Seminar in Parma on 22 April 2013

A seminar was held on 21 April 2013 at the premises of EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) in Parma on Food Safety: Coordinating European and National Powers, Judicial Review of Rulings in this Area. The event was a first for ACA-Europe in that it provided an opportunity for judges from the Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Courts of the European Union to meet representatives of the European Commission's DG SANCO. Their presentations facilitated understanding of how the European Commission makes food safety decision, several of which have fallen under their jurisdiction. ReNEUAL, a network of university professors focusing on research in European administrative law, provided scientific support for organising the debates. The seminar was opened by Mr KREINS, Secretary-General of ACA-Europe, as well as Mrs GESLAIN-LANÉELLE, Executive Director of EFSA, and chaired by Mr VIGOUROUX, Member of the Council of State and Chairman of the Reporting and Research Section of the Council of State of France.

A presentation on the role of the RASFF – given by Mrs GARAU, Head of Unit at DG SANCO, and Mr DETKEN, Head of Unit at EFSA – was followed by three round tables.

The first round table focused on GMOs. It was chaired by Professor DELLA CANANEA (ReNEUAL) and featured presentations by Professor SCHNEIDER (ReNEUAL) and Mrs VALERO, Deputy Head of Unit at DG SANCO. In addition, Mrs DAUSSUN, Member of the Council of State of France, analysed the case law of the European Court of Justice and the Council of State of France on safeguard clauses and decisions to authorise/revoke authorisation for GMOs. Mr BAY-LARSEN, a judge at the European Court of Justice, finished off the round table by briefly going over the legal and political challenges involved in consumer health, since consumers are prevalent in this area.

The second round table, focusing on phytosanitary and phytopharmaceutical products, was moderated by Professor HOFMANN (ReNEUAL) and introduced by Professor SCHNEIDER, whose presentation was supplemented by an approach to the European dimension of the procedures sketched out by Mrs CORDIER, Legal Officer at DG SANCO. Two judges, Mr PASSER from the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic, and Mr EL NOUCHI from the Council of State of France, then gave an overview of the judicial review carried out by their respective courts regarding the precautionary principle (authorisation/revocation of the marketing authorisation and State responsibility).

The third round table, chaired by Professor GALETTA (ReNEUAL), covered animal health rules, specifically with respect to BSE and foot-and-mouth disease. Two members of the Council of State of Italy covered the topic. In their presentations, the first member, Mr LIPARI, talked described the relationship between those two diseases and European legislation and changes to European legislation. He then examined the application of the principle of proportionality by the European Court of Justice, in view of the information provision obligations required under European law. The second member, Mr GIOVAGNOLI, presented a more forward-looking approach to the precautionary principle and the risk management principle in the light of lessons learned from the judicial review carried out by the European Court of Justice.

The final presentation was given by Professor HOFMANN. The seminar was an opportunity for judges to expand their knowledge of European food safety instruments, procedural mechanisms, coordination between the European and national levels, and the role that some of them are already playing during food crises or situations involving cross-border food safety.