMPONENTS OF INTERNAL 
CONTROL ARE PRESENT AND 
FUNCTIONING. 

17. EFSA ASSESSES AND 
COMMUNICATES INTERNAL 
CONTROL DEFICIENCIES IN A TIMELY 
MANNER TO THOSE PARTIES 
RESPONSIBLE FOR TAKING 
CORRECTIVE ACTION, INCLUDING 
SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND 
THE MANAGEMENT BOARD, AS 
APPROPRIATE. 

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION 

(Y/N) EFSA adopted and implements the Information 
Management Policy defining its approach to 
information management and security.  

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

(Y/N) Objectives and results of internal control are 
communicated through annual IMS review to senior 
management and all staff via the Quality Circle.  
(Y/N) Existence of the whistleblowing, harassment 
and disciplinary procedures 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

(Y/N) EFSA publishes its Annual Report with a 
dedicated chapter on the assessment of the 
internal control systems in EFSA.  

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

MONITORING ACTIVITIES 

(Y/N) The SPD provides the overview of risks, ICMC 
and audit plans. 
(Y/N) Annual IMS review successfully completed  

(Y/N) Completion of all planned internal and external 
audits  
% of authorizing officers that have followed the 
mandatory training on the Internal 
Control Framework, and thus are aware of their 
responsibilities/accountability towards it 

(Y/N) Outcomes of (internal/external/ISO 
certification) audits and the state of play of all 
outstanding recommendations are presented and 
discussed with the Accountability Council during the 
IMS planning and review phases (and ad hoc as 
necessary) and presented to the Audit Committee of 
the EFSA Management Board twice a year. 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

100% 

100% 

100% 

100% 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

RISK MANAGEMENT AT EFSA 

Risk  management  is  a  continuous,  proactive  and  systematic  process  of  identifying,  assessing  and  managing  risks  that  could  affect  the 
execution of EFSA's activities and the achievement of its objectives. The intensity of mitigating actions and controls should be proportionate 
to the significance of the risk. As part of EFSA’s planning cycle, risks and mitigating actions are identified at the process level and captured 
in the EPA process templates. These are complemented by a top-down view of corporate risks, with insights stemming also from the peer 
review  exercise  within  the  relevant  policy  cluster  of  agencies  and  commission  services.  The  critical  and  cross-cutting  risks  that  could 
potentially impact the achievement of EFSA’s objectives, and respective mitigating actions and controls that reduce the risks to acceptable 
levels, are outlined in the table below. 

TABLE 49. RISKS AND MITIGATING ACTIONS. 

Objective 

Risk Description 

Likelihood  
[1 – 5] 

Impact  
[1 – 5] 

Mitigating actions 

Risk type 

SO1 to SO3 

All EPA processes 

2.3 
Confidentiality assessme
nt 

Transparency Regulation, 
Confidentiality assessment
Inadequate finalisation of the 
implementation of the Transparency 
Regulation to ensure 
more transparency and sustainability, 
more reliability and independence of 
studies, better governance, and more 
effective risk communication. 
Risk that the confidentiality 
process  results in an unsustainable 
high cost in time and effort. Efforts 
to  mitigate the above may put at risk 
meeting  TR and related quality 
expectations.  

The implementation of the measures identified 
through the EFSA transparency and 
engagement initiative will continue with the roll-
out of additional measures focusing, among other 
things, on enhancing engagement with 
stakeholders during different steps of the RA 
process such as the protocol development; the 
proactive release of evidence used in RA in a 
readable/reusable format; and 
increasing transparency on how and why 
methods and data were/were not used plus the 
increasing use of crowdsourcing an citizen 
science to inform the risk assessments. With the 
Risk Assessment Enhancement  project (RASE), 
EFSA put in place a revised framework for the 
improvement of the IT landscape for the 
implementation of the Transparency Regulation. 
Additional measures are being undertaken 
including the assignment of additional resources 
to confidentiality assessment and content 
sanitization, the completion of the integration 
between the confidentiality assessment workflow 
and IUCLID, the review of 
confidentiality standards in view of proportionality 
and sustainability as well as new organizational 
solutions. The EFSA mid-term strategy review will 
include an internal assessment of the TR 

1. Risks 
related to the 
external envi
ronment 

3 - 
Moderate 

4 - 
Severe 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Objective 

Risk Description 

Likelihood  
[1 – 5] 

