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“Trust is slow in questions of great importance,” wrote Roman poet Ovid. Especially those who have already lost it, have to recover it laboriously. From now on to simply ‘ vigorous ‘, confidence cannot be trusted, as European Commission is now trying to do with its proposal for a more transparent risk assessment. But re is no doubt that it is a matter of great importance: wher plant protection products such as glyphosate, genetically modified organisms or food additives can harm human health or environment.
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After all, Vice-President of Commission, Frans Timmermans, and health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis want to furr disclose scientific bases of ir authorisations in future. Although much is still inadequate: its package of measures contains considerably more than just sedative drops.
It is first and foremost a great success for European Citizens ‘ Initiative against glyphosate that Brussels had to be active at all. With more than one million signatures ir organizers had documented: consumers and environmentalists distrusted controversial weed destruction agent. Not least because declaration of safety is based to a large extent on secret industrial studies. Documents whose publication was enforced also had a close proximity between state institutions and applicants from chemical and seed industries. The European Parliament, too, had called on Andriukaitis to reorganise procedure more transparent and thus traceable.
Publish, capture, control
The health Commissioner now promises that all safety-related studies submitted to competent European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will be published “proactively and automatically”. At an early stage of evaluation process, data on network should be so readily available that any interested citizen can be informed.
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As a second step, Commission is planning a register to cover any research work that has been notified. Among or things, it aims to prevent companies from cancelling or withdrawing studies if y do not fit results.
Thirdly, EFSA is to preserve its scientific independence, but in future it will be more politically controlled by representatives of Member States in its management.
So far, so trust-forming.
