About
77
Publications
25,353
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
1,555
Citations
Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Current institution
Additional affiliations
Publications
Publications (77)
Fifteen years following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, this article seeks to analyse its impact on EU executive rulemaking. It delves into the constitutional concerns arising from the architecture of Articles 290 and 291 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular relating to the institutional balance, the conc...
The 2023 Annual Conference of the Law Group at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) explored the future trajectory of EU food law beyond the Farm to Fork Strategy, delving into topics often overlooked in policy discussions. Moving from the (lack of) a legislative proposal for the Framework for Sustainable Food System (SFSF), the conference aimed...
The precautionary principle is a guiding principle that allows decision makers to adopt precautionary measures even when scientific uncertainties about environmental and health impacts of new technologies or products remain. It is also a debated principle. Proponents of the precautionary principle argue that it provides a framework for improving th...
In their efforts to categorize the growing body of agencies operating at EU level, influential commentators on the state of the Union have of late noted a veritable ‘agency fever’ (Busuioc et al. 2012; Egeberg and Trondal 2017), or an exponential rise in the creation of ‘non-majoritarian’ (Majone 1996, 1997) governance structures within the Europea...
This paper presents selected highlights from the ‘Engaging with society’ session of EFSA's third Scientific Conference ‘Science, Food and Society’ (Parma, Italy, 18–21 September 2018). The social dimension for scientific advisory bodies largely concerns science communication and public engagement. The political, economic and technological transform...
For nearly three decades scholars have studied issues of EU risk regulation, first presented as regulation of safety of products and persons, ¹ later on as true issues of risk regulation. This short comment will give brief, and at times personal, insights into the development on scholarly thinking on EU risk regulation and sketch a few challenges f...
The nutrition and health claim regulation (NHCR) aims to protect consumers against false or incorrect nutrition and health claims by requesting scientific substantiation. It also aims to establish a level playing field in the internal market for all food producers. European regulations such as the NHCR require national authorities to enforce these...
Critical infrastructure (CI) sees to assets that are essential for the functioning of a society and economy, as they provide public services, enhance quality of life, sustain private profits and spur economic growth. Assets of CI differ considerably, ranging from hardware such as cables and wires, through to networks for the generation and supply o...
Sulphites or sulphiting agents refer to sodium hydrogen sulphite, sodium metabisulphite, potassium metabisulphite, calcium sulphite, calcium hydrogen sulphite, and potassium hydrogen sulphite. As food additives, they are widely used by the food industry with a variety of commercial uses in food and beverages. Sulphites are effective bleaching agent...
This paper critically reflects upon what role EU agencies (should) have within the EU’s post-Lisbon institutional balance of powers and what kind of powers can be delegated to them. It argues that the constitutional neglect for agencies in the hierarchy of norms established by Articles 290 and 291 TFEU has now been compensated for by the CJEU in it...
This article analyses the consequences of the implementation of the nutrition and health claim regulation in the field of food products containing antioxidants or food products claiming antioxidant activity. To this end, it first examines the origin and creation of the regulation and the involvement of EFSA in assessing scientific substantiation of...
Despite concerted efforts in recent years to define the position of agencies in the Union framework, a clear overall view of their role and powers in relation to the EU institutions and to the Member States is still lacking. Their hybrid character as part of the composite EU executive, and the fact that increasing powers are delegated to them, make...
Despite concerted efforts in recent years to define the position of agencies in the Union framework, a clear overall view of their role and powers in relation to the EU institutions and to the Member States is still lacking. Their hybrid character as part of the composite EU executive, and the fact that increasing powers are delegated to them, make...
The Community's involvement in health and safety regulation -- Deepening of community health and safety regulation -- Health and safety regulation through committees: the case of foodstuffs -- Health and safety regulation through agencies: the case of pharmaceuticals -- Health and safety regulation through private bodies: the case of technical prod...
This paper discusses the role that EU agencies have acquired over the years within the EU’s institutional landscape. It argues that they have become an integral part of the EU’s institutional structure and an established part of the way the EU operates. It shows that these networked agencies are all in line with and part of the composite or shared...
This chapter contains section titles: Introduction Food Regulation: Between Market and Safety The EU's Failings in Ensuring Food Safety The EU's New Regime on Food Safety Regulation Restoring Trust in EU Decision-making on Foods Concluding Remarks Acknowledgment Notes References
While informal lawmaking may be relatively new for international lawyers, for more than four decades similar questions have been at the core of some debates in European Union law. European agencies (with networks reaching far beyond the 'public' arena) are often part of both formal and informal networks. The 'agencification' process at the global l...
This chapter aims to understand the role of science and knowledge in the regulation of uncertain risks. In such cases, since scientific knowledge is perceived or portrayed to be limited, experts, stakeholders, or the public have or create doubts about the possibility or severity of hazards. At the same time, regulators habitually turn to science an...
Uncertain Risks Regulated compares various models of risk regulation in order to understand how these systems shape the relationship between law and science, and how they attempt to overcome public distrust in science-based decision-making. The book contributes to the ongoing debate relating to uncertainty and risks - and the difficulties faced by...