Impact  
[1 – 5] 

Mitigating actions 

Risk type 

SO1 to SO3 

11 Staff and 
Expert Management 

6.4 Capacity Building 

7.1 Partnerships 

7.3 Strategic engagement 

12.1 Strategy, 
planning and analysis 

E2E risk assessment 

SO1 

E2E Science 

Scientific Expertise and capacity 
Inadequate selection and/or talent 
management of scientific experts and 
staff may have an impact 
on achieving  quality of scientific 
outputs due to a lack of required 
competences and expertise, 
and geographical balance. 
Inadequate resourcing of new 
tasks/increased volume of work 
The transition to the new Panel in 
2024 is expected to have a transitory 
impact on the productivity of scientific 
production.  
The new partnership model with 
Member States is a pillar for the 
resource  “sustainability” of EFSA. 
The novelty and complexity may result 
in delayed results in terms of boosting 
EFSA’s capacity and output 
The expected increased productivity of 
the EU food ecosystem  through 
digitalisation is proving to be 
an expensive, complex  and long term 
endeavour 

Speed of risk assessment 

Delays in the effectiveness of the new 
risk assessment partnership approach 
with Members States resulting in a 
delay in achieving relevant 
improvements in throughput time, 
volume and stock of scientific 
questions. 

4 - High 

4 - 
Severe 

measures implementation 

EFSA developed a comprehensive approach to 
coordinate planning, sourcing, selection and 
competency management for staff and experts. 
There are guidelines to govern the process of 
selection of external experts. EFSA staff policies 
and guidelines are laid down in respective 
implementing rules and serve as terms of 
reference for all actions and decisions regarding 
human resources management. 
EFSA, together with DG SANTE is following 
developments of the new legislative proposals 
and financial fiches; moreover, they ensure a 
close cooperation to discuss fluctuations in 
workload and changing priorities 
An extensive onboarding programme for the new 
Panel members is under preparation to ensure 
a smooth transition. 
Increased resources (budget and FTEs) in co-
developing with Member States partnership 
grant agreements 
EFSA is defining a short- and longer-term 
ambition in terms of digital partnerships  within 
the EU food ecosystem. In parallel it is continuing 
to investing in a dedicated L&D scheme for its 
staff on “beyond digital” 

3. Risks 
related to 
people 
and the 
organisation 

3 – 
Moderate 

3 – 
Serious 

In addition to the actions aimed at increasing 
capacity (partnerships with Member States, Panel 
system review), EFSA is carrying out a detailed 
root cause analysis to identify the main causes of 
delays  in its E2E risk assessment process 
and define follow up improvement actions for the 
period 2024 onwards.   

2. Risks 
related to 
planning, pro
cesses and 
systems 

SO1 

Quality of risk assessment 

2 -  Low 

4 - 
Severe 

EFSA is safeguarding quality via regular 
exchanges with the risk managers and 

2. Risks 
related to 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Objective 

Risk Description 

Likelihood  
[1 – 5] 

Impact  
[1 – 5] 

Mitigating actions 

Risk type 

E2E Science 

Quality of EFSA scientific advice is a 
current strength. The changing 
operating model and the pressure to 
improve the speed of risk assessment 
and reduce the stock of 
questions, among other factors, could 
have implications on quality attributes, 
such as   meeting legal deadlines, and 
maintaining fit for 
purpose scientific guidances.  

SO2 

 4.1 
E2E Generic Mandates 

7.6   
Coordinated comm. 
development 

Crisis Preparedness & Response 

Inadequate preparation to respond 
to situations requiring urgent advice 
may have an impact on the quality 
and efficiency of crisis response. 

3 - 
Moderate 

3 - 
Serious 

stakeholders, dedicated customer 
and stakeholder feedback mechanisms, the 
strengthened “mandate dialogue” exercise with 
DG SANTE. 

planning, pro
cesses and 
systems 

The root cause analysis to improve the speed of 
risk assessment is focusing on actions to 
maintain and improve quality, such as reducing 
re-work, including in the exchanges with 
applicants. 

EFSA organizes crisis preparedness trainings on a 
regular basis and participates in crisis 
preparedness events organized by others to 
improve incident response collaboration 
between public health authorities from multiple 
countries and to plan and practice EFSA’s 
management of risk communication, 
in conjunction with other European bodies, during 
a joint urgent response to a multi-country animal 
health/public health outbreak. 

