Staff shortages stunt growth of infant EFSA

How can Europe's infant food safety body function without staff? For the newly elected board of the European food Safety Authority this question was the central debate when they met yesterday in Brussels.

Although the EFSA is now operational in its main task of assessing food risk in the EU, and networking activities between countries have begun, the agency still only has a small proportion of its envisaged staff in place.

"It is fundamental that we keep pace with these developments by putting the necessary support staff in place,"​ said Stuart Slorach, chairman of the board, at the meeting yesterday.

The EFSA may have more than doubled in size since the beginning of 2003 to around 50 people, but this figure is only a fifth of the 200-300 due to be in place by the end of 2005. And that's not taking into account any additional work that could be allocated to the agency.

Months and months of political wranglings - most notably between Italy and Finland - at the Council of ministers mean that the permanent location of the EFSA has yet to be decided. The authority is still housed in temporary accommodation in Brussels.

As a result, the European Parliament decided at the end of last year to retain 50 per cent of the EFSA's 2003 grant. Constructing a brand new food safety agency without sufficient funds was one of the first challenges for the newly installed executive director of the authority, Geoffrey Podger. But in March he wrote to the European Parliament's Rapporteur for the Budgets Committee, requesting for the release of 50 per cent of the planned funding which had been placed in reserve. At the same time he stressed the need for a permanent address for the EFSA as soon as possible, making several requests to the Council.

But instead we learn that at yesterday's meeting the management board agreed that the EFSA should 'temporarily move to larger premises in Brussels, prior to a decision being made on the permanent location'.