New EU health commissioner airs his priorities

At last week's parliamentary hearing in Brussels, the new European Commissioner designate for health and consumer protection, David Byrne, said that the community must move on from its state of “near permanent crisis management” in response to public concern about issuessuch as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), dioxin, and genetically modified organisms to take “a more proactive” stance on public health.

He also made a commitment to ensure “maximum transparency” in the formulation, presentation, and execution of EU policies related to his portfolio.

Acknowledging the current concerns of consumers, however, he promised that a white paper on food …