1. Risks 
related to 
the external 
environment 

SO2 

13.2 
Transformation Impleme
ntation and Programmes 

Readiness for regulatory and 
scientific developments 

Inadequate preparation to be able to 
carry out a risk 
assessment  addressing 
new regulatory requirements or 
relevant scientific developments. 
The  evolution of policy developments 
to regulatory changes (e.g. on 
CSS/OSOA, GMO,FCM, Farm to fork 
strategy)  affect the tasks assigned to 
EFSA as well as EFSAs operations and 
underlying resource needs. The 
parallel evolution of 
scientific advancements with 
implications on the scientific risk 
assessment approaches 

3 - 
Moderate 

3 - 
Serious 

EFSA has strengthened its capability in managing 
preparedness via a set of new processes including 
environment scanning, capacity building  and a set 
of three programmes implementing development 
projects, and the set-up of the Preparedness 
Council. Under its Strategic planning process, EFSA 
is strengthening the approach to manage the 
planning and monitoring of new capability 
development under the three strategi 
transformation priorities. 

2. Risks 
related to 
planning, pro
cesses and 
systems 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Objective 

Risk Description 

Likelihood  
[1 – 5] 

Impact  
[1 – 5] 

Mitigating actions 

Risk type 

SO3 

All EPA processes 

SO3 

10 Grants, Procurement 
and Contract 
Management 

SO3 
11.4 Competing Interest 
Management 

Fraud consideration 

EFSA considers possible 
incentives, pressures, opportunities 
and attitudes which may lead to any 
type of fraud, notably fraudulent 
reporting, loss of assets, disclosure of 
sensitive information and corruption. 

Grants & Procurement 

Inadequate grants and 
procurement management may lead to 
noncompliant grants and procurement 
procedures and/or failure to obtain 
value for money. 

The continuing increase in grants 
and procurements expenditure since 
2022 may put pressure on maintaining 
sufficient control activities. 

Independence 

Inadequate conflict of 
interest management for staff and 
experts may lead to the involvement 
of staff and experts in a potential 
conflict of interest situation, which 
may - in reality or perception - 
affect their independence and 
influences their opinion 

2 - Low 

2 - 
Significa
nt 

EFSA set up and implemented measures to 
counter fraud and any illegal activities affecting 
the interests of the EFSA by putting in place a 
sound anti-fraud strategy and implementing rules 
to improve the prevention, detection and 
conditions for investigating fraud, and to set out 
reparation and deterrence actions, with 
proportionate and dissuasive measures. 

4. Risks 
related to 
legality and 
regularity 
aspects 

EFSA grants and procurement policies and 
guidelines are defined and serve as terms of 
reference for all actions and decisions regarding 
grants and procurement management. EFSA 
organises dedicated trainings on grants and 
procurement processes. Risk-based control 
activities are in place for grant agreements, 
procurement procedures and mass payments, 
updated in 2022. Annual financial, legality and 
regularity audits are performed by the European 
Court of Auditors. 

The EFSA Independence Policy provides a clear 
framework for the way in which the Authority 
manages the interests of its scientific experts 
and others with whom it works in the course of 
its activities. There are processes and guidelines 
that detail how to declare, assess and publish 
relevant interests. A committee on conflict of 
interest advises on issues related to competing 
interests. A mandatory training on ethics and 
integrity is in place. Annual compliance and 
veracity checks are carried out by EFSA on a 
sample of declarations of interest. 

An external evaluation of the EFSA independence 
policy took place in  2023 which l provides 
insights on any weaknesses that  need to 
be followed up. 

4. Risks 
related to 
legality and 
regularity 
aspects 

3. Risks 
related to 
people and 
the 
organisation 

2 - Low 

2 - 
Significa
nt 

3 - 

Moderat
e 

3 - 
Serious 

 134 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Objective 

Risk Description 

Likelihood  
[1 – 5] 

Impact  
[1 – 5] 

Mitigating actions 

Risk type 

SO3 

12.1 Strategy, planning 
and analysis 

Inflation 

The impact of the 
significant macroeconomic uncertainty 
in a new geopolitical landscape with 
high cost of living and energy, could 
result in  inadequate funds for 
operations, need to re-direct resources 
to address the effects of the high 
inflation.  

