EHJ October 2004, pages 322-323
Tina Garrity looks at three specialist agencies that promote environmental health work in Europe

As the new European Commission settles down to work and the incoming commissioners get to grips with their work programmes for the coming year, it is worth remembering that there is more to the EU than just its institutions. Besides the commission, the council and the parliament, there are a number of specialist units and agencies working away at EU level to provide expert opinion and advice on a range of matters covered by the EU treaty. In the environmental health field there are three such specialist agencies, each with its own work programme and objectives.

EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY (EEA)

The main role of the European Environment Agency is to provide environmental information to European policy makers and to the public. Its principal clients are the European Commission and other EU bodies and governments but it also has an information office dealing with around 500 enquiries a month. Each year, it publishes a number of reports and short briefings and every five years it produces a major report on the "state of the environment in Europe". It obtains its information from a number of sources, including the European environment information and observation network (Eionet).

Each member country has a national focal point responsible for coordinating national networks and liaising with the agency. Here in the UK, the national focal point is Defra. The agency also has five specialist topic centres covering water (hosted by the UK), air and climate change, nature protection and biodiversity, waste and material flows, and terrestrial environment. To assist it in its work, the EEA has a scientific committee. The UK representative is Prof David Briggs from the department of epidemiology and public health at Imperial College London.

The EEA strategy is aligned with the EU's sixth environment action programme. The agency works across four major thematic areas, which are:

• climate change
• biodiversity loss/understanding spatial change
• protecting human health and quality of life
• use and management of natural resources and waste.

Over the next five years, the EEA aims to produce a series of assessments on the links between these issues and cross-sectoral impacts on the environment. A number of projects are planned under the above headings. For example, in the human health and quality of life programme, the agency will look at different approaches for securing improvements, from spatial analyses, to the use of different models to test future scenarios, to the use of economic instruments. It is developing a set of key indicators to track stressors such as air quality and indoor pollution. It will also be supporting the commission's urban environment thematic strategy, looking at urban sprawl, sustainable urban management and noise assessments in selected areas. Details of other projects being conducted by the agency, which is based in Copenhagen, can be found on its website at: www.eea.eu.int/

EUROPEAN AGENCY FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK (OSHA)

The role of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work is to act as a catalyst for developing, collecting, analysing and disseminating information that improves the state of occupational safety and health in Europe. The agency, which is based in Bilbao, brings together representatives from three key decision making groups in each of the EU's member states - governments, employers and workers' organisations. Like the Environment Agency, it has national focal points across Europe. These focal points are responsible for running national networks and are involved in the preparation and implementation of the agency's work programme. They also manage the national agency websites and organise the annual European Week for Safety and Health at Work. Here in the UK, the national focal point is the HSE.

The agency also has topic centres, which are consortia of national safety and health institutions. Their job is to collect and analyse existing national data to support key areas of the work programme. They consist of a group of OSH-expert institutions comprising one lead organisation and several partner organisations from different member states. Three topic centres are currently in operation, covering "research", "good practice" and "new member states".

The agency's current work programme focuses on three target areas:

• priority groups (eg young workers, disabled, women, etc)
• topics (eg, changing world of work, dangerous substances, noise, etc)
• high-risk sectors (eg construction, health care, fishing, etc).

This year it has been running a campaign to raise awareness and improve safety standards in the construction sector. In 2005, attention will shift towards noise at work with the annual European Week of Health and Safety devoted to supporting implementation of the noise at work directive. Examples of specific agency projects include an ongoing initiative to provide good practice information on the importance of health and safety within the corporate social responsibility sphere and a programme to provide and disseminate effective good practice examples on risk reduction within small- and medium-sized enterprises. Further details of current and future OSHA projects can be found on its website at http://europe.osha.eu.int/

EUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY (EFSA)

The role of the EFSA is to provide independent scientific advice on all matters linked to food and feed safety - including animal health and welfare and plant protection. It also provides scientific advice on nutrition in relation to community legislation. This involves conducting risk assessments, which are designed to provide the EU institutions with a sound scientific basis for defining policy driven legislative or regulatory measures.

It is a relatively new body and this year has been concentrating on doubling its staff numbers and establishing itself permanently in its headquarters in Parma, Italy. It has also been working to extend its scientific and communications services. At the moment the agency is dealing principally with requests for risk assessments from the European Commission but plans to take on a wider brief from other European institutions in the near future. It is also seeking to identify longer-term projects for itself, for example in relation to the identification of emerging food safety issues.

An advisory forum assists the executive director (currently Geoffrey Podger) and advises on scientific matters, priorities and the work programme. It is an important forum for exchange on risk assessment and food safety issues, including assistance in the identification of emerging issues. The forum may also resolve contentious scientific disputes through discussion. Its members come from national bodies that play a similar role to that of the authority.

The agency has a scientific committee and eight specialist panels, each responsible for a different aspect of food safety. The panels are made up of leading independent scientists, with a three-year mandate that may be renewed. The scientific committee coordinates the work of the panels and addresses issues relevant to all panels, such as, for example, the methodology for exposure assessment.

The eight panels cover the following topics:

• food additives, flavourings, processing aids and materials in contact with food (AFC)
• additives and products or substances used in animal feed (Feedap)
• plant health, plant protection products and their residues (PPR)
• genetically modified organisms (GMO)
• dietetic products, nutrition and allergies (NDA)
• biological hazards
• contaminants in the food chain (Contam) and
• animal health and welfare (Ahaw).

Further information, including copies of the agency's scientific report, can be found on its website at www.efsa.eu.int/