Brussels, 09/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament has been proved right. To avoid all conflict of interests, Diana Banati, a Hungarian scientist who has chaired the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) management board since 2008, resigned on Wednesday 9 May, at the request of EFSA. Her resignation takes immediate effect. The contradiction between her position as a member and chairwoman of the management board and the post she took up within The International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), a food industry lobby group, was the reason for the EFSA request. On the same day, Banati was appointed the new executive and scientific director of ILSI-Europe.
The code of conduct adopted by the EFSA board requires all members to “consider public perception, in all facets of their professional and private life, in particular with regard to any activity which could raise doubts about their independence, even with respect to potential conflicts of interest”, EFSA says in a press release. This code of conduct stipulates that board members should not support positions or interests deemed incompatible with the role exercised as members of the management board or with the role of the board itself.
The Greens/EFA Group in the Parliament, which was first to highlight the conflict of interests, immediately welcomed the announcement, noting that ILSI brings together the top 400 multinational companies in the agri-food sector, including those which are developing GMO seeds. They say that this resignation, which comes two days before the European Parliament is due to vote on the EFSA Budget discharge (the decision to postpone the discharge was taken in March at the same time as the conflicts of interest within the Authority were referred to the Court of Auditors, see EUROPE 10584) has not come soon enough. On her departure, Banati has flouted all the principles of independence and all ethical rules by accepting paid employment at the ILSI, though the nature of the job and the salary remain unknown, the Greens/EFA say. They argue that Banati should have gone on 28 September 2010 when her links to the ILSI were revealed and criticised by José Bové, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary agriculture committee.
Snub for EFSA, the agencies and the Commission. “Ms Banati's decision to up and off to the ILSI is a tremendous slap on the face for EFSA and for all the European agencies charged with delivering assessments independently of economic pressures. The masks have fallen away. On 14 July 2010, I alerted Commissioner Dalli personally. Despite the irrefutable proof which I delivered to him in his office, he did not feel it necessary to use the two months he had to propose a new person to head the EFSA board. By his laisser-faire attitude, Mr Dalli is responsible for a massive scandal, and I have to question his competence for the post of European commissioner. I wonder, too, about his ability to ensure the safety of our fellow citizens. Conflicts of interest of a similar nature exist, in particular, in monitoring medicines. The way all agencies operate must be fully reviewed”, stated José Bové calling on European Commission President José Manuel Barroso to “take the necessary decision”.
It was to ensure its independence and restore its heavily dented credibility that EFSA adopted a new policy on independence and decision-making procedures in December of last year. The new rules on declarations of interest by all involved in its work - scientific experts, members of the management board and outside organisations, including for the first time outside contractors - were published in March (see EUROPE 10568). (AN/transl.rt)