SO3 

12.4 Security 
Management 

IT Security & Data Protection 

Due to the everchanging cyber-
security landscape, there is a risk od 
the use of AI and machine learning 
and of external cyber-attacks leading 
to potential operational damage, loss 
of data, unauthorized disclosure of 
information, breach of GDPR and 
consequently reputational damage. 

Inadequate preparation to be ready for 
the enhanced requirements of the 
new cybersecurity regulation expected 
to be adopted by the EU Institutions in 
2023 and  in force within 18 months 

EFSA has put in place a strengthened forecasting 
and more flexible planning with frequent updates, 
leveraged by  more robust preparedness for 
prioritisation exercises in all areas of EFSA’s 
work.  

3 - 

Moderat
e 

3 - 
Serious 

In the context of the three strategic 
transformation priorities, dedicated actions are 
carried out to define concisely the opportunities 
and actions for development. 

1. Risks 
related to 
the external 
environment 

Moreover, EFSA is increasing its focus on external 
“external” opportunities/partnerships (other EU 
Agencies, Member States, Horizon Europe) to tap 
for its scientific and technological preparedness 
needs. 

EFSA's business continuity plan is based on a 
business impact analysis defining dependencies 
and recovery times for IT systems. The business 
continuity project fully implemented the IT 
disaster recovery solutions documented in the 
disaster recovery plan. The Information Security 
Policy details EFSA's approach to information 
security management. EFSA organizes dedicated 
trainings on Information Security awareness. 

EFSA has been recently certified in 2023 with the 
ISO 27001 certification which will provide 
the  framework to address  all requirements of 
this regulation. 
In this context EFSA is maintaining the guidance 
of the 10% of the agencies IT budget for 
cybersecurity. 

2. Risks 
related to 
planning, pro
cesses and 
systems 

2 - Low 

3 - 
Serious 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

ANNEX XI. PLAN FOR GRANT, CONTRIBUTION AND SERVICE-LEVEL AGREEMENTS  
TABLE 50. PLAN FOR GRANT, CONTRIBUTION AND SERVICE-LEVEL AGREEMENTS 

Actual or 
expected date 
of signature 

Total 
amount 

Grant agreements 

General information 

Financial and HR impacts 

Duration  Counterpart 

Short description 

2023 
(N) 

2024 
(N+1) 

2025 
(N+2) 

2026 
(N+3) 

Project 
101136346 
– 
EUP_AHW 

 15/03/2024 
(expected) 

  637,996 € 

 120 
months 

European 
Research 
Executive 
Agency 

European Partnership 
Animal Health & Welfare 
(EUP AH&W) 

Total grant agreements: 1 

Contribution agreements 

Amount 
Number of CAs 

637,996 € 
0 

2 

2 

2 

Number of SNEs 

Amount 
Number of CAs 
Number of SNEs 

637,996 € 
0 

2 

2 

2 

2023/444-
820 

 07/06/2023 

 1,150,000 € 

 36 
months 

European 
Commission 

Preparatory measures for 
the participation of the IPA 
beneficiaries in the 
European Food Safety 
Authority 2023-2026 

Amount 

Number of CAs 

1,150,000 
€ 

Number of SNEs 

1 

1 

1 

1 

Total contribution agreements: 1 

Service-level agreements 

SLA with 
DG AGRI 

14/12/2023  

370,301 € 

18 
months 

European 
Commission 

Total service-level agreement agreements: 1 

TOTAL 

Amount 

1,150,000 
€ 

Number of CAs 
Number of SNEs 

1 

Amount 
Number of CAs 

370,301 € 
0 

Number of SNEs 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

0 

Amount 
Number of CAs 
Number of SNEs 

 370,301 € 
0 

1 

1 

0 

Amount 

2,095,297 
€ 
Number of CAs 
0 
Number of SNEs  1 

3 
1 

3 
1 

2 
1 

 Technical assistance to the 
European Commission (DG 
AGRI) by preparing detailed 
scientific and technical 
information regarding food 
and feed products certified 
as organic  

 136 

 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

ANNEX XII. DRAFT WORK PROGRAMME FOR GRANTS AND 
OPERATIONAL PROCUREMENTS FOR 2025 

1. 

OPERATIONAL SOURCING BY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 

TABLE 51. OPERATIONAL SOURCING BY SO. 

