CHAPTER IIIEUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY

SECTION 4INDEPENDENCE, TRANSPARENCY, CONFIDENTIALITY AND COMMUNICATION

Article 38Transparency

1

The Authority shall ensure that it carries out its activities with a high level of transparency. It shall in particular make public without delay:

a

agendas and minutes of the Scientific Committee and the Scientific Panels;

b

the opinions of the Scientific Committee and the Scientific Panels immediately after adoption, minority opinions always being included;

c

without prejudice to Articles 39 and 41, the information on which its opinions are based;

d

the annual declarations of interest made by members of the Management Board, the Executive Director, members of the Advisory Forum and members of the Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels, as well as the declarations of interest made in relation to items on the agendas of meetings;

e

the results of its scientific studies;

f

the annual report of its activities;

g

requests from the European Parliament, the Commission or a Member State for scientific opinions which have been refused or modified and the justifications for the refusal or modification.

2

The Management Board shall hold its meetings in public unless, acting on a proposal from the Executive Director, it decides otherwise for specific administrative points of its agenda, and may authorise consumer representatives or other interested parties to observe the proceedings of some of the Authority's activities.

3

The Authority shall lay down in its internal rules the practical arrangements for implementing the transparency rules referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.