The 33rd Session of the FAO/WHO Regional Coordinating Committee for Europe (CCEURO33), scheduled on 27-31 May 2024, will open the next round of Regional Coordinating Committees (RCCs). As the meeting approaches, we spoke to Anne Beutling, Chairperson of this Codex Committee: in this interview Anne talks about her background, the agenda of CCEURO33 and the role RCCs can play in Codex. 

Q. Anne, thanks for your time. This is going to be the first time for you to chair a Codex Committee. For those who don’t know you, could you please introduce yourself?

Certainly! Currently I am working in the directorate general for international affairs of the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture where I’m in charge of all Codex related matters. However, I’ve also been lucky to experience the behind-the-scenes work of the Codex Secretariat during my time in Rome as Associate Professional Officer at FAO. This experience combined with my academic background in European studies and international law has allowed me to get to know Codex values and processes and many of the very special and committed people Codex brings together. I’ve had to get to know the sometimes quite technical jargon which over time I learnt to decode with the help of the Codex Procedural Manual.

Q. How are you preparing for CCEURO33 and what are your expectations?

I’m trying to anticipate where the discussions will go by keeping in touch with Members. As the region only gets the chance to formally meet every two to three years, preparing for CCEURO also means keeping an eye on all that is being discussed in the 19 other active committees as well as the Codex Executive Committee (CCEXEC), which will meet shortly after CCEURO33.

I am hoping the session documents and the Codex Strategic Plan under which we operate will help Members from the region prepare and that they will seize the opportunity to raise their priorities and needs. I’m also hoping that Members that have more recently started to set up their national infrastructure to participate more actively in Codex will bring their voices to the table and use the week in Berlin to make new contacts that may help them continue those efforts.

Overall, I am expecting a constructive session from which every delegate will return home with useful takeaways and reflections.

Q: Tell us a little more about the agenda. What do you see as the highlights?

CCEURO33 will continue the discussion on the role of Codex in promoting more sustainable food systems. A subject that was kicked-off at the virtual CCEURO32. This time we’ll start by unpacking the One Health approach and the challenges and potential it entails for our work as food safety risk managers.

As Regional Coordinator, I am of course keen to understand if and to what extent ongoing Codex work is meeting the needs of the region and if there are other food related issues that call for attention by FAO, WHO and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) as the custodian of their joint Food Standards Programme. For instance, we are going to look at the area of nutrition as one of the important “adjusting screws” in the transformation of food systems.

We are also going to review how we are doing regionally when it comes to the strategic goals and objectives CAC adopted five years ago. With the CAC Strategic Plan expiring in 2025, lessons learnt will be important for the identification of European priorities for the new Strategic Plan.

Q. CCEURO33 will open the new round of Regional Coordinating Committee (RCCs) meetings. In your opinion, what role do RCCs play in Codex?

In my view, RCCs are first and foremost a safe space for creating networks and talking about problems and needs when it comes to food standards and their implementation. With the help of the regional offices of FAO and WHO, solutions can be identified. These solutions are then shared with the rest of the Codex membership and sometimes get turned into global approaches. So RCCs are important “think factories” and sounding boards for CAC. The recommendations made and decisions taken are also important for directing the work of Regional Coordinators. Their role has changed over time. Starting off as observers, they’ve become full members of CCEXEC and since the revitalization of the RCCs in 2016, they’re assisting CAC more and more in the management of its work programme.

 Q. How can CCEURO help the Members of your region in achieving the goals of Codex?

Quite simply by bringing them together and focusing their minds on exactly that question: what needs to be done internationally or regionally to protect our consumers’ health and facilitate food trade in a fair manner?

Q. What special advice would you give to delegates attending CCEURO for the first time? Is there anything you would like to ask them?

Come prepared, be confident yet constructive and try to talk to as many other delegates as possible. I look forward to welcoming you in Berlin!

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CCEURO33 meeting page