Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle

It is with great pleasure that I am here today to address the Environment Committee and I welcome this opportunity to be able to speak with you and thank you for finding time in your busy agenda. With this valuable opportunity, I would like to discuss with you EFSA’s planned activities in 2007 and importantly for me, to seek your views on these and more generally on our future work.

When considering our priorities and work load for 2007, it is important to note that EFSA is still a growing organisation at a crucial stage of its development. EFSA’s role evolves with almost every legislative act in the food and feed law area. At the same time, the risks in EFSA’s area change and it is crucial that EFSA is ready at any time to respond to any emergency or alert. For example, EFSA is working in close collaboration with the National Authorities and the Commission on Blue Tongue an animal disease which has unusually appeared in the North of Europe. We are also continuing our important work on Avian Influenza where we are responsible for providing the scientific basis to underpin community measures in the animal health area. We are also embarking on the assessment of risks in the plant health area where there are many possible threats to plants in Europe, which could have a significant impact on public health and on the environment; like for example, the development of Ambrosia or the work we are doing assessing the issues around ensuring Citrus canker is not introduced into Europe. During 2007, EFSA will consolidate its activities to support the EU’s evolving policy on nutrition and diet related diseases. EFSA will in particular develop further its work in the area of health claims and nutrition. The Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies Panel has already started its important work on nutritional profiling and on the guidance for the preparation of applications on disease-risk reduction claims, claims referring to children’s development and on other claims.

Looking ahead - we see new challenges on the horizon: nanoparticles in food for example. In this respect we will launch in 2007, collaborative activities with the Member States to look at this with particular focus on the challenges that this new technology presents to those engaged in conducting risk assessments. We are also actively looking at the issue of cloned animals and their products and the possible challenges these may present. In both these, and indeed in other cases, EFSA is looking at the work being done internationally and at national level in the Member States so that we are able to give a globally based perspective.

At the same time that we face these new challenges – EFSA also has to stay vigilant and continue to work on the threats posed by our “old friends”: Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria, aflatoxins, acrylamide, and other contaminants, BSE and TSEs, to name but a few.

With these new and “old” challenges, it is important that EFSA is able to be dynamic and flexible in its work, while maintaining efficiency. EFSA has not only to be efficient and cost effective but also it must deliver added value to the EU and its citizens. I will continue to put in place, and enhance across the whole of EFSA in 2007, objective based management systems focused on delivering the best possible service to the EU food safety system and in particular risk managers. In 2007 I will consolidate the organisation through the recruitment of high quality personnel and in this respect I can inform you thatI have put in place a series of staff policies and recruitment initiatives to ensure that we are able to have access to and maintain high calibre scientific and other staff. EFSA does important work and we are very conscious of our duty to ensure that the European Parliament and other risk managers have close working relations with EFSA so that we can support your activities. In this respect we will be increasing our participation and involvement with the European Parliament, and we will do our best to be available to you when you need support or scientific advice. We also will strive to increase our dialogue with risk managers in the Member States and continue to work closely with the Commission. EFSA has to be independent from, but available to, risk managers.

In 2007, we will enhance the responsiveness of EFSA. In my previous posts as a risk manager, I was very aware of the need to take rapid action when a food safety problem arose, when there was conflicting information and consumers were becoming alarmed especially when there seemed to be no authoritative information. These periods of uncertainty can be accurately damaging. I have therefore asked the Scientific Committee at EFSA to look at how we can be more reactive in times of urgency and we are now piloting specific procedures in that context. The Scientific Committee will also focus in 2007 on identifying emerging risks to provide an ‘early warning’ of developing issues.

To be authoritative, EFSA has to be known and its scientific assessment work robust and open to scrutiny. It is not enough for any organisation to state that it has the best standards unless it is willing for its processes and products to be reviewed and assessed. I am confident that EFSA has high standards of science, independence and integrity but we are not complacent and in 2007 the Scientific Committee and staff will define systems to conduct both internal and external review of our scientific processes and outputs with the objective of continuous improvement.

EFSA recently signed a declaration of intent with the National Authorities to facilitate the exchange of scientific information and data. This was an important milestone as EFSA has to be plugged in to scientific information and data available at the national and international levels. This Declaration will be translated into action in 2007 and we are already, through the Advisory Forum of EFSA and the Scientific Committee, identifying topics for collaborative work. The implementation of this strategy will enable EFSA to avoid duplication of effort in risk assessment and improve the collaboration on risk communications. Cooperation and collaboration with the national agencies is therefore a top priority for EFSA in 2007. I am particularly keen to involve experts from the New Member States.

We will continue to work with Stakeholders during 2007 and we will seek to present to the Management Board a consolidated strategy for the various activities we have already in place across EFSA. We believe that open dialogue can only lead to confidence and assist EFSA in understanding the concerns of stakeholders and consumers.

Through the implementation of its Communications Strategy adopted by the Board of EFSA in 2006, EFSA will focus on building visibility for EFSA’s mission and scientific expertise; enhance the clarity and relevance of EFSA risk communications and promote coherence in risk communications across the Community.

We will engage in activities to promote our scientific work and the EU food safety system: here in Brussels in November and throughout 2007 in the Member States, in the context of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, celebrating at the same time the Fifth Anniversary of EFSA.

I would now like to turn to a topic that is a core value for EFSA and that is the matter of EFSA’s independence and integrity. Unless the scientific basis for EU food regulation is trusted and from a reliable source, risk managers will not be able to build confidence in their decisions and laws that they base on this advice. Independence of course does not mean isolation and as I hope you will see from EFSA’s activities and plans - that we are accountable in the overall EU system providing the fundamental scientific foundation for EU food and feed law.

I can tell you that we take a rigorous approach to safeguarding our independence and ensuring EFSA’s integrity. This includes the process by which we adopt opinions, where all 21 members of the Scientific Panel or Committee have an equal say; we transparently include any diverging minority view in the published Opinion; and EFSA secretariat in guiding the scientific discussions toward a final conclusion are attentive to the integrity and balance of the process.

As you will be aware the scientists who populate our Panels do not work for EFSA but are chosen on a three year mandate through an open call for expression of interest and thus give EFSA access to a wide range of expertise across the EU. Their possible membership to an EFSA Panel is considered through a rigorous process involving both EFSA and outside invigilators, with Member States consulted on a short list, and finally the Board of EFSA makes the final decision on the membership.

Declarations of Interest are provided by those applying for membership and these are considered at the selection phase in order to ensure that the Members have no general conflict of interest. Declarations of Interest are subsequently made annually and at any meeting or on any agenda point where there might be a possible need for this and these declarations are published in the minutes of the meetings. Members also have to make annual Declaration of Independence.

I have made a thorough review of the system that is already in place. I am working with the experts to continue to improve the transparency of their Declarations of Interests and I will improve by summer the procedure to handle them. I will keep this issue under constant review.

I look forward to working closely with you during the following year and I hope that EFSA can really provide you with the support you need to fulfil your important mandate.

Thanks.