SO1 — Deliver trustworthy scientific advice and communication of risks 
farm to fork 

Strategic objective 

Indicative 2025 
budget 

EUR 16,486,432  

Main areas 
Generating, collecting, collating, synthesizing, and analysing evidence supporting preparatory work for 
evidence-based scientific assessment at EFSA, including literature review in the areas of animal health 
and welfare, plant health, biological hazards, contaminants, pesticides, novel foods 
Implementation of tasking grant for high-risk plants 
Expert assistance in drafting the One Health Zoonoses report, TSE EU Summary Reports, other EU 
summary reports, including analysis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) data 
Tasking grant on priority pest 

Tasking grant to support risk assessments in the area of contaminants in food and feed 
Call for expression of interest in the areas of residue Activities, approval of active substances, novel 
foods, nutrient sources, feed additive applications, GMO, Animal and plant Health 
Support for Flavourings Completion of the evaluation 

Support for Food contact materials (FCM) 

Support for food additives re-evaluations 

Support for safety evaluation of food enzymes 

Implementation of tasking grant for approval of active substances of pesticides 
Activities relating to the assessment of GMO applications (statistical & toxicological support and 
literature searches) 
Support for preparatory work in the area of novel foods 

GMO applications sequencing quality check 

Expert support and literature review in assessing feed additive dossiers 
Development of integrated communication campaigns and development of multimedia and online 
communications- related services as stand-alone products 
Development of static & interactive information and storytelling products   

EFSA Journal 

Experts meeting costs 

SO2 —_Ensure preparedness for future risk analysis needs 

EUR 35,629,596 

Focal point agreements with EU/EEA Member States 

Main areas 

Fellowship programme 

Capacity Building 

Specialised training courses on certain aspects of food safety RA 

Implementation of artificial intelligence approaches 

Identification of emerging risks – food supplements  

Plant Health emerging risks identification 

Environmental scan 

Pesticides Environmental Risk Assessment (PERA) 

Support for Arthropod vectors 

Wild life surveillance 

Benchmark Dose Model (BMD) 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Strategic objective 

Data collection and analysis on animal disease outbreaks 

Integrating new approaches in chemical risk assessment 

Library management services 

Consultancy costs relating to the projects  

Institutional and stakeholders’ relations 

Experts meeting costs 

Indicative 2025 
budget 

SO 3 - Empower people and ensure organisational agility 

EUR  12,575,097  

Main areas 

Technical support for operational IT systems 

Consultancy costs related to EFSA Programmes 

Consultancy costs relating to quality management 

Logistical support for experts’ meetings and missions 

Design and rollout of multi-actor engagement plans 

Translations 

2. 

SCIENCE PROGRAMME: PROCUREMENTS AND GRANTS 

Introduction 

The relevant EU regulations that govern EFSA’s public procurement and grants procedures are, 
in particular as follows. 

•  Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
18  July  2018  on  the  financial  rules  applicable  to  the  general  budget  of  the  Union, 
amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) 
No  1304/2013,  (EU)  No  1309/2013,  (EU)  No  1316/2013,  (EU)  No  223/2014,  (EU)  No 
283/2014,  and  Decision  No  541/2014/EU  and  repealing  Regulation  (EU  Euratom)  No 
966/2012. 

•  Article 110(1) of the EU Financial Regulation states that: ‘A budgetary commitment shall 
be preceded by a financing decision adopted by the Union institution or by the Authority 
to which powers have  been delegated by the  Union institution. The financing decisions 
shall be annual or multiannual. The first subparagraph of this paragraph shall not apply 
in  the  case  of  appropriations  for  the  operations  of  each  Union  institution  under  its 
administrative autonomy that can be implemented without a basic act in accordance with 
point (e) of Article 58(2), of administrative support expenditure and of contributions to 
the  Union  bodies  referred  to  in  Articles  70  and  71’.  Article  110(2)  states  that:  ‘The 
financing  decision  shall  at  the  same  time  constitute  the  annual  or  multiannual  work 
programme and shall be adopted, as appropriate, as soon as possible after the adoption 
of the draft budget and in principle no later than 31 March of the year of implementation. 
In  addition,  Article  110(2)  states  that  ‘the  work  programme  shall  be  published  on  the 
website of the Union institution concerned immediately after its adoption and prior to its 
implementation.’ Article 110(2) and 110(3) sets out the elements of a financing decision. 

