Commission Midday Express, 23 September 2010
The European Commission adopted today a report on the advisability and feasibility of introducing fees for the evaluation of applications by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which notes that due to the complexity of establishing a fee-based system in the area of EU food legislation an impact assessment would be necessary before presenting a formal proposal. The report is the product of consultations with EFSA, Member States, and stakeholders and of EFSA's experience in handling authorisation applications since its creation. It notes the complexity of the introduction of a fee-based system due to the fact that the majority of authorisation dossiers are of a general nature and benefit all operators – many substances that have to be evaluated are generic thus making it difficult to identify specific beneficiaries and, consequently, potential fee-payers. In the report, the Commission outlines four options that the impact assessment could explore. Other alternatives are not excluded. The report's suggested options for discussion are: A flat fee for all authorisation applicants, a rate for all authorisation applicants, the level of which would differ according to the type of product/substance, a rate, also varying according to the type of product/substance, for applicants who are already authorisation holders, maintain the existing fee-free system. The Commission will now send the report for discussion to the Council and the European Parliament.
For a copy of the report available on this site, see:
COM (2010) 0496 REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Report on the advisability and feasibility of presenting a legislative proposal enabling EFSA to receive fee