Three main changes to current risk analysis processes are proposed to improve their transparency, openness, and accountability. First, the addition of a formal framing stage would allow interested parties, experts and officials to work together as needed to gain an initial shared understanding of the issue, the objectives of regulatory action, and...
Introduction: The challenges involved in the governance of the European Union's (EU) internal market, as well as the need for closer collaboration between Member States, have seen EU policy-makers increasingly turn to executive or regulatory agencies outside the Commission structure. These agencies are entrusted to execute a wide range of tasks fro...
Functional foods are closely associated with claims on foods. There are two categories of claims on foods: nutrition claims and health claims. Health claims on (functional) foods must be scientifically substantiated. In December 2006, the European Union published its Regulation 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods. As concerns sci...
The governance of food safety presents a formidable series of challenges, both in general and, more specifically, within the
context of the European Union.1 The purpose of this chapter is to outline and explore some of these challenges, bringing into focus the conceptual ideas
upon which we may build in order to address them. The existing condition...
Generally, the food safety governance activities represented by the framework in Fig. 2.8 are subject to various institutional
and legal arrangements concerned with the assignment of responsibilities and the articulation of rights and obligations. The
specific relevance of framing within this structure, as illustrated by the cyclical nature of the...
As stated in previous chapters, one of the primary objectives of the General Framework is to be fully compatible with the
existing legal requirements of EU food safety regulation and to be implementable with as few institutional changes as possible.
Following this objective, it is stressed at the outset that the General Framework could be put into...
Frameworks for food safety governance have evolved through a variety of forms since the mid-late twentieth century, and it
is useful to reflect on these developments prior to introducing the General Framework adopted in this book. The simplistic
technocratic model, wherein objective science is seen to directly inform policy making (shown in Fig. 2....
This paper aims to take stock of the role of comitology in the European integration process. It gives an overview of the history of comitology and reflects on the legal and institutional discussions between the institutions and academics. It argues that today, 50 years after the foundation of the European Economic Community and 45 years after the c...
Uncertain Risks Regulated compares various models of risk regulation in order to understand how these systems shape the relationship between law and science, and how they attempt to overcome public distrust in science-based decision-making. The book contributes to the ongoing debate relating to uncertainty and risks - and the difficulties faced by...
This article examines two agencies with a particularly important role to play in human health and safety protection: the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). It seeks to examine their respective roles in relation to health protection and market integration. The discussion outlines the emergence of both age...
Dealing with uncertain risks is an important challenge. Uncertain risks need to be sharply distinguished from traditional, simple risks which can be calculated by means of statistics. Arguably current governance of uncertain risks tends to erode into organized irresponsibility, i.e., society's ill‐preparedness and inability to deal with surprises,...
In this article, it is argued that uncertainty and risk are intermingled and that this has severe consequences for risk regulation. First, uncertainty and risk are considered in the context of the precautionary principle from a theoretical point of view. On the basis of an interdisciplinary reflection, it is concluded that a paradox can be observed...
Dispute settlement mechanisms have considerably advanced the European integration process. This paper aims to scrutinise the main legislative provisions and structure of the dispute settlement mechanisms in the European Union. It discusses the two different types of dispute settlement (judicial and alternative) as well as some mechanisms that have...
This article explores the use of the precautionary principle in situations of intermingled uncertainty and risk. It analyses how the so-called uncertainty paradox works out by examining the Pfizer case. It reveals regulatory complexities that result from contradictions in precautionary thinking. In conclusion, a plea is made for embedment of uncert...
This article comments upon the two judgments of the Court of First Instance (CFI) in the Pfizer and Alpharma cases of 11 September 2002. This case law is of importance as the Court for the first time explicitly addressed the precautionary principle and largely confirmed the elements laid down in the Commission's Communication on the Precautionary P...
Committees are of increasing importance in the process of EC policy-making, particularly in regulatory fields which touch upon politically sensitive issues. This article discusses the problems which have arisen due to the unforeseen emergence of committees within the institutional framework of the Community. It examines the main institutional confl...
Classical views of European integration have been shaken by the evolution of the past decade. It has become clear that the traditional division of tasks between the European Union and its Member States, and between the various European institutions no longer provides a valid description of European policy making. As the EU has become a major actor...
The precautionary principle applies to control risks the existence of which is uncertain under well-established scientific standards, mostly because generally accepted scientific knowledge is not or is not yet available. As such, the principle has been frequently relied upon to protect markets against possibly unsafe goods on the ground that, in vi...
Until the outbreak of the BSE crisis, many of the Community's rules relating to food safety regulation were mainly created on an ad hoc basis and/or developed in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice. The BSE crisis, however, clearly demonstrated that where important political interests are at stake, this ad hoc approach is not suffici...
Agencies and European Administrative Reforms.
The European Commission is faced with a double challenge : responding to the growing increase in its work load through reform of its working practices and instituting control mechanisms to increase the transparency of its activities. One of the ways in which its work is being rationalised is through the...