Basic act and financing source 

Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002, 
amended by 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 chain, 

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food 
Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety, referred to hereafter as 
‘EFSA’s founding regulation’. 

The following refer specifically to grants: 

•  Article 36 of EFSA’s founding regulation. 

•  Commission Regulation (EC) No 2230/2004 of 23 December 2004 laying down detailed 
rules  for  the  implementation  of  EFSA’s  founding  regulation  concerning  the  network  of 
organisations operating in the fields within the European Food Safety Authority’s mission. 
In  particular,  Article  5(2)  envisages  that  financial  support  for  tasks  entrusted  to 
organisations on the Article 36 list shall take the form of subsidies awarded in accordance 
with EFSA’s financial regulation and implementing rules. 

Budget lines: 3210- RASC: Risk Assessment and scientific cooperation, 3210- IT: 
Scientific IT systems 

Tasks to be entrusted, objectives to be achieved, priority areas and results to be expected: 

Scientific cooperation between EFSA and Member States is a key priority for EFSA as it helps 
support the development of RA capacity within the Authority’s remit by building on scientific 
expertise in Member States. To ensure the contribution of organisations from Member States 
and non-EU countries in the carrying out of scientific cooperation projects EFSA has 
implemented grant and procurement schemes. 

The 2025 work programme on science grants and procurements will be directly linked to the 
EFSA strategy 2027, implementing its strategic objectives. 

Forms of grants to be used by EFSA:  

Financing not linked to the costs: 

Art. 125.1.a of the EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046 introduced a new form of grant: 

•  Financing not linked to the costs of the relevant operations based on: 

i. 

ii. 

Fulfilment of conditions set out in sector-specific rules of Commission decisions; 
or 
Achievement of results measured by reference to previously set milestones or 
through performance indicators 

•  According to Art. 180 (3) of the EU Financial Regulation, the following principles and 

requirements are NOT applicable to this form of grants:  

•  article 190 (co-financing); 
•  article 191(3) (non-cumulative);  
•  Art. 192(3)(d) no-profit principle;  
•  article 182 (need of estimated budget);  
•  article 186(2) (grant cannot exceed the eligible costs);  
•  article 186(3) (requirement for the costs to be eligible);  
•  article 186(4) (costs categories eligible for funding);  
•  article 203(4) (certificate on the financial statements of the action for the payments);  

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DRAFT PROGRAMMING DOCUMENT 2025-2027 

Other forms of grants as per Art. 125.1b, c, d, e and f of EU Financial Regulation:  

Maximum rate of co-financing: 

•  Up to 99 % of the eligible costs; however, the call for proposals may specify lower co-
financing rates. Overall, EFSA’s grant schemes will support actions defined in Article 4 
Regulation (EC) No 2230/2004 and / or Article 1, point 5e of Regulation (EU) 
2019/1381, covering risk assessment support tasks and/or capacity building tasks.  
•  Co-financing may be provided through direct grant agreements or, for wider scope and 
long-term cooperation projects with Article 36 organisations, through a framework 
partnership agreement (FPA). The FPA are implemented via Specific Agreements with 
reimbursement of actually incurred eligible costs, based on simplified forms of grants or 
via financing not linked to costs.  

•  The Focal Point grant agreements (FPAs), signed with each Member State foresee the 
co-financing rate of 70 % embedded in the lump sum for principle activities. Specific 
Agreements for tailor made activities will be based on financing not linked to the costs. 

Eligibility and exclusion criteria 

•  For all forms of grants: 

Applicants must be on the Article 36 list adopted by the EFSA MB on 19 December 
2006, which is updated regularly, implying fulfilment of the criteria laid down in 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2230/2004; and shall not be in one of the exclusion 
situations referred to in Articles 136 and Article 141 of the EU Financial Regulation and 
as listed in the EFSA guidance for tenderers available on the EFSA website. 

•  For procurement: 

The rules for participating in EFSA’s procurement procedures are detailed in the EFSA 
guidance for tenderers available on the EFSA website. Tenderers shall not be in one of 
the exclusion situations referred to in Articles 136 and Article 141 of the EU Financial 
Regulation. 

