Tag: risk

SPECIAL REPORT / When Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in 2010, EU aviation authorities saw little choice but to shut down airspace across much of Europe as a precaution against ash and grit choking aircraft engines.

SPECIAL REPORT / More than a decade after it was established, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) still struggles to persuade consumers that it is a credible risk assessor working for the public good and not unduly influenced by corporate lobbyists.

The EU’s post-2013 Common Agricultural Policy and EU other legislation must guarantee that organic and conventional farmers and food producers are no longer threatened by the risk of GMO contamination, argues Antje Kölling.

While the Union's cautious approach to granting market authorisation to new technology applications like GMOs or products derived from nanotechnology has meant that EU has not suffered from any major backlash, it could also mean the bloc is missing out on major opportunities to improve its competitiveness, argued a policy analyst from a Brussels-based think tank in an interview with EurActiv.com.

Governments and corporations do not have the right mechanisms in place to deal with increasing global risks such as climate change, according to a new report prepared for the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

In line with its recent commitment to more openness and transparency, the EFSA now consults stakeholders on the risk assessment of hybrid genetically modified (GM) plants.

In a meeting of research ethics committees from across Europe, EU politicians emphasised the importance of scientific freedom and called for tolerant dialogue on ethics in research.