FAO engagements in Brussels July 2023: engaging with partners and sharing expertise

A number of interactions by FAO experts took place in Brussels last month, both virtually and in-person.

Vincent Martin, Director of FAO's Office of Innovation, participated on 5 July at a panel debate with the title “New Genomic Techniques EU Proposal: legal framework and enforcement challenges”, organised by the European Food Forum at the European Parliament. Martin talked about the rapidly evolving gene-editing technology and its potential in improving various aspects of agricultural production and food safety. He also alluded to the intrinsic ethical concerns and related issues of governance.  
You can read more about FAO’s work on gene editing and agrifood systems here.

Hubert Boulet, Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme coordinator, visited Brussels this month to participate at a technical meeting organised by the European Commission, to discuss and finalize the strategic documents for the second phase of the Programme. This phase runs from August 2023 to May 2029 and will be part of NaturAfrica, the new EU initiative for biodiversity conservation in Africa. 

More about this second phase of the SWM Programme can be found here.

Miguel Bernal, Executive Secretary of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) also visited Brussels in July and held meetings with Directorate-Generals of the European Commission. To learn more about the work of the GFCM click here.