Selection and award criteria 

The eligible proposals/tenders will be evaluated against the selection criteria indicated in each 
call. In general, there are two sets of selection criteria to be assessed: 

•  economic and financial capacity (e.g. annual turnover); 
• 

technical and professional capacity. 

The proposals/tenders that meet the selection criteria and are compliant with the call 
specifications will be evaluated against the award criteria indicated in each call. In general, in 
each call there is an assessment of quality and price (budget in case of grants). Below are 
examples of the most frequently used award criteria: 

1.  the methodology proposed for implementation (convincing justification and step-by-

step explanation of the methodology); 

2.  the proposed project organisation and management by the applicant/tenderer 

(clarity of organisation of project into work packages, clear and detailed information 
on the distribution of the tasks among the project team); 

3.  the proposed risk management approach (risk identifications and proposed 

mitigating actions); 

4.  measures proposed to meet deadlines; 

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5.  measures proposed to guarantee the quality of deliverables (special additional 

measures for quality assurance proposed for this particular project); 

6.  the cost-effectiveness of the estimated budget (in case of grants that are not 

concluded according to Art. 125.1.a – financing not linked to costs) or the price (in 
case of procurement). 

Importantly, each call will specify in detail the relevant award criteria. 

Monitoring the added value of science programme implementation 

KPIs for measuring the impact of the science programme in 2025 are defined within the new 
performance monitoring framework of the Strategy 2027. 

Indicative amounts available for calls for proposals/tenders for 2025 and indicative 
list of scientific activities to be outsourced 

The indicative budget of EUR 36million for scientific projects in 2025 is slightly lower than the 
2024 budget of EUR 36.8 million but higher than the 2023 budget of EUR 33.5 million for 
scientific activities. The scientific activities to be outsourced in 2025 will ensure the 
continuation of the projects initiated in 2024 and will comprise new initiatives directly linked to 
the implementation of EFSA’s Strategy 2027 and to EFSA’s entry into force of the 
Transparency Regulation in 2021. During 2024 the indicative list of scientific activities to be 
outsourced in 2025 will be defined. 

3. 

COMMUNICATION PROGRAMME 

For the basic act and legislation, eligibility, exclusion, selection and award criteria see Section 
2 of this annex, ‘Science programme — procurements and grants’. 

Budget lines: 3410, 3420, 3520 

Indicative amounts available for calls for tenders for 2025 and indicative list of 
operational activities to be outsourced 

The indicative budget of EUR 7.47 million for operational support in 2025 in support of EFSA’s 
SOs, as an indication, will cover processes and projects such as communications content 
development, content dissemination, EFSA Journal, social media, social science, media 
relations, institutional and stakeholder relations, organisation of communication events relating 
to specific scientific topics and the EU Agencies Network.  During 2024 the indicative list of 
activities to be outsourced in 2025 will be defined. 

4. 

OPERATIONAL SUPPORT 

Basic act and legislation, budget lines, eligibility, exclusion, selection and award criteria: see 
Section 2 of this annex ‘Science programme — procurements and grants. 

Budget lines: 3500- RUN: IT run services, enhancement and maintenance of IT platforms, 
3500-SUB: Subscriptions, 3500-DEV: IT platforms development, 3500-PROJECT: IT project 
support, 3500- INNOV: Innovation, 3501, 3512, 3514-MEETINGS: Scientific meetings and 
missions organisation support, 3514-TRAVEL: Prepaid travel and shuttle services 3515,3530 

Indicative amounts available for calls for tenders for 2025 and indicative list of 
operational activities to be outsourced. 

The indicative budget of EUR 21 million for operational support in 2025 in support of EFSA’s 
SOs, as an indication, will cover logistical support for meetings, operational IT system running 
costs, various business transformation projects, consultancy costs relating to quality 

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management, consultancy costs related to the Programmes, strategy support and library 
management services. During 2024 the indicative list of activities to be outsourced in 2025 will 
be defined. 

General provisions 

Synergies with interagency and interinstitutional procurements 

EFSA is systematically exploring possibilities to join inter-institutional framework contracts and 
to share resources by launching or joining inter-agency calls. 

Indicative schedule of calls for proposals and of calls for tenders for 2025 

It is expected that the majority of the calls will be launched during the first half of 2025. 
Potential applicants/tenderers are invited to visit the EFSA website to see the list with the 
forthcoming calls for tenders (procurement) and calls for proposals (grants). 

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ANNEX XIII. STRATEGY FOR COOPERATION WITH THIRD 
COUNTRIES AND/OR INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS 

EFSA’s strategy for cooperation with third countries and / or international organisations aims 
to reach the following objectives:  

1) provide scientific and technical support to the EC to meet its international commitments and 
to promote a coherent European voice;  

2) widen EFSA’s evidence base and optimise access to data;  

3) increase international scientific assessment capacity and knowledge community;  

4) contribute to international efforts aimed at development, validation, implementation and 
harmonisation of methodologies, tools and approaches in risk assessment and risk 
communication; and  

5) increase EFSA’s visibility and reputation as a competent and innovative regulatory risk 
assessment agency operating at the international level.  

The strategy takes into account the common global challenges that risk assessment bodies 
with a similar remit to EFSA need to address, such as limited risk assessment capacity and 
experience, budget constraints, scientific competence and independence issues. It also aims to 
boost EFSA’s recognition and reputation globally as the EU reference point for risk assessment 
in food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, nutrition, plant protection and plant health. 

Central to this approach is regular contact between EFSA and DG SANTE with two meetings 
per year dedicated to updating and exchanging views on bilateral and multilateral activities 
and EU priorities with third countries and international organisations. These meetings also offer 
the opportunity for EFSA to agree with the EC ongoing and new contacts with third countries 
and / or international organisations. 

Before the meeting, EFSA provides a short-written summary of its activities as part of the 
agenda planning which focusses, inter alia, on activities with US and Canadian partners; 
cooperation agreements; contact with other bilateral and multilateral partners; International 
liaison groups and EFSA’s support to requests from the EC on CODEX activities. 

Following the meetings, EFSA prepares a summary of the key discussion points and actions 
points, ahead of a review by DG SANTE. 

EFSA’s Engagement and External Relations unit (ENREL) coordinates international cooperation 
activities to ensure the sharing of information, offers a single liaison contact point for EFSA’s 
scientific units, international partners, as well as DG SANTE, and provides support to EFSA 
senior management for international cooperation activities.   

EFSA uses a variety of tools to support its activities. Contacts are built or maintained through 
regular exchanges with international partners via email, telephone, and various software 
applications. Such activity increases ahead of the many virtual meetings that take place, as 
well as the delegation trips to and from EFSA that could potentially occur in a typical year.  

Topic selection and agenda preparation for meetings take place in close liaison with 
international contact points. Action points from all meetings are monitored throughout the year 
to complete the tasks agreed. 

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Cooperation with public institutions beyond the EU, such as international organisations and 
competent authorities in Third Countries focuses on sharing of expertise, methodologies and 
data for risk assessment. 

While short-term, ad hoc exchanges may take place within events that EFSA organises (e.g. 
conferences, workshops) or be initiated via existing communication channels, such as the Ask 
EFSA service, scientific cooperation is usually enabled through formal arrangements. 
Memoranda of Cooperation (MoC) or Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), for example, offer a 
flexible, non-legally binding, framework for scientific cooperation, providing clarity on the remit 
of the cooperation and ensuring that important issues regarding the handling of confidential 
information and personal data are addressed upfront. They also offer the possibility for better 
planning of joint activities, allow the review of activities when needed and provide for 
transparency and visibility of the cooperation. 

The establishment of such arrangements between EFSA and international organisations or 
organisations in Third Countries is carried out with the advice of the EC. Such coordination 
aims primarily at ensuring alignment with the priorities of the EC with regards to food and feed 
safety, citizen welfare and current policies, including foreign policy. It also aims at identifying 
synergies amongst the different activities of EFSA, the EC or other actors, to ensure added 
value and maximise the impact of cooperation.  

EFSA’s internal support to international cooperation activities includes a variety of meetings 
with science colleagues, middle and senior management and staff from ENREL aimed to gather 
strategic advice and knowledge to support the Agency’s international cooperation activities.  

EFSA will continue to engage with international organisations and third countries as part of the 
implementation of its holistic engagement approach with its partners and stakeholders in our 
“ecosystem”, in close liaison with the EC, supporting scientific quality and preparedness.  

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GETTING IN TOUCH WITH THE EU

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PDF     ISBN 978-92-9499-658-9   ISSN 2363-3980   doi:10.2805/845604   TM-AS-24-002-EN-N