The European Commission has started to implement a new policy of openness by making available to the public any declarations of interest of members of the influential independent committees, which provide the commission with scientific advice.
The move follows a lengthy campaign by the British pressure group Baby Milk Action with support from UK Labour members of the European parliament and was immediately welcomed by the organisation's policy director, Patti Rundall.
“This decision is extremely important, and we warmly welcome it,” she said. She continued: “For consumers to have confidence in government decisions it is vital that policymakers have access to truly independent advice and that any commercial influences are out in the open. For too long, we have been asked to take on trust the independence of the commission's committee members.”
The commission has always insisted that the members of its various scientific committees act independently, make annual declarations of interest, and declare specific interests at each meeting. But until now, that information has not been made public.
Now details of the 19 members of the Scientific Committee for Food are to be diffused more widely, possibly by being made available on the internet.
Full story in News Extra at www.bmj.com