Comparing transparency policies at EFSA and EMA

Symposium submission: ‘Beyond Infotopia: Contextualising Risk, Openness and Transparency in the Information Age’. ... [ view full abstract ]

Symposium submission: ‘Beyond Infotopia: Contextualising Risk, Openness and Transparency in the Information Age’. Since being established, both the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have been committed to enhancing decision-making transparency. Most recently both decentralised EU agencies have introduced a wave of 'internet-mediated' policies that involve the publication of large quantities of regulatory information online. This includes information relating to inputs (e.g. scientific data or open comment periods), processes (e.g. scientific committees discussing safety issues), and outputs (e.g. the actual decisions made by regulators). Yet, a rapidly growing body of research has found that policies designed to enhance transparency will not necessarily do so, can have severe unwanted effects, and must be balanced against tradeoffs. In contributing to this debate, the presenter provides a historical analysis of how EFSA and EMA's transparency policies have evolved over time while highlighting important similarities and differences. Notably, despite being committed to transparency for 15-20 years, both agencies have repeatedly been criticised for ‘not being transparent enough’. The presenter concludes by discussing difficult questions about when transparency is satisfied in regulatory-decision-making and whether further measures will achieve the regulators' intended public health objectives.