Competent organizations, under the Art. 36 of the EFSA’s founding Regulation (EC) 178/2002, are legal entities that pursue public interest objectives. These entities have technical and scientific capacity and are active in one or more fields in EFSA’s remit and they have the capacity to undertake tasks assigned by EFSA (e.g. scientific or technical support) and perform them with independency and integrity.
Cyprus FP cooperation with National Competent Organizations:
- Key role in managing the competent organizations, specifically the Art.36 List as the main reference point,
- Facilitates the assessment of organizations compliance with the criteria indicated in Art. 1 of Com. Reg. (EU) 2230/2004 (e.g. possess a high level of scientific expertise in one or more fields with direct or indirect impact on food or feed safety).
- Regularly reviews the list of competent organizations, as these were designated by the MS, or at least every 3 years.