Members of the PARC consortium working on priority settings gathered for a hybrid meeting hosted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA ↗) in Parma, Italy on the 3rd of April 2025. The focus of the meeting was to discuss progress and define next steps to support the overarching goal of the work package (focusing on transforming science into policy.  

The event opened with the welcome speech by EFSA's Chief Scientist, Carlos Gonçalo das Neves ↗. He underlined the challenge faced by regulatory bodies across Europe to keep up with the rapid advancement in science and technology,  and expressed hoped that PARC will help bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and its applicability in regulatory risk assessment. He also recognised the joint efforts by European Environment Agency (EEA ↗) and Environment Agency Austria (EAA ↗) at PARC to coordinate the work on linking PARC outputs with regulatory needs.

EFSA, European Chemicals Agency (ECHA ↗) and EEA - as well as the JRC and several national agencies - are closely following individual PARC projects. This close engagement allows them to provide input during the development phase and supports the future uptake of results.  “Keep us fit and keep us exploring,” said Carlos das Neves  inclosing,  referring to the need for balance between scientific innovation and practical applicability in regulatory decision-making to protect human, animal, and environmental health. 

The full-day meeting featured three main discussion points:

• Prioritisation of PARC future activities based on regulatory needs 
  The group is finalising the second round of prioritisation, aiming to narrow down around 90 expressed needs to top 17 needs.
• Annual review of ongoing and upcoming projects 
  Participants reviewed the status of current projects and discussed the launch of new projects in May 2025.To explore individual project profiles, please visit the project section on the PARC website.
• Strategic mapping for regulatory and policy uptake
  Discussions included identifying relevant committees and expert groups within EU agencies to effectively communicate PARC results in formats tailored to different audiences (e.g. policy briefs, research brief, and webinars). Topics already under consideration include biodiversity, PFAS, New Approach Methodologies (NAMs).

The next in-person meeting on priority settings is scheduled for October 2025 and will be hosted by BfR ↗ in Berlin, Germany.