Consumer Protection Agencies In Europe Accused Of Conflict Of Interest

The European Court of Auditors has criticized the Italy-based European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and three other EU agencies for conflicts of interest over consumer protection activities. ECA inspectors found fault with management at EFSA, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for being too close to the various industries they were supposed to be monitoring. The auditors said in a report that “none of the selected agencies adequately managed the conflict of interest situations." They offered several suggestions for fixing the problem, including better screening of job candidates for possible conflict of interest